How to check car insurance
There are 2 simple ways to check your car insurance: running a rego check and looking at your insurance policy.
Key takeaways
- A free rego check shows a car's CTP (compulsory third party) insurer and registration status, but not its comprehensive or third party property insurer.
- There's no national lookup for comprehensive car insurance, so to find your own policy you'll need your documents, emails or bank statements.
- How you run a check depends on the state or territory the car is registered in.
How can I check if my car is insured?
You can confirm whether your car is insured online by visiting the website of your state or territory's vehicle registration department. Here's a list of the relevant websites:
If your car is registered in NSW, you can look up the CTP insurer for your vehicle by using Service NSW to check registration.
Regardless of which state or territory you live in, you must buy CTP insurance when you register your vehicle. It is a legal requirement.
Can you check if a car is insured by number plate?
Short answer? Partly. Running a free registration check with your state or territory's transport authority will tell you whether a car has current CTP insurance (also called a Green Slip in NSW, or MAI in some states), who that CTP insurer is, and whether the rego is current, suspended or cancelled. You'll usually need the plate number, and sometimes the VIN.
What a number plate won't tell you is who holds the car's comprehensive or third party property insurance. There's no public database for those policies in Australia, for privacy reasons. So if you're checking a used car before buying, a rego check confirms it's registered and CTP-covered, but it can't confirm whether the seller has comprehensive cover.
What a rego check shows (and what it doesn't)
| What you want to know | Rego check | Certificate of insurance | Bank statement | Call the insurer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Is the car registered? | Yes | No | No | No |
| Is there CTP cover, and who with? | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Who is the comprehensive insurer? | No | Yes | Sometimes | Yes |
| When does the policy expire? | CTP only | Yes | No | Yes |
How to find out who your own car is insured with
If it's your own car and you've lost track of the policy, there's no shortcut lookup, but these steps will almost always turn it up:
- Search your email. Insurers send a policy certificate and renewal notices by email. Search your inbox for your rego number, "certificate of insurance" or "renewal".
- Check your bank and credit card statements. Your premium comes out as a direct debit or recurring payment, so the insurer's name will show against the transaction. This is the fastest route if you've paid monthly.
- Look for an online account. Many insurers let you log in to see policy details, documents and renewal dates.
- Check your paperwork. If you received hard-copy documents, your certificate of insurance lists the insurer, cover type, start and end dates and premium.
- Still stuck? If you at least know the insurer, call them. If you don't, your bank statement is your best lead.
How to check your car insurance expiry date
For CTP, your expiry date shows on your state or territory's rego check once you enter your details. For third party property, third party fire and theft, or comprehensive cover, the expiry is on your certificate of insurance, issued when you buy the policy and listing your start and end dates, cover type and premium. No certificate handy? Log in to your insurer's online account, or call them.
Checking a used car's insurance before you buy
A rego check on a car you're about to buy confirms it's registered and has current CTP, and flags if the rego is suspended or cancelled, worth knowing before you hand over money. It won't tell you about comprehensive cover, and the seller's policy doesn't transfer to you anyway. Once the car's yours, you'll need your own policy from day one.
How to check your car registration
To check if a car is registered, all you need to do is go to the check registration site of your state or territory:
In most cases, you can also call if you can't check your car registration online.
Frequently asked questions
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How do you check who you’re insured with?
Hi If you’re not sure who you’re insured with, you’ll have to find any policy documents or communications you’ve had with your insurer. You could try searching your email for insurance documents. Best of luck!
How can I find out who my car is insured with (comprehensive insurance)
Hi Max,
Unfortunately there is no national database of comprehensive policies, so the only way to know who your car is insured with is to locate a copy of your policy. You might be able to check your emails for the policy?
Hope this helps.