Evidence of identity and residency: licence and registration

If you need to complete a transaction or do business with the Motor Vehicle Registry (MVR), you must be an MVR customer.

To become an MVR customer, you must provide evidence of your identity and Northern Territory (NT) residency.

Read below to find out what you need to do.

When to apply or reapply to become an MVR customer

You will need to:

apply if you:
- are a first time customer
- it's been 5 or more years since you last used the service
- need to transfer your interstate licence or vehicle registration to the NT
reapply if your driver licence has been:
- disqualified for a period of time or
- expired for 5 or more years.

What documents you need

To prove your identity and NT residency, you must provide at least 3 original documents, including:

one category A and 2 category B documents or
2 category A and one category B document.

Photocopies, certified extracts or digital copies, including digital driver licences are not accepted.

If your NT residential address is not on one of these documents, you must provide another document proving your NT residency.

Your documents together must include the following:

your signature on at least one of the documents
your same name across your category A and B documents:
- if not, you must provide evidence of an official name change - this can be a change of name certificate
your date of birth on a category A document
your NT residential address on at least one of the documents
be current and not expired - unless otherwise stated
be in English - if not, it must be translated by the:
- Department of Home Affairs or
- an accredited translator at the Interpreting and Translating Service NT.

See the list of documents below.

Once you have met all evidence of identity and NT residency requirements, MVR may take your photo to complete your application process.

What documents need to be verified

Some documents must be verified by the Australian Government's Document Verification Service (DVS). To find out more, go to the Australian Government's ID Match website.

You must provide your consent for your documents to go through the DVS.

If you don't provide consent, you will need to provide another type of document.

If the documents can’t be verified, MVR can’t enrol you as a customer.

Documents that must be verified include:

all category A documents - except for a current Australian driver's licence
Medicare card.

List of documents for individuals

Below are lists of documents you can use as evidence.

Category A documents

You can present any of the following:

Australian birth certificate with the registration and certificate number
Aboriginal population record - if applicable and born in NT before 1969:
- you can get this through the Births, Deaths and Marriages office
Australian citizenship papers
Australian passport - current or expired up to 2 years
overseas passport - current or expired up to 2 years
Department of Home Affairs travel document - valid up to 5 years after issue
Department of Home Affairs certificate of evidence of resident status including:
- Permanent Resident Evidence ImmiCard
- Evidence of Immigration Status ImmiCard
current Australian driver licence card*.

*If you're transferring your interstate driver licence to the NT, you must surrender your interstate driver licence card.

Category B documents

You can present any of the following:

Australia Post Keypass identity card
concession card issued by the Australian Government including:
- Medicare card
- Department of Veterans' Affairs Concession card / Centrelink Pensioner Concession card - including health care cards
NT Concession Scheme card
NT Seniors card
credit or debit card with signature and embossed name
student identity document with a photo or signature issued by an Australian educational institution
Australian issued security guard/crowd controller licence with photo
Australian issued firearm licence with photo
Australian Defence Force identity card (excluding civilians)
NT issued Evidence of Age card
Australian Road Agency issued proof of age card
Australian driver licence - current or expired up to 2 years
overseas driver licence - current or expired up to 2 years
NT Government employee identity card
NT Work Zone Traffic Management (WZTM) Identity card
Temporary Traffic Management (TTM) ID card
NT Working with Children Clearance (Ochre Card)
current Larrakia Nation identity card
East Arnhem Regional Council identity card
Tangentyere Council identity card
WUNA / Holdaccess identity card.

If you can't provide any category A or B identity documents

In extremely rare situations, a person may be genuinely unable to provide the required category A and B documents.

A person is not genuinely unable if they are inconvenienced by the delay, difficulty or expense of getting the necessary documents from the relevant authority.

If you're genuinely unable to provide the required category A and B documents, you should contact MVR to discuss your particular circumstance.

You can contact MVR by calling 1300 654 628 or going to your nearest MVR office.

List of documents for body corporate or incorporated associations

Below are lists of documents that body corporates (companies) or incorporated associations (associations) can use as evidence.

For companies/associations

To enrol a company or an association, its director or public officer must to go to an MVR office.

They must provide all of the following:

evidence of their identity - this can be:
- their driver licence
- one category A document or
- category B document with a photo
a letter of authority to act as a representative on behalf of the company or association - if applicable
current copy of the company extract from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) - if applicable
- must include the list of directors behind the company
certificate of incorporation from the relevant issuing authority - if applicable
- must provide a list (on letterhead) of appointed office bearers or public officers
proof of garage/operating address in the NT.

If there is a change of director or public officer in your company or association, you must advise MVR by providing the requirements mentioned above.

For representatives or agents of the owners

A representative or agent is anyone who conducts business on behalf of a company or an association.

To register a vehicle on its behalf, representatives or agents must go to an MVR office.