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Motor vehicle traders

Updated: 10 December 2009

The business of trading motor vehicles brings you in regular contact with us. Through various registration and licensing transactions, you play an important role in ensuring that the vehicles out there on the road are safe and legal. This section explains your responsibilities and the ways we can help you meet them.

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Your responsibilities

Your legal responsibilities in trading vehicles centre on:

  • checking buyer and seller identification
  • notifying us of vehicle registration
  • notifying us of changes of ownership.

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 ownership. See the collection of forms you're likely to handle.

Checking ID

You must include a customer's ID details when completing registration and change of ownership transactions. If you don't record the details on forms we'll decline the transaction.

Our licensing agents will usually sight a customer ID, but if you're a registered trader you are authorised to sight some forms of ID:

  • New Zealand driver licence. You must write the driver licence number and your NZTA customer number on the form.
  • NZ Transport Agency customer card number.
  • New Zealand temporary driver licence. This must be valid, ie 21 days from date of issue.

As a registered trader you can also present registration and ownership transactions on behalf of your customers.

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 send us.

To activate your 'trader' status with us, you need to set up a payment arrangement for trader changes of ownership. 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 change of ownership transactions once you've supplied these documents to us.

The billing process for trader changes of ownership

When you acquire a vehicle for sale purposes you are required to register the vehicle in your name. You do this by completing a trader notice of change of ownership (MR13C). The MR13 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 trader change of ownership (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 changes of ownership access

The trader change of ownership process (MRC13C) is an online transaction for which you must first register with the Government 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 ownership service

  • Register with the Government Logon Service (igovt).
  • Choose the 'How to get an igovt logon' tab and follow the instructions to get a logon.
  • Go to our Transaction Centre
  • Select the 'Traders' link and then the 'Trader change of ownership' link. The next screen will give you the option to register your organisation so that it can process online trader change of ownerships.
  • To register to use our services choose the 'Request access' button. This will take you through to the Application access screen. Choose the trader change of ownership (MR13C) application.
  • The system will then redirect you to the GLS 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 trader change of ownership (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.