DoT Dealer Online in WA: what it does and who can join

Dealer Online is the Western Australian Department of Transport's portal for licensed vehicle dealers. Approved dealerships use it to process licensing transactions themselves, online, instead of mailing forms or queueing at a counter. The department now goes by the Department of Transport and Major Infrastructure (DTMI), though the Dealer Online login still carries the DoT name, and this guide uses DoT throughout.

If you just need to log in, the member login is here: online.transport.wa.gov.au/dealerNetwork/dealer. It asks for your site code first. DoT's information page for the system is Dealer Online on Transport WA.

The rest of this guide covers what the portal does, who can join, and the part of a sale it leaves on paper. It is current as at October 2026 and is general information, not legal advice. DoT and Consumer Protection change their requirements from time to time, so check the linked pages before you rely on any of it.

Logging in: hours and authentication

Dealer Online is not open around the clock. You can log in Monday to Friday from 7:45am to 6:00pm, and Saturdays from 8:00am to 1:00pm. It is closed on public holidays.

To log in you need the free Microsoft Authenticator app on a phone or tablet, and you must be enrolled for multifactor authentication. DoT says this protects its systems and the confidential client information in them.

If something goes wrong, DoT's Business and Systems Support team takes calls Monday to Friday, 7:45am to 5:30pm, excluding public holidays. The information page does not list a phone number; the Contact Us link on the Dealer Online login page gives the support numbers and email for existing members. For applications, the published contact is dealerinterface@transport.wa.gov.au.

What Dealer Online lets you do

According to DoT's Dealer Online page, an approved dealer can:

• create and issue a registration for a factory new vehicle
• transfer a vehicle into the dealership's name when you acquire it in the normal course of business
• transfer a vehicle the dealership owns to a new owner
• pay transfer fees and adjustments
• renew registrations on vehicles the dealership owns
• change number plates on a vehicle, and reissue plates to another vehicle
• produce duplicate registration papers for a vehicle the dealership owns or used to own
• calculate the registration fee for a new registration
• delicence a vehicle by returning its number plates.

For a busy yard, the two transfers and new-vehicle registration are the big ones. They are the jobs that would otherwise mean a carbon form in the post or a staff member at a service centre.

Who can join

Dealer Online is open to vehicle dealerships, auction houses and trailer manufacturers. For a dealership or auction house, DoT lists these requirements:

• A current dealer licence. You must be licensed under the Motor Vehicle Dealers Act 1973, with the right class of licence to buy, sell or auction vehicles. That licence comes from Consumer Protection, not DoT.
• A licensed premises in WA, with a CAP number. That is a Certificate of Authorised Premises. Consumer Protection requires licensed dealers to hold a current one for their place of business.
• The right kind of business. Selling new or used licensed motor vehicles, motorbikes or caravans, or auctioning vehicles.
• At least 3 months trading in Western Australia.
• At least 25 transactions a month, which you need to be able to demonstrate.
• A current Bulk Licensing Permit, if you sell new vehicles. Used-only dealers do not need one.

DoT may also require a site inspection of your premises.

The Bulk Licensing Permit comes from DoT's Bulk Licensing Scheme. It lets a dealer certify the details and fitness of standard new vehicles for licensing without a vehicle inspection. You join by sending in a Bulk Licensing Nomination/Permit form (E177), which lists the people authorised to sign bulk licensing applications for the dealership.

How to apply

Email dealerinterface@transport.wa.gov.au and ask to join. DoT sends back an expression of interest form, a company details form and an information pack setting out the network's requirements.

Along with those you will need:

• details of your public liability and workers compensation insurance
• a National Police Clearance, no more than 3 months old, for every owner, partner and director, including directors of shareholding companies, if DoT asks for one.

If you are approved, the dealership signs a contract with the department setting out the terms of use, and you agree to follow Dealer Online's procedures and business rules.

Training

Before anyone can use the system, you nominate an employee to complete DoT's two-part training course:

1. an online eLearning module on policy and procedure, which takes about 2 hours
2. one day of practical training at the department's Innaloo office.

