Heavy vehicle registration
Access Canberra is responsible for heavy vehicle:
- driver licensing
- registration
- inspections
- infringement notice penalty payments
- inspection of vehicles for the clearance of major and minor heavy vehicle defects
- selling National Written Work Diaries (NWWDs) at Access Canberra Service Centres.
The National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) is responsible for all on-road compliance and enforcement services for heavy vehicles.
This includes:
- safety
- the chain of responsibility for goods
- performance-based standards design and vehicle approvals.
Visit the NHVR website.
Find out more about getting a heavy vehicle licence.
Registering a heavy vehicle
To establish registration for the first time for a heavy vehicle, you must:
- have it inspected at the Access Canberra Motor Vehicle Inspection Station (MVIS)
- declare how you’re going to use the vehicle, for example, how many trailers the vehicle will tow.
Complete the Declaration to nominate a vehicle's configuration (vehicles in excess of 4.5 tonnes GVM only) [PDF 244 KB].
Once it has passed inspection and you’ve made your declaration, the registration process is the same as for light vehicles.
Read about:
Inspections for heavy vehicles need to be done at the MVIS every 2 years.
Read about roadworthy inspections.
Heavy vehicle numberplates
You'll get National Heavy Vehicle numberplates when you register a heavy vehicle for the first time in the ACT. You can also choose to purchase non-standard numberplates.
National Heavy Vehicle plates cost $25 per set.
The numberplates include:
- black lettering on a white background
- a blue ‘National Heavy Vehicle’ sash across the bottom.
Transferring registration of an ACT registered heavy vehicle
If the vehicle already has an ACT registration and you want to transfer the registration, you only need an inspection at the MVIS if it’s due for its 2-yearly inspection.
You also need to complete the Declaration to nominate a vehicle's configuration (vehicles in excess of 4.5 tonnes GVM only) [PDF 244 KB].
Road access for heavy vehicles
The NHVR provides information about:
- heavy vehicle classes
- road access including a route planner
- applying for access permits.
Visit the NHVR website.