A registered vehicle owner was fined HK$3,000 at Fanling Magistrates’ Court on 31 August 2026 after the vehicle remained unlicensed for about 44 months, in Hong Kong’s first conviction under new rules governing long-unlicensed vehicles.
The Transport Department said the case was the first conviction since the rules took effect and welcomed the court’s decision. The measures target vehicles that remain unlicensed for long periods and could be improperly abandoned.
For a vehicle that has been unlicensed for two years or more, the department sends a notice to the registered owner. Within three months of the notice being issued, the owner must license the vehicle, scrap it, or permanently remove it from Hong Kong and submit documents to cancel its registration. Failure to take one of these steps is an offence.
A first conviction carries a maximum fine of HK$10,000 and three months’ imprisonment. Subsequent convictions can result in a maximum fine of HK$25,000 and six months’ imprisonment. These are statutory maximums and were not the sentence imposed in this case.
The department said an unlicensed vehicle remains registered in its owner’s name, and the owner is responsible for complying with the rules and dealing with the vehicle properly.
If a convicted owner does not pay the fine, the department may, under a court order, refuse to issue or renew the person’s driving licence, process transfer notices for the vehicle or other vehicles registered in the owner’s name, or issue a licence for the relevant vehicle.
The department advises owners to use the online Licence Easy platform to check the licence expiry dates of vehicles registered in their names.