About vehicle licence penalties
Penalties are applied when:
- a transfer of a vehicle licence is not completed within the required time
- a work order/defect notice (yellow sticker) is not complied with within the required time, or
- vehicle number plates aren’t returned either on request or within the required time.
Vehicle transfer non-completion
If you’re the new owner of a vehicle and you fail to make an application to transfer the vehicle licence within 28 days of the issue of the 'Transfer of Vehicle Licence' invoice, you’ll commit an offence and will be issued an infringement notice.
Your options
You can:
- pay the total fees by the due date shown on the notice
- elect to have the matter determined by a court
- before the due date, request a payment extension or enter a direct debit instalment agreement via a DoTDirect account.
Payment extensions and direct debit instalments are available to individual customers only and aren’t offered to organisations.
Don’t have a DoTDirect account? Registering for one is easy.
Penalties
If you fail to comply with the infringement notice within 28 days, a final demand for payment will be issued. The final demand for payment includes an additional fee for non-payment of the original infringement notice.
If no action is taken, the matter will be referred to the Department of Justice’s Fines Enforcement Registry (FER) for action.
If you believe you've received an infringement in error or have special circumstances that may be considered, please visit one of our DTMI service centre or regional agent, contact us on 13 11 56 or email contact.centre@transport.wa.gov.au
Work order/defect notices (yellow sticker)
If you own a vehicle that has been issued with a work order/defect notice, you must have the vehicle inspected or alternatively return the number plates and delicense the vehicle.
If the vehicle is not presented for inspection or the number plates returned within 15 days of the expiry date of the work order, you’ll receive a notice cancelling the vehicle licence and demanding the return of the number plates.
Failure to surrender the number plates by the due date specified in the Notice of Cancellation of Vehicle Licence will result in a Traffic Infringement Notice being issued.
Your options
You can:
- pay the total fees by the due date shown on the final demand for payment
- elect to have the matter determined by a court
- before the due date, request a payment extension or enter a direct debit instalment agreement via a DoTDirect account, or
- advise us that you sold or disposed of the vehicle prior to the offence date.
Payment extensions and direct debit instalments are available to individual customers only and aren’t offered to organisations.
Don’t have a DoTDirect account? Registering for one is easy.
Penalties
If you take no action by the due date of the infringement notice, a final demand for payment will be issued, together with an additional fee for non-payment of the original infringement notice.
If no action is taken by the due date of the final demand for payment, the matter will be referred to the Department of Justice's Fines Enforcement Registry (FER) for action.
If you believe you've received an infringement in error or have special circumstances that may be considered, please visit one of our DTMI service centre or regional agent, contact us on 13 11 56 or email contact.centre@transport.wa.gov.au
Not returning vehicle plates
If you’re the owner of a WA licensed vehicle, you must renew the vehicle licence or return the number plates within 3 months of the licence expiry date. If you don’t renew the vehicle licence or return the plates within the prescribed period, you’ll be issued with a 'Notice of Expired Vehicle Licence'.
If you fail to comply with the 'Notice of Expired Vehicle Licence', an infringement notice will be issued.
Your options
You can:
- pay the total fees by the due date shown on the notice
- elect to have the matter determined by a court
- before the due date, request a payment extension or enter a direct debit instalment agreement via a DoTDirect account, or
- advise us that you sold or disposed of the vehicle prior to the offence date.
Penalties
If the plates aren’t returned before a vehicle licence has expired for more than 3 calendar months, you’ll be issued with an infringement.
If no action is taken by the due date of the final demand for payment, the matter will be referred to the Department of Justice's Fines Enforcement Registry (FER) for action.
If you believe you've received an infringement in error or have special circumstances that may be considered, please visit one of our DTMI service centre or regional agent, contact us on 13 11 56 or email contact.centre@transport.wa.gov.au
Payment of DTMI issued penalties
All DTMI penalties must be paid in full. If you’re unable to pay by the due date, you can request a payment extension or enter a direct debit instalment agreement via a DoTDirect account.
For information regarding any other types of fines (e.g. parking fines, speeding fines, etc.), you’ll need to contact the issuing body directly.
Referral to Fines Enforcement Registry (FER)
If you don’t pay a fine or infringement notice by the due date, the matter will be referred to the Department of Justice's Fines Enforcement Registry (FER) for follow-up action. FER will issue an order to pay the fine or elect to have the matter dealt with by a court. If you don’t respond or pay the fine, a ‘Notice of Intention to Suspend Licence’ will be issued.
If you don’t comply within the prescribed time, your driver's licence or vehicle licence(s) will be suspended. The suspension won’t be lifted until the fine, including any additional fee(s), is paid.
A fine suspension order is enforced by the FER and will have no effect on the term of an existing court-imposed disqualification.
If you have a fine suspension order from FER and a court later disqualifies you from driving:
- if the court says the disqualification runs at the same time as the fine suspension, the disqualification starts straight away.
- if the court says the disqualification is added on top of any current disqualifications, it won’t start until all other disqualifications have finished, including any fine suspension orders from the FER.
Where a driver's or vehicle licence is suspended due to a fine default, the fine suspension will be lifted upon payment of the fine.
Outstanding fines may prevent the renewal of a driver’s or vehicle licence.
If you have unpaid fines managed by FER, you may be able to enter into a time to pay arrangement. Contact FER directly for further information on 1300 650 235, or +61 8 9235 0235 for international and mobile callers.
More information can be found via the Department of Justice's Fines Enforcement Registry..