You play an important role in ensuring that vehicles on the road are safe and legal and that the person responsible for the vehicle can be identified. As a trader, you need to:
check the identification of the person who has purchased the vehicle
ensure the vehicle is registered and licensed
complete the necessary forms
If you're not sure if you should be registered as a Motor Vehicle Trader, please check with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).
Who needs to register to become a motor vehicle trader(external link)
Our licensing agents will usually sight a customer ID, but you are authorised to sight some forms of ID:
New Zealand driver licence
NZTA customer number, or
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 a NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) agent.
MBIE advises us whenever it registers a motor vehicle trader. We then record the MBIE-issued trader number on the Motor Vehicle Register and assign a NZTA customer number. For example:
MBIE trader number: M999999
NZTA customer number: 999999-999.
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 MBIE 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 pre-printed bank deposit slip, to the address below:
NZ Transport Agency
Private Bag 11777
Palmerston North 4442
New Zealand
Telephone: +64 6 953 6296
Note: You can only use your NZTA customer number for registration and notice of acquisition transactions once you've supplied these documents to us.
The notice of trader acquisition process (MR13C) is an online transaction for which you must first register with the RealMe service.
Register with the RealMe service.
Choose the 'Create an account' tab and follow the instructions to get a login.
Go to our online 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 RealMe screen to login, after which you need to complete the Organisation Administration screen that appears.
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.
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.
Register with RealMe(external link)
Online services(external link)
You need to complete a number of steps when both buying and selling vehicles.
Visit the Motochek section of our 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.
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See the latest editions:
Vehicle traders news - 26 May 2025(external link)
Vehicle traders news - 7 March 2025(external link)
Vehicle traders news - 3 December 2024(external link)
Vehicle traders news – 5 September 2024(external link)
Vehicle traders news – 4 July 2024(external link)
