Which documents must the Italian seller hand over?
Since its reform, Italy issues a Documento Unico di Circolazione e di Proprietà (DU) that merges the former carta di circolazione and the certificato di proprietà. Older vehicles still travel with the two separate documents. The carta di circolazione (or the DU) carries the harmonised technical data, including the type-variant-version (D.2) and the approval number (K).
Before the sale, have a visura PRA drawn up: it reveals a fermo amministrativo (immobilisation for debt) or a lien that would block the export. After the sale, the radiazione per esportazione is requested at the PRA through the ACI or an STA counter: plates and document are deposited, and you receive a DU annotated “ceased circulation for export”, not valid for driving but essential for your registration authority. If your country has already registered the vehicle and kept the documents, the ACI accepts a declaration to that effect.
Do I need a certificate of conformity for an Italian car?
The Italian carta di circolazione generally shows the approval number in entry K and the type-variant-version in D.2. When K is an EC type-approval number (e3*…), your registration authority may be satisfied with the document. When it refers to an Italian omologazione nazionale, frequent on older vehicles, the COC is requested.
Two realities of the Italian market weigh on the file. The age of the fleet: Fiat 500s, Pandas and Alfa Romeos over ten years old are legion, and article 36 of Regulation (EU) 2018/858 only binds the manufacturer to issue a duplicate for ten years after manufacture; beyond that, we ask the manufacturer before invoicing anything. The bodywork: Italy is the home of the Ducato and the Iveco Daily, the base of most motorhomes and converted vans; the manufacturer documents the chassis, the converter issues the certificate for the conversion. See our pages on motorhomes and vans.
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.
From an Italian dealer, the invoice states “regime del margine” (margin-scheme VAT: nothing to pay at destination) or shows IVA; a VAT-free intra-Community supply means VAT due in your country when you apply for clearance.
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 Italian revisione is a periodic test of another Member State, recognised while valid; a recent test passed in your own country remains the safe route if your authority is strict.
How to bring the car home after de-registration?
Once de-registered for export, the vehicle no longer has valid Italian plates. The Motorizzazione can issue a foglio di via with a temporary plate for a specific journey, but the most common solution remains transport on a trailer to your country, then the temporary registration your authority offers if the file is not complete. You may also register the vehicle in your country first and have it de-registered in Italy afterwards on presentation of your new registration certificate.
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.