Roadworthy Certificate in Salisbury

Answer first

Two months or 2,000km, whichever runs out first. That is how long a Queensland safety certificate lasts for a private seller, and it is the single fact that catches most people out. We inspect and issue them at 2 Baldock St in Moorooka, straight up Beaudesert Road from Salisbury. Contact us for pricing.

Reading the clock properly

The two-month window and the 2,000km window run at the same time and either one can end the certificate. A car that sells in three weeks but does a road trip in the middle of them can be out of certificate before the calendar has done anything at all.

For a licensed dealer the numbers are different. Three months on the calendar, but only 1,000km on the odometer, because a dealer car is expected to sit on a lot rather than be driven.

If the certificate lapses before the sale goes through, you need a new one. There is no extension and no grace period.

Timing it against a Salisbury sale

This matters more in Salisbury than in a lot of suburbs because of what people here are selling. Salisbury and Salisbury East sit in a pocket of light industrial streets near Archerfield Airport, and a large share of the vehicles that come to us from this area are work vehicles. Utes, vans and single-vehicle trade fleets.

A work vehicle keeps working while it is for sale. It is still doing runs to Rocklea Markets and back, still doing job sites, still burning through that 2,000km at a rate a family hatchback never would. If you get the certificate the moment you decide to sell rather than the week you list, you can quietly use up the kilometre allowance before the first inspection.

The order that works is: get the car mechanically sorted, then book the certificate, then put the ad up with the certificate number in it.

What the inspection covers

Brakes, tyres, steering, suspension, lights, windscreen, wipers, seatbelts, structural rust and the exhaust. Tread has to be at least 1.5mm across the face. Nothing cosmetic is assessed.

Trade vehicles fail on a slightly different mix to family cars. Load-carrying wears rear suspension and brakes harder, and toolboxes, racks and towbars introduce wiring that gets pulled apart and rejoined more often than factory wiring ever does. Reversing lights and trailer plug wiring are worth checking before you book.

If it fails

Fourteen days to repair and re-present the failed items. Only those items get re-checked. We are a full workshop, so the repairs happen here rather than at a second business. For a vehicle that earns money, that is the difference between one day off the road and three.

The other situations that need a certificate

Selling is the common one, but it is not the only trigger. A certificate is also required when registration is transferred to a new owner, when a vehicle that has been off the road is re-registered, and when a vehicle's registration is brought into Queensland from interstate.

Salisbury throws up the second and third of those more than most suburbs. A trade vehicle that came off the road when a business slowed down, sat in a yard for a year and is now going back to work needs a fresh certificate before it can be re-registered. So does the interstate ute that arrived with a job and has been running on its old plates.

What you do not need one for is renewing your own registration on a vehicle you already own and already drive. That trips people up in the other direction, and it costs them an inspection they never had to book.

Getting here from Salisbury

Beaudesert Road runs the length of it and Baldock St is just off the Moorooka end. Parking is on site. Open Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm and Saturday 8am to 3pm, with an after-hours key drop for anyone who starts work earlier than we open.

The full set of Queensland rules, including transfers and re-registration, is on the main page. Everything else we do for Salisbury and Salisbury East drivers is on the suburb page.