Registration is what makes a change of owner effective against third parties, and it has a deadline: sixty days after the sale a fine applies, and until it is done the seller still answers for what the car does. Where the vehicle comes from an estate there is a step before it, establishing the heirs.
What is covered
Transfer of ownership
Registering the sale within the deadline, with the application, the contract and the tax where it is due.
Retention of title
Registering the retention in favour of whoever financed the vehicle, and cancelling it once the credit is paid off.
Vehicles in an estate
Registration in the heirs’ names, or directly in the name of whoever takes the car in the division.
Charges and attachments
Checking what is recorded against the vehicle before buying, and cancelling charges that have already been discharged.
What to bring
These acts are done on the spot when the documents come complete. If one is missing, the act waits until it arrives.
- The vehicle registration document and the contract or bill of sale
- Identification and tax number for both buyer and seller
- The deed establishing the heirs, where the vehicle comes from an estate
This page describes the practice in general terms. Every case turns on its own facts and on the stage it has reached, so nothing here replaces looking at the file itself.