The NZ Transport Agency is reminding motor vehicle traders, insurers, finance companies and others of upcoming changes to the process used to access current names and addresses of registered persons held on the Motor Vehicle Register.
Previously, class authorisations have been granted for all traders, insurers, finance companies and petrol stations. These class authorisations all expire on 31 October 2017, and the Transport Agency is reminding those currently covered by a class authorisation that they will need to have their own authorisation (or use an authorisation for an industry body that they're a member of) to continue accessing current names and addresses in the Motor Vehicle Register from 31 October 2017.
Extensions to the original expiry date of the class authorisations were made to allow more time for affected parties to send in applications. The Transport Agency is now committed to this transition moving to individual applications and no further extensions of the class access will be made.
If you're a member of an approved industry body (such as Motor Trade Association (MTA) or the Financial Services Federation – see FAQs at end for a complete list), you do not need to apply. Everyone else who wants continuous access needs to submit their application in to the Transport Agency, with the correct application fee, by Monday 2 October 2017. This allows four weeks for the Transport Agency to process the application before the expiry of the class authorisations on 31 October 2017. The Transport Agency has reduced the processing time to ensure those who missed the original deadlines have a chance to get their application in. It normally takes around eight weeks as the Transport Agency consults with the Ombudsman, Privacy Commissioner and Police Commissioner (our advising agencies) before deciding whether to grant an authorisation.
It is important to note that those who access the Motor Vehicle Register's current name and address information through a portal* will no longer have access to names and addresses unless they are also a member of an approved industry body OR have applied for their own authorisation. Standard access to motor vehicle details such as WoF expiry, vehicle licence expiry, stolen flags and odometer readings etc are all still available. This change in access only relates to those who need to access the vehicle's current registered person’s name and address.
As the deadline has already been extended three times, it will not be extended further.
Full information is available on the Transport Agency website at www.nzta.govt.nz/s241(external link). This includes:
* Portals are CarJam, Centrix, Equifax (Veda Advantage), Infolog, LemonCheck, Motochek and MotorWeb (Trade Me).