Unlicensed motor car trading

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Background

Trading in cars without a licence is a breach of the Motor Car Traders Act 1986. Consumers who buy from unlicensed traders are left exposed - vehicles will not come with a warranty, a cooling-off period and other protections a buyer gets when dealing with a licensed motor car trader.

For information about who needs a licence, view Definitions.

Report an unlicensed motor car trader

You can use our hotline or online enquiry form to report possible unlicensed motor car traders.

For more information, view Report an unlicensed motor car trader.

Education for motor car traders

To understand your obligations, view Running your business.

You can also subscribe to our Email updates and view News alerts.

Our regional officers also travel around Victoria, speaking to motor car traders about their responsibilities.

Enforcing the law

We detect unlicensed traders by:

  • communicating with licensed traders and industry groups such as VACC and VicRoads
  • using electronic tracking measures
  • conducting on-site inspections, either as part of a coordinated compliance exercise or in response to information provided to us about a particular trader.

When we find an unlicensed trader, we choose from a number of enforcement options, including issuing a warning notice or taking court action.

For more information, view Regulatory approach and compliance policy.