Which documents must the Portuguese seller hand over?
The Documento Único Automóvel brings together in one document the former título de registo de propriedade and the livrete. The oldest vehicles still travel with the two separate documents. The DUA follows the European model: type-variant-version (D.2), approval number (K), VIN in entry E. Ask for the invoice or the contrato de compra e venda with the VIN, and a certidão do registo automóvel from the Conservatória, which proves that the seller is the owner and that the vehicle is free of seizures (penhoras) and reservations.
The Portuguese matrícula is then cancelled at the IMT (form Modelo 9), on presentation of the DUA, a copy of your new registration certificate and the certidão. This step releases the seller from road tax; they will therefore ask you for a copy of your registration certificate.
Is the DUA enough for my registration authority?
As the foreign registration certificate, yes. On the conformity side, everything depends on its entries D.2 and K: complete and referring to an EC type approval, your authority may be satisfied with them; incomplete or national, the certificate of conformity is requested. The “single” nature of the document suggests there is nothing else to gather; that is only true as long as the vehicle stays in Portugal.
Two features of the Portuguese market matter. The country long imported its used cars from Germany and Belgium: a notable share of the vehicles on offer have already changed country and lost their COC on the way. And the network of small dealers keeps no manufacturer file: the certificate is not “hidden”, it was simply never archived on the seller’s side. The duplicate is requested from the manufacturer using the VIN, within ten years of manufacture; on entry-level models of the 2010s, that limit is approaching.
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 a Portuguese dealer, the invoice states “regime da margem” (nothing to pay at destination) or an exempt intra-Community transfer (VAT due in your country when you apply for clearance). Portugal levies the ISV at registration, which is not refunded on export: this has no effect on your file.
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 Portuguese inspeção periódica is a periodic test of another Member State, 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 from Portugal?
Portugal does not issue export plates to private individuals: the vehicle keeps its Portuguese plates until the matrícula is cancelled, which generally happens after registration in your country. The most common solution is transport on a trailer or an insured delivery driver, then the temporary registration your authority offers while the file is processed. Do not drive for long on Portuguese plates once you are resident in your country.
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.