Pink slip and blue slip, side by side
| Pink slip | Blue slip | |
|---|---|---|
| Official name | Safety inspection report | Authorised Unregistered Vehicle Inspection Scheme (AUVIS) inspection |
| What it's for | Renewing the rego on a registered vehicle | Registering a vehicle that isn't currently on the NSW register |
| What it looks at | The vehicle's safety | Safety, design and identity standards |
| Who needs it | Most light vehicles more than 5 years old, every year | See the list below |
| Where it's done | An Authorised Inspection Scheme (AIS) station | An AIS station that does AUVIS work, with an examiner accredited by Transport for NSW |
| How long it's valid | 6 months | 42 days from the inspection |
Do I need a pink slip?
If your light vehicle is more than 5 years old, almost certainly yes, once a year. Your rego renewal notice will tell you when an inspection is needed, so that's the first thing to read.
The 5 years isn't counted from when you bought it. The NSW Government counts from the month and year on the compliance plate, or from the month and year of manufacture for an imported vehicle. A car that sat on a lot before you bought it can reach the limit sooner than you'd think.
Some vehicles sit outside the rule, including seasonally registered vehicles with a valid inspection in the last 12 months, and some historic and conditionally registered vehicles. If yours is one of those, read your renewal notice closely.
When you need a blue slip instead
- The rego has been expired for more than 3 months.
- The vehicle has come into NSW from another state, territory or country.
- It has no number plate.
- It's a written-off vehicle approved for re-registration.
- Sometimes, after a significant change to the registration record such as a new engine.
- Sometimes, to clear a defect notice.
What about a brand new car?
A new vehicle that's never been registered usually doesn't need an AUVIS inspection, as long as there's a Register of Approved Vehicles entry for it or a dealer registers it.
How to get a pink slip
Read the renewal notice
It says whether your vehicle needs an inspection this year.
Find an AIS station
Service NSW has a tool for finding one, and stations display AIS signs listing the checks they can do. Only an AIS station can do a safety check, so an ordinary service won't count unless the business is one.
Fix what you already know about
A blown globe, a bald tyre or a wiper that smears is quicker to sort out before the inspection than after it.
Have the inspection
If the vehicle passes, the NSW Government says the inspection details are sent to it electronically.
If it fails, repair it and go back
Repairs come before renewal. The NSW Government says that if you return to the same station within 14 days, no extra inspection fee applies. After that, you'll pay for another one.
Renew within 6 months
The report has to be used within 6 months, so there's room to do it before the rego falls due.
Beware of a slip that never saw the car
A slip issued without anyone looking at the vehicle isn't a shortcut you want. In a release dated 18 October 2026, the NSW Government said that since January 2026 it had audited 570 pink and blue slip providers over sight unseen slips, cancelling 127 licences, suspending 84 operators and warning 223.
Any offer to do it without bringing the car in is a reason to walk away. The inspection exists to catch the fault you can't see from the driver's seat.
Where a green slip fits in
A green slip is a different thing altogether. It's compulsory third party (CTP) insurance, which covers injuries caused in a motor vehicle accident, and you need one before you can register a vehicle in NSW. So a blue slip is about the vehicle, and a green slip is about insurance. An unregistered car needs both before it can go on the register.
A slip isn't a health check
Neither slip tells you how long the engine, gearbox or clutch has left. If you're buying a used car, a current pink slip means it was inspected for safety at that date, and that's all. For the rest, a mechanic's pre-purchase inspection looks at its condition more broadly.
If you've come from interstate, the words change as well. Victoria uses a roadworthy certificate, Queensland a safety certificate, and how long each one lasts is different in each state.
What you can check before the inspection
You can
- Walk around the car with the lights on and someone working the brake pedal and indicators.
- Look at the tread on all four tyres, and for cuts in the sidewalls.
- Check the windscreen for cracks and the wipers for a clean sweep.
- Click every seatbelt in and pull it out.
Leave to the mechanic
- The inspection itself, which only an AIS station can do.
- Brake, steering and suspension repairs after a failed report.
- Rust repairs in structural areas.
What we'd do
Look at the renewal notice first, then match the situation to the table. Registered and over 5 years old means a pink slip. Rego lapsed for more than 3 months or a car from interstate means a blue slip, and do that one close to the day you register because 42 days goes quickly. If you know something's wrong with the car, have it fixed first, so the inspection is a formality.
Before you drive an unregistered car
Before you take an unregistered vehicle anywhere, including to the inspection, check with Service NSW what you're allowed to do. Your insurance and the law both hang on it, so ask first.
If the car needs work before it can pass, tell us the job and the car. A local mechanic who specialises in your car.