Cancelling your registration
Find out when you can cancel your vehicle registration, how to return your number plates and whether you're entitled to a refund.
When you can cancel registration
If you're the registered operator, you can cancel your vehicle registration at any time, including if your vehicle has been written off or stolen or if you no longer plan to live in NSW.
If you're moving interstate, the cancellation process is slightly different. See Cancelling your registration from interstate.
How to cancel registration
To cancel your vehicle registration, you must attend a service centre in person or send a representative and provide:
- completed Number Plates and/or Cancellation of Registration
- proof of your identity
- Certificate of Registration
- number plates or a police event number if the plates have been stolen
- a letter from your insurer (if the vehicle was written off).
When there is more than one person registered as the operator of the vehicle, only the primary operator needs to sign the form.
Returning number plates
When you cancel your registration, you must hand in the vehicle's number plates. It is an offence to keep number plates when you cancel your vehicle registration.
Stolen plates
If your plates are stolen, report the incident to the Police Assistance line on 131 444. They will give you a police event number which you need to give us to process your cancellation.
Returning number plates in another jurisdiction
If you hand your plates in in another jurisdiction, you need to provide a 'surrendered number plate' receipt issued by the interstate authority.
Reserving number plate content
If your registration has expired and it's been less than 3 months since the expiry date, you can reserve your number plate. You must put them in reserve at a service centre and pay the annual reserve fee, plus any annual number plate fees.
Getting a refund
You may be entitled to a refund of the unused portion of the motor vehicle tax. This includes pensioners in some circumstances.
To get a refund, you must cancel your registration before the expiry date. There is no refund of the registration fee or number plate fees. The cancellation fee is deducted from your refund.
For refunds on stolen vehicles, you must provide evidence of the date on which the vehicle was stolen. For written -off vehicles you may be able to back date the refund to the incident date, provided proof is presented from the insurer of the incident date, number plate and registered operator and you have not used the vehicle since.
Overseas refunds
If you cancel the registration to return or permanently move overseas, you can provide your overseas address for your refund.