Advising the RTA of a person's death
The RTA is notified of deaths in NSW by the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages for the purposes of recording customers as deceased on RTA records.
Transferring registration after a death
When the registered operator of a vehicle is deceased, the registration needs to be transferred into the name of one of the following:
A person nominated in the will.
The executor of the estate.
The administrator of the estate (if there is one).
The surviving joint operator.
The next of kin.
Another responsible operator (concessions on transfer fees and stamp duty may not apply).
What you need to provide in all cases
Proof of identity.
Written proof that the registered operator is deceased if the death has not already been recorded with the RTA. This can be an original or certified copy of the Death Certificate, or a newspaper notice.
A completed Application for Transfer of Registration form, available from the Registration Forms link below.
No additional documentation is required to transfer registration to the name of the surviving joint registered operator.
Additional requirements in specific situations
In addition to the documents listed above, you may need additional documents in the following situations:
To transfer registration to a beneficiary or the executor of the will you may also need:
A copy of the relevant section of the will or probate, or
Written advice from the executor/solicitor, or
A copy of the Letters of Administration, issued by the Supreme Court.
To transfer registration to the administrator of the estate, you may also need:
A copy of the Letters of Administration issued by the Supreme Court.
If there are none, the Administrator must complete a Statutory Declaration setting out the relationship with the deceased (eg husband or wife of the deceased) and stating that to their knowledge there is no will, and the reasons why they are legally entitled to the vehicle.
To transfer registration to the name of the next of kin, you may also need:
If a person dies without a will
A surviving joint registered operator or next of kin can transfer the vehicle into their name - see above.
A family member can apply to the Supreme Court, which will appoint a family member to act as the Administrator of the estate.
The family can have the deceased person's estate handled by a solicitor.
The Public Trustee can handle the entire estate for the family.
Stamp duty and fee exemptions
In all the above cases, stamp duty and transfer fees will not be charged. Stamp duty and transfer fees are payable if the vehicle is sold. Pro-rata motor vehicle tax will be payable if there is a change in usage (eg pensioner to private).
Selling the vehicle
The following people may sell the vehicle without transferring the registration into their name first, but they must authorise the transfer of the registration to the new registered operator:
A person nominated in the will, or
The executor of the estate, or
The administrator of the estate (if there is no will), or
The surviving joint registered operator, or
The next of kin.
Where there is more than one executor, the signature of only one of the executors is needed to authorise the transfer of the registration, unless there is a specific requirement for all executors to sign the document. There is no requirement for a copy of the will to be provided.
The new operator must pay the transfer fee and stamp duty. The new operator must also provide the following documents at a motor registry:
A completed Transfer of Registration form, and
Proof of identity (POI), and
A letter from one of the people listed above authorising the transfer, setting out the following details:
their name, address, signature and relationship to the deceased
the buyer's name and address
the vehicle details
the date the vehicle was sold and the sale price
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