Your responsibilities
Your responsibilities in respect of registration and licensing of motor vehicles centre on:
- Checking the identification of the person who has purchased the vehicle
- Ensuring the vehicle is registered and licensed, when used on the road
- notifying us when you purchase or sell a vehicle.
Much of what we require you to do involves completing forms. For example, you need to complete an MR2A to apply for registration, or an MR13B to notify a change of Registered Person. See the collection of forms you're likely to handle.
Checking ID
Our licensing agents will usually sight a customer ID, but if you're a trader you are authorised to sight some forms of ID:
- New Zealand driver licence.
- NZ Transport Agency customer number.
- New Zealand temporary driver licence. This must be valid, ie 21 days from date of issue.
These details must be recorded on the registration and notice of acquisition forms.
As a registered trader you can also present these forms at an NZTA agent.
Establishing your trader status
The Ministry of Economic Development (MED) advises us whenever it registers a motor vehicle trader. We then record the MED-issued trader number on the Motor Vehicle Register and assign an NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) number. For example:
- MED trader number: M999999
- NZTA customer number: 999999-999
Your NZTA customer number identifies you on the register when we process the transaction forms you present are processed.
To activate your 'trader' status with us, you need to set up a payment arrangement for trader changes of registered person. The only accepted means is through direct debit.
When MED notifies us you're an approved trader we'll send you a direct debit authority and a Trader customer details form. You need to complete these and send them back to us, along with a preprinted bank deposit slip.
You can only use your NZTA customer number for registration and notice of acquisition transactions once you've supplied these documents to us.
The billing process for trader changes of registered person
When you acquire a vehicle for sale purposes you are required to register the vehicle in your name. You do this by completing a notice of trader acquisition (MR13C). The MR13C fee is paid by direct debit. We automatically generate a monthly tax invoice or direct debit notice based on the transaction information recorded on the Motor Vehicle Register. The invoice or notice details:
- the charges due for notice of trader acquisition (MR13C) transactions
- the date the amount will be direct debited from your account.
We send these at the beginning of the month for the previous month's transactions.
Setting up your trader access
The notice of trader acquisition process (MRC13C) is an online transaction for which you must first register with the igovt logon service. This site allows you access to a range of government service providers through the one portal.
To set up the online change of registered person service
- Register with the igovt logon service.
- Choose the 'Create an igovt logon' tab and follow the instructions to get a logon.
- Go to our Transaction Centre
- Select the 'MR13C (Notice of trader acquisition)' link. The next screen will give you the option to register your organisation so that it can process online notices of trader acquisition.
- To register to use our services choose the 'Request access' button. This will take you through to the Application access screen. Choose the notice of trader acquisition (MR13C) application.
- The system will then redirect you to the igovt screen to logon, after which you need to complete the Organisation Administration screen that appears.
Only one administrator please!
Please ensure that you have only one 'Administrator' for your organisation. This Administrator will control your other employees' access to the notice of trader acquisition (MR13C) transaction. It is their responsibility to maintain these users and to remove access to the transaction when employees leave the company. - Once you submit this, your application comes to us for consideration. We'll email you within 10 working days to let you know if your application is approved.
- If your application is approved we'll send another email with detailed instructions on using your online processing account.
Buying and selling
You need to complete a number of steps when both buying and selling vehicles. Check the steps involved.
Fast check for vehicle and owner details
Visit the Motochek website for quick and easy access to details such as registration status, warrant of fitness/certificate of fitness expiry country of origin and check for 'reported stolen' flags. Motochek can also help with Consumer Information Notice (CIN) card requirements.
