Which documents must the British seller hand over?
The British registration document is the V5C, the logbook issued by the DVLA. For a permanent export, the seller fills in the “permanent export” section, detaches it and sends it to the DVLA; they give you the rest of the V5C, essential for registration in your country. The V5C itself states that it is not proof of ownership: insist on an invoice or a sales contract with the VIN.
Check the MOT history for free on the British government website (mileage in miles at each test, defects recorded) and have a history service confirm that the vehicle has not been classed as a write-off (categories S or N) or financed. A dealer can sell free of British VAT for export; keep the proof that the vehicle left the territory.
EC approval or British approval: the point that decides everything
Vehicles sold new in the United Kingdom before the end of the transition period have an EC type approval, often granted by the British authority (e11 numbers): the certificate of conformity exists at the manufacturer and every registration authority accepts it as for any European vehicle. The V5C shows the approval number; the authority nevertheless handles the file as a third-country import, with the customs document.
Vehicles whose type was approved in the United Kingdom after Brexit (GB approval) have no EC type approval: the manufacturer cannot issue a European COC and your country requires an individual approval from its national approval authority. The same applies to vehicles that went through British Individual Vehicle Approval. Our VIN check tells you before the purchase which side of the line the vehicle is on. See Land Rover, Jaguar and Mini, the brands most concerned.
VAT and customs clearance: a vehicle from a country outside the European Union
The vehicle goes through customs in your country (or at the first point of entry into the Union). You pay import VAT at the standard rate on the value of the vehicle plus transport, and customs duty at the rate applicable to vehicles unless a preferential agreement applies: the agreements between the Union and the United Kingdom and Switzerland exempt vehicles that meet the rules of origin, on presentation of proof of origin. A vehicle manufactured in the Union and re-imported may, under conditions, benefit from returned-goods relief.
Customs hands you the import clearance document (certificate 846A in France, the customs declaration or its equivalent elsewhere), which your registration authority requires instead of intra-EU tax clearance. A used vehicle is taxed even when bought from a private individual; a dealer, for its part, can sell free of local VAT for export. Registering a vehicle bought abroad, on Your Europe.
Customs duty depends on the origin of the vehicle: a vehicle of British origin within the meaning of the EU–UK agreement is exempt on proof of origin; a vehicle built outside the United Kingdom and the Union is taxed. Import VAT is due in every case, including on a purchase from a private individual. A British dealer, for their part, can sell free of VAT for export. Buyers registering in Ireland should note the specific customs arrangements for vehicles coming through Northern Ireland.
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 British MOT is not recognised: a roadworthiness test in your country is compulsory. It checks in particular that the headlamps light the road for driving on the right (adjustment or replacement of the units), that the speedometer shows km/h and that the rear fog lamp is correctly positioned. Buyers in Ireland or Malta, who drive on the left, keep the British configuration.
How to bring the car home and drive in your country?
The British plates physically stay on the vehicle, and the seller’s insurance stops at the sale. For the journey, take out temporary insurance covering the crossing and the arrival, or have the vehicle transported. Once resident in your country with a customs-cleared vehicle, do not drive for long on British plates: apply for the temporary registration your authority offers as soon as the customs document is obtained, while waiting for the missing documents (COC, roadworthiness test).
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.