Owners of personal electric vehicles will have to register them with local councils under a single set of rules, after the government approved regulation on registering personal electric vehicles, the government press office says.

The rules spell out how to register a vehicle, who can apply and what documents they need. They also set out what mayors must do, and for the register under article 80a, paragraph 5 of the Road Traffic Act, they lay down how the data must be structured and what it must contain.

The rules also cover how to record a change in circumstances, and how registration can be stopped or reinstated. Applications and declarations will use standard forms.

The rules take effect three days after they are published in the State Gazette, except for chapters two and four, which take effect 12 months after publication.

Registration will make roads safer and make it easier to check vehicles, because it will show which vehicle it is and who owns it, the government press office says.

The 12-month window gives local councils time to set up the staff, systems and paperwork they need for the new rules, and to get their offices ready, the press office says. During that time, owners must register their vehicles before the rules fully kick in and before anyone can be fined for not following them.