Your nominee needs to bring a National Police Clearance no more than 3 months old, and one form of primary identification.

If you are not on Dealer Online yet

Dealers outside the system do the same jobs on paper.

Selling a used vehicle. You complete the Vehicle Dealer's Notification of Change of Ownership form (MR9B), signed by you and the buyer, and mail the blue Seller's Copy to Driver and Vehicle Services within 7 days of the sale. Miss that and a $100 infringement may be issued. The buyer gets the red copy with the current licence papers, and DoT invoices them for the licence duty and transfer fee. The steps are on DoT's sell and transfer a vehicle page for dealers.

Licensing a new vehicle. An application to license a vehicle has to be lodged in person at a DoT service centre or regional agent. For a vehicle not previously licensed in WA, DoT says that you or an authorised dealership representative must present it, with proof of ownership. So the customer doesn't have to make the trip; someone from the dealership can, though the application still needs the customer's completed form and proof of identity. Dealers in the Bulk Licensing Scheme use an Application for Bulk Licensing (VL1A) instead, signed by someone named on the permit and also lodged in person.

What Dealer Online doesn't do

Dealer Online handles the licensing half of a sale: getting the vehicle onto, off or across DoT's register. Read down the list of what it does and you will notice what is missing. The sale itself is still the yard's job, and so is most of the paperwork that goes with it.

• Checking who your buyer is. None of the transactions on DoT's list is an identity check on the person buying. Confirming the buyer is who they say they are is still up to you.
• The sale contract. Dealer sale contracts must include the particulars, terms and conditions prescribed in the Motor Vehicle Dealers (Sales) Regulations 1974, and Consumer Protection says a contract becomes binding once both the buyer and the dealer have signed it.
• The used vehicle forms. Every second-hand vehicle, motorcycles included, needs a Form 4 with its particulars. The buyer must also be given a Form 5A statutory warranty statement, or a Form 6 if no warranty applies, before the sale. The forms are on Consumer Protection's prescribed sales forms page, and the warranty thresholds are on its car warranties page.
• Getting signatures without a visit. Dealer Online is something your staff log into, with a site code and MFA, and DoT describes nothing in it that reaches the customer. It won't put anything in front of the buyer to sign.

That list is where most of the back-and-forth in a sale sits. It is why a buyer who has already agreed a price can still end up driving across Perth just to sign.

This is the gap our online licensing product is built for. Your team enters the vehicle details and sends the customer a secure link. The customer fills in their own details, verifies their identity with Stripe Identity (their licence matched to a live selfie) and signs the licensing and contract documents online, and the completed paperwork lands back in your dealer queue. It does not log into Dealer Online for you: your team still lodges the transaction the way it does now. You can use it as a hosted portal alongside the website you already have, or have it built into a dealership website we make for you.

Common questions

Can the customer do the transfer themselves through DoTDirect? Not for a dealer sale. DoT's buyer's page says that when someone buys a licensed vehicle from a dealer, it is the dealer's responsibility to transfer the licence into their name. DoTDirect's online transfer also isn't available for vehicles being transferred to or from a company or organisation.

Does Dealer Online work for motorcycle dealers? Yes. DoT's eligibility list includes businesses selling new or used licensed motorbikes, alongside cars and caravans.

Can I process a sale on a Sunday? Not in Dealer Online. It is open on weekdays and Saturday mornings only, closed on public holidays, so a sale made on a Sunday waits until the next day it is open.

Do I need a Bulk Licensing Permit if I only sell used vehicles? No. DoT lists it as a requirement for new vehicle dealers only.

Is there a cooling-off period once the buyer signs? No. Consumer Protection says cooling-off periods don't apply to car purchase contracts in WA. If a buyer cancels after signing, the dealer can ask for pre-estimated damages, capped at 5% of the total purchase price, and they must be a genuine estimate of the dealer's loss.

Who do I contact about Dealer Online? DoT's published contact is dealerinterface@transport.wa.gov.au. Your dealer licence and CAP are handled by Consumer Protection, whose licensing advice line is 1300 304 064.