The Transport Department (TD) said today (January 5) that the Government has completed the review on the process of issuing the Certificate of Particulars of Vehicle (the Certificate). The TD will implement the following refined arrangements from January 8 onwards:
(A) The TD will state the purposes of establishing the register of vehicles (the Register), which are:
(1) regulating the use of vehicles;
(2) enabling the law enforcement agencies to discharge their responsibilities; and
(3) providing relevant information to persons directly affected by the ownership or use of a vehicle who as a result need to ascertain the particulars of that vehicle.
(B) In accordance with the purposes for which the Register is established, the TD will specify the conditions under which it will only issue the Certificate as follows:
(1) The applicant is the registered owner of the vehicle; or
(2) The applicant declares that he has obtained the written consent of the registered vehicle owner concerned to acquire the relevant Certificate, and that such information would only be used for purpose(s) as specified in the written consent of the registered vehicle owner concerned. The applicant must also state to the TD the identity document number/Certificate of Incorporation Number/Company Registration Number of the vehicle owner, and such information provided should conform with the records maintained by the TD; or
(3) The applicant declares that his (or his principal's) interests are directly affected by the ownership or use of the vehicle, and therefore needs to ascertain the particulars of that vehicle, and that such information would only be used for the following specified purpose(s), including:
(a) sale and purchase of vehicle;
(b) insurance claims;
(c) compensation/claims;
(d) rectification of improper presence of the vehicle;
(e) recover of fees/fines/charges and payment of loan involving a vehicle;
(f) legal proceedings involving the vehicle; and
(g) safety recalls.
(C) With respect to the application procedures, the TD will continue to accept both existing means of application by way of paper-based application forms or online submissions. At the same time, the TD will issue the "Guidance Notes on the Applications for a Certificate of Particulars of Vehicle" (the Guidance Notes) concerning the arrangements for the application for a Certificate, to provide details on the application procedures, the interpretation and examples of the specified purposes for which a Certificate could be issued, points to note, etc., for applicants' reference.
(D) In case the applicant considers that his application does not meet the aforementioned specified conditions but there is a need to ascertain the registered particulars of a vehicle due to other circumstances that involve the ownership or uses of the vehicle and significant public interest, and wishes the Commissioner for Transport to give special consideration for issuance of a Certificate, the applicant may make an application under exceptional circumstances through a written submission. The details of making an application under exceptional circumstances are also available in the Guidance Notes. Paper-based application forms and online applications are not applicable to applications under exceptional circumstances.
(E) The TD or the law enforcement agencies may conduct checks on applications as necessary. The TD may also conduct random checks on applications within two years from the dates of issuance of the Certificates. Applicants are required to retain all relevant supporting documents/information during the aforementioned period, which may be subject to checking in the future.
(F) Starting from January 2021, the TD launched the email notification service for "the issue of the Certificate of Particulars of Vehicle" that allows individual registered vehicle owners to be notified when an applicant has obtained their personal data from the Certificate. Under the refined arrangements, the TD will extend the above service to all registered vehicle owners, including those registered in the name of companies. In cases where the TD has issued a Certificate of a vehicle registered in the name of a vehicle owner who has subscribed to the service, the TD will notify him by email that a Certificate has been issued for an application concerning a vehicle registered in his name and set out the details of the application concerned.
Upon implementation of the refined arrangements, the application process for a Certificate will be enhanced. The TD will be able to further minimise the risk of potential misuse or abuse of the information kept in the Register, and step up the protection of registered vehicle owners' privacy.
The details of the refined arrangements, the revised Form TD318 (Rev. 01/2024) and the Guidance Notes have been uploaded to the TD's webpage (www.td.gov.hk/en/public_services/licences_and_permits/rovaiocovp/index.html). The revised Form TD318 (Rev. 01/2024), as well as the Guidance Notes, will also be available from the TD's four Licensing Offices starting from January 8.
To accommodate the implementation of the refined arrangements, the arrangements for submission of applications for a Certificate are as follows:
(A) The online service for the application for a Certificate will be suspended from 5pm on January 5 to 8.59am on January 8 for system updates. The service will resume from 9am on January 8, accepting online applications; and
(B) The revised Form TD318 (Rev. 01/2024) will be in use starting from the implementation date of the refined arrangements, i.e. January 8. From January 8, the TD will only accept applications using the revised Form TD318 (Rev. 01/2024) (except for applications under exceptional circumstances). From January 8, if the existing version of the Form TD318 (Rev. 10/2019) is used for an application, the TD will not process the application and will return it to the applicant.