Commercial Vehicle
ChangeA passenger vehicle purchased by a business or self-employed worker must be registered at the dealership or at an SAAQ service outlet.
What qualifies as a commercial vehicle
A commercial vehicle is a vehicle with a net weight of 3,000 kg or less. It is owned by a business, a self-employed worker or a natural person that uses it mainly for commercial or professional purposes.
This category may include, in particular, the following vehicles:
The business must be registered with the Registraire des entreprises (enterprise register), because you need to provide your Québec enterprise number (NEQ) to register your vehicle.
Before buying a used vehicle, check the Registre des droits personnels et réels mobiliers (register of personal and movable real rights—in French only) to make sure it is free of debt. If you buy a vehicle that has not been paid for in full, it can be seized by the creditor.
You can also request a copy of the vehicle record from the SAAQ to find out:
To obtain a copy of the vehicle record, you can:
If the buyer or the seller has an unpaid fine for an offence under the Highway Safety Code or under a municipal traffic or parking bylaw.
The Bureau des infractions et amendes and the municipal courts are responsible for collecting fines. You cannot pay a fine at an SAAQ service outlet.
To check whether the vehicle can be registered, you can use our online service. You will be charged a fee for this service.
It cannot be put back into operation until it has undergone a mechanical inspection carried out by a certified business and a mechanical inspection certificate has been issued confirming that the vehicle meets the applicable standards.
Registration at the dealership is carried out when the vehicle is delivered to the buyer.
If the dealer uses the SAAQclic-Commerçants service, registration can be carried out on site. This saves time, since you do not have to come to one of our service outlets.
If the dealer does not use this service, the buyer is given a temporary registration certificate which will provide enough time to come to a service outlet to register the vehicle.
In both cases, the person registering the vehicle must present his or her driver’s licence or another official photo ID document.
The buyer and the seller – or their representatives – must present their driver's licence or another official photo ID document.
To find out which documents are necessary for the calculation of QST, call Revenu Québec:
The buyer must present the Attestation de transaction avec un commerçant and Description du véhicule neuf forms given by the dealer.
The documents you must present when you register your vehicle are different depending on the person or business from which you bought it. In any case, you must indicate the vehicle's odometer reading.
| Bought from a dealership | Bought from an individual | Bought from a business or a self-employed worker registered for the GST and QST |
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Phone us to find out what documents to bring when registering the vehicle.
The person registering the vehicle will have to present the original copy of a document authorizing that person to act on its behalf.
A vehicle from outside Québec is considered to be an imported vehicle, which means there are other documents the buyer will have to provide so that we can verify whether the vehicle can be used in Québec. Refer to Registering a vehicle from outside Québec section for more information.
To find out the cost to have a commercial vehicle registered, visit the Rates and Fines section.
At our service outlets, we accept payment:
Payment by credit card is not accepted.
Whether the vehicle is new or used, the buyer must pay the GST and QST if the vehicle is bought from a dealership, business or self-employed worker registered for the GST and QST.
For more information, phone Revenu Québec.
If the vehicle is purchased from an individual, the buyer is only required to pay the QST.
The business must have a civil liability insurance policy contracted from a private insurer providing minimum coverage of $50,000.
If the business' vehicle is not insured and it is pulled over by the police or involved in an accident that causes more than $500 in damage to the property of another party:
The business remains the owner and liable for the vehicle until...
The vehicle is registered in the buyer's name.
This means that should the buyer commit an offence or be involved in an accident with a vehicle that is still registered in the business' name, it is the business who would be held responsible.
Last update: May 16, 2022
