Left-hand drive vehicles and conversions

Find out which left-hand drive historic vehicles need signage and which left to right-hand drive converted vehicles need certification to be registered.

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Left-hand vehicle signage and registration

Which left-hand historic cars, trucks and buses require signage depends on their Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM):

  • 4.5 tonnes or less – not required to display a 'left-hand drive' sign.
  • Greater than 4.5 tonnes – require the words ‘left-hand drive’ displayed on the rear of the vehicle in letters at least 75 millimetres high, with a colour contrast background.

Left hand-drive historic vehicles have been able to be registered in NSW since 1999. They can either be:

Conversions to right-hand drive

Historic vehicles converted from left to right-hand drive before 1999 can be conditionally registered, if they meet the requirements of the Historic Vehicle Scheme.

Which vehicles require certification

When a vehicle is registered for the first time (and has not had NSW registration with a left to right-hand drive modification), a licensed certifier must provide a Vehicle Safety Compliance Certification Scheme (VSCCS) certificate for the modification.

VSCCS Compliance Certificates do not expire. Each modification only needs one certification.

Find a licence certifier

Licensed certifiers are only authorised to assess modifications and vehicles in their field of expertise. Check with the certifier if they’re able to assess your planned modifications. Find a licensed certifier in

File

VSCCS Bulletin No 1 Licenced Certifiers (PDF 573.02KB)

Documents to show your club

Show the completed

File

Historic Vehicle Declaration (PDF 292.28KB) to your historic vehicle club and one of the following documents to support the declaration:
        
  • previous registration papers on which a modification condition has been recorded and the vehicle has no other significant modifications
  •     
  • evidence of previous full NSW registration – such as old registration papers
  •     
  • evidence of previous registration in the HVS
  •     
  • certificate from a licensed certifier for the left-hand to right-hand drive modification – where the modification was undertaken after 2011 or the vehicle has not previously been registered in NSW.

You'll also need to show the certification document at a service centre to get conditional vehicle registration.

If you have questions about certification documents please call 1300 137 302 or email technical.enquiries@transport.nsw.gov.au.

or search certifiers by location.

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