How to Check a Rego in NSW, VIC, QLD and Every Other State

Short answer: every Australian state and territory runs its own free, official online rego check. You need the plate number, and each check only covers vehicles registered in that state: NSW plates go through Service NSW, Victorian plates through Service Victoria (VicRoads), Queensland plates through TMR, and so on. The table has the official link for each one.

All eight checks are free. Queensland (QLD Rego Check) and the Northern Territory (NT Rego) also have free official apps.

NSW rego check

The NSW check is run by Service NSW and works for any vehicle that is, or was, registered in NSW. Enter the plate number and you get:

• the registration expiry date
• whether the registration is suspended or cancelled
• any registration restrictions, and any concessions (a concession can mean extra charges for a new owner)
• the CTP (green slip) insurer and when the policy expires
• the three most recent yearly odometer readings, where available

It does not tell you whether the vehicle has been written off or reported stolen. Service NSW sells a separate vehicle history report for that, and the national PPSR search below covers it for $2.

VIC rego check (VicRoads)

Victorian checks run through Service Victoria for VicRoads. Unlike most states, you can search by registration number, VIN or chassis number, after choosing the vehicle type (car or truck, motorcycle, or caravan or trailer). The result shows whether the registration is current, expired, suspended or cancelled, the expiry date, and the vehicle's make, body type, colour and year of manufacture. Unpaid fines can lead to a Victorian registration being suspended, and this check shows that status.

QLD rego check

The Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) check covers current and expired Queensland registrations. Search by plate, or by VIN for vehicles built since 1 January 1989. It shows the registration status and expiry date, the make, model and body shape, the purpose of use, whether a motorcycle is learner approved, and inspection due dates for vehicles that need a certificate of inspection. The QLD Rego Check app does the same on a phone.

SA, WA, TAS, NT and ACT

• South Australia: the free check on SA.GOV.AU shows the expiry date, make, body type, colour, CTP insurer and the last four characters of the VIN. If the vehicle is suspended, stolen, defected or written off, you see a general warning without the details.
• Western Australia: WA calls registration a "vehicle licence". The Department of Transport's online check gives the licence expiry date for cars, motorcycles, trailers, caravans, trucks and other WA-licensed vehicles.
• Tasmania: Transport Tasmania's check shows the registration status, expiry date and basic vehicle details for Tasmanian vehicles.
• Northern Territory: the NT check shows status, expiry and inspection due date for NT-registered vehicles and trailers. The NT Rego app does the same.
• ACT: Access Canberra's online check shows a vehicle's registration status and some non-identifying information from the plate number.

What no rego check will tell you

No government rego check in Australia shows the owner's name or address. That is protected personal information in every state and territory, and a service that claims to return owner details from a plate is not a legitimate rego check. Each check also covers only its own state: a Victorian plate cannot be checked on the NSW site.

Buying a used car? Add a PPSR search

A rego check tells you the registration is current. It does not tell you whether money is owing on the car. For that, search the national Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR): it costs $2 online, uses the VIN, and also shows whether the vehicle has been recorded as written off or stolen. Run both checks before you pay for a private sale.

Checking plates in software

The state checks are web forms for one vehicle at a time, in one state. If you need plate lookups inside a website, app or business system -- an auto parts store matching parts to a customer's car, a workshop booking form, a fleet register -- you need an API instead.

PlateAPI is a REST API that takes a plate and state for any of the eight states and territories and returns the vehicle as JSON: year range, make, model, body, engine and a stable vehicle ID. It identifies the vehicle. It does not return registration status, expiry dates or owner details; for those, use the state checks above.

curl -s "https://api.plateapi.com.au/api/v1/lookup?plate=TEST123&state=NSW" \
  -H "X-API-Key: pk_live_YOUR_API_KEY"

{
  "success": true,
  "vehicle": {
    "year_range": "2015-2020",
    "lowest_year": 2015,
    "highest_year": 2020,
    "make": "TOYOTA",
    "model": "HILUX",
    "description": "15~20 TOYOTA HILUX SR 2.8L DIESEL",
    "body": "UTE",
    "engine": "2.8L",
    "vehicle_id": 1380801
  },
  "source": "plateapi",
  "duration_ms": 0.1,
  "request_id": "req_34f87062f6396b24b3f54dde",
  "alternatives": [],
  "match": "exact",
  "sandbox": true
}

The response has the same shape for every state, so there is no per-state code to write. There is a free tier with 20 lookups a month, the lookup reference covers every field, and the developer guide has examples in Python and JavaScript.