Which documents must the Austrian seller hand over?
The Zulassungsschein, a plastic card or the older paper format, is the Austrian registration certificate. It is accompanied by the Typenschein on older vehicles, or by a Genehmigungsdatenauszug, an extract from the approval database, on recent vehicles. These documents carry the technical characteristics and serve as the reference for Austrian registration; the seller needs the Typenschein for the de-registration.
At the sale, the seller does the Abmeldung at a Zulassungsstelle (run by the insurance companies), hands in the plates and gives you the cancelled Zulassungsschein, the Typenschein or the extract, the invoice or Kaufvertrag with the VIN, and the latest § 57a Begutachtung report (the “Pickerl”). The latter tells you about the condition of the vehicle; it is a periodic test of another Member State, recognised while valid.
Does the Typenschein replace the certificate of conformity?
No. The Typenschein is an Austrian national document, drawn up by the general importer; the approval data extract has replaced it on recent vehicles. It fulfils a function close to the COC locally, which explains why an Austrian buyer has almost never needed the European certificate and why the seller will hand you the Typenschein thinking they are giving you the equivalent. If your file calls for the certificate of conformity, the Typenschein will not replace it.
Look first at the Zulassungsschein: when its entries D.2 and K are complete and refer to an EC type approval, your registration authority may be satisfied with it. Otherwise, we obtain the COC from the manufacturer using the VIN. The Austrian fleet is largely made up of Volkswagen Group vehicles and German premium brands, often four-wheel drive: the approval data are well kept and the drivetrain appears on the certificate. See Audi and Volkswagen.
VAT and tax clearance: what the tax office expects for a vehicle bought in the Union
A vehicle bought in another Member State is not cleared through customs: it falls under intra-Community VAT rules. Two situations:
- New means of transport (less than six months since first registration or less than 6,000 km): VAT is due in the country where you register the vehicle, at that country’s standard rate, even when you buy from a private individual. A dealer then invoices you without VAT.
- Used vehicle: no VAT in your country if you buy from a private individual. From a dealer, VAT is either included in the price (margin scheme, stated on the invoice) or charged in your country when the sale is made VAT-free as an intra-Community supply.
In both cases, most registration authorities want proof that the vehicle’s VAT position is in order before they issue the registration certificate: a tax clearance certificate in France (quitus fiscal), the e-705 customs signal in Belgium, the vignette 705 in Luxembourg, the BPM declaration in the Netherlands, the VRT appointment with Revenue in Ireland. Ask your authority which form applies and obtain it before filing. VAT rules on Your Europe.
Austria levies the NoVA (Normverbrauchsabgabe) at registration, partly refundable to the seller on export under conditions that were recently tightened. That is the seller’s business, but they will ask you for proof of the new registration. From a dealer, the invoice states Differenzbesteuerung (margin scheme) or an exempt intra-Community supply (VAT due at destination).
Roadworthiness test: what your registration authority accepts
Most authorities ask for a valid roadworthiness certificate for a vehicle old enough to be subject to periodic testing (four years in most countries). A test passed in a centre approved in your own country is the safe route; a test passed in another Member State must be recognised as long as it is still valid under the frequency rules of Directive 2014/45/EU, but tests from outside the Union (British MOT, Swiss cantonal inspection) are not. Some countries, Belgium and the Netherlands among them, add a specific import inspection that checks the vehicle against its approval data.
A roadworthiness test checks the condition of the vehicle, not its conformity with the approved type: it replaces neither the certificate of conformity nor entries D.2 and K of the foreign registration certificate.
The “Pickerl” (§ 57a) is the Austrian periodic test, recognised while valid; a recent test in your own country remains the safe route for a vehicle old enough to be subject to periodic testing.
How to bring the car home: Überstellungskennzeichen
Austria issues Überstellungskennzeichen, blue plates with white characters intended for driving a de-registered vehicle home, with temporary insurance, at a Zulassungsstelle. Their recognition abroad is not universal: check with the Zulassungsstelle that they are valid for the journey to your country, or opt for a trailer. On arrival, the temporary registration your authority offers takes over.
Once the vehicle has been de-registered in its country of origin, its old plates no longer cover it. Most countries offer a temporary registration while the file is being completed (the WW provisional certificate in France, transit or temporary plates elsewhere) or expect you to trailer the vehicle until the definitive certificate is issued. Ask your registration authority what exists and how long it lasts: temporary registrations are short and rarely extended, so gather the certificate of conformity and the roadworthiness test first.
Documents usually requested: proof of ownership (invoice or contract), ID, proof of address, the foreign registration certificate or the official document that replaces it, and proof of insurance. The vehicle must be insured from the first kilometre, including for the journey home on the export plates of the country of origin.
Registration taxes: what you pay when you file
Most countries levy one or more taxes at first registration on their territory, paid when the application is filed:
- a one-off registration tax based on CO₂ emissions, engine capacity, power or list price, with an age-related reduction for a used vehicle already registered abroad (VRT in Ireland, BPM in the Netherlands, the malus in France, the tax on entry into service in Belgium);
- an administrative fee for the certificate and the plates, and sometimes a postage charge;
- in some countries a weight-based component, or a regional tax proportional to fiscal horsepower;
- then the annual road tax, which starts with the registration.
The certificate of conformity supplies precisely the values that serve as the tax base: WLTP CO₂, masses, power. An NEDC figure read from an old document can distort your estimate. Our calculators give an order of magnitude; the taxable value is set by the administration. Car taxes across the Union, on Your Europe.
How do I file the registration application?
The application is filed with the registration authority of the country where you live: online in France (ANTS), through your insurer’s WebDIV access in Belgium, at the SNCA in Luxembourg, at an RDW inspection station in the Netherlands, at an NCTS centre in Ireland, at the local Zulassungsstelle in Germany. You present or upload the documents, pay the taxes, and receive a provisional or definitive registration certificate that lets you have plates made.
Our step-by-step guide details the documents, the order of the formalities and the Belgian, Luxembourg, Swiss, German and Dutch variants.