The licence is cancelled by the road authority in the state or territory that issued it.
Who usually does this
A close family member or the executor.
What they will ask for
- The death certificate, or in some states an interim death certificate or a letter from the coroner or a solicitor
- The person’s licence card and licence number
- Your own proof of identity
- Evidence that you are acting for the estate, such as the will, probate, letters of administration or a statutory declaration, if you are also dealing with a vehicle or a refund
How to tell them
Contact the road authority that issued the licence. Most accept the licence card in person at a service centre with a completed form and proof of death; some also accept certified documents by post.
Vehicle registration in the person’s name is a separate step with the same authority.
What happens next
The licence record is cancelled so the card cannot be used by anyone else. Vehicle registrations are dealt with separately, and each authority has its own rules about refunds of unused fees.
Each state and territory road authority has its own forms, accepted proof of death and process for vehicles and refunds.
The official page
Things change, so check their own page before you start: Service NSW: advising us of someone’s death (other states have their own page).
This is one of many. The tracker holds all of them.
The notification tracker lists every organisation most families have to tell, with a place to mark each one off and keep the reference number they give you. The checklist for the weeks after a death is free, with no account needed.
Checked against the official sources on 13 September 2026. General information, not advice. 18December is not affiliated with any organisation named on this page.