Which documents must the Belgian seller hand over?
The Belgian registration certificate is issued by the DIV in two parts on recent models: one travels with the vehicle, the other stays with the holder. Insist on both. The seller of a used vehicle must also give you the Car-Pass, an official document tracing the mileage history, along with the invoice or sales contract.
A Belgian particularity: the certificate of conformity (gelijkvormigheidsattest) is requested at registration in the country. It has therefore been produced at least once; it has often been archived by a leasing company or an employer, the Belgian market being dominated by company cars. If it cannot be found, we request it from the manufacturer using the VIN. The Belgian roadworthiness report, in particular the “second-hand” test that precedes a sale between private individuals, is a good indicator of the vehicle’s condition.
Is the Belgian certificate of conformity enough for my authority?
Yes, provided it really is the certificate of conformity from the manufacturer: it is a European document, recognised in every Member State. Check that it carries the VIN of your vehicle and the EC type-approval number. Certificates drawn up by a third party or the old national approval reports do not replace it.
If the certificate of conformity is missing, look at the Belgian registration certificate: when 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, as a paper duplicate, within ten years of manufacture. One point to read before buying: the category and the number of seats. An estate or MPV approved as a two-seat N1 with a partition will remain a van in your country; the COC describes that configuration and nobody can change it on paper.
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.
Many Belgian vehicles are sold by companies (leasing, fleets). The invoice then carries Belgian VAT, or an exempt intra-Community supply if you buy as a business; a private individual pays Belgian VAT included and has nothing to pay at destination, except for a new means of transport.
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.
How to bring the car home without Belgian plates?
In Belgium, the plate belongs to the holder, not to the vehicle. At the sale, the seller keeps it for their next vehicle or returns it to the DIV for cancellation. The car is therefore handed to you without plates. Two solutions: transport on a trailer, or a temporary registration issued in Belgium for export (transit plates), to be requested before departure together with insurance. On arrival, the temporary registration of your country lets you drive if the file is not complete.
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.