Which documents must the Swedish seller hand over?
The Swedish registration certificate, the registreringsbevis, consists of two documents: Del 1, blue, with the technical data, and Del 2, yellow, used for changes of owner and for de-registration. Without the most recent Del 2, nothing can be done with Transportstyrelsen. Insist on both, the invoice or the köpekontrakt with the VIN, and consult Transportstyrelsen’s free Fordonsuppgifter service: status (i trafik or avställd), periodic test, debts attached to the vehicle.
For an export to a country of the Union, the de-registration (avregistrering vid export) is declared on a form or on a copy of Del 2; the vehicle ceases to exist in the Swedish register. If you live abroad, you can apply for a tillfällig registrering: Transportstyrelsen sends a decision, a certificate and special plates showing the expiry date.
Do I need a certificate of conformity for a Swedish car?
Look at entries D.2 and K of Del 1: complete and referring to an EC type approval, your registration authority may be satisfied with them; the number carried over is sometimes national, and the certificate of conformity is then requested. Sweden applies European type approval: the COC exists for every vehicle sold new in the country, including Volvos built in Gothenburg or Ghent. See Volvo certificate of conformity.
Swedish vehicles often carry “Nordic” equipment (engine heater, heated seats, winter tyres) that changes nothing about the approval. Do check the category, however: light commercial vehicles derived from estates also exist in Sweden (lätt lastbil), with an N1 COC.
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 Swedish dealer, the invoice states “vinstmarginalbeskattning” (margin scheme: nothing to pay at destination) or an exempt intra-Community supply (VAT due in your country when you apply for clearance). Unpaid fordonsskatt and parking fines follow the vehicle, not only the owner: have them settled before the sale.
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 Swedish kontrollbesiktning 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: temporary export registration
A buyer living abroad can apply to Transportstyrelsen for a temporary registration for export with special plates whose expiry date is printed on the plate, together with insurance. This is the solution designed for driving the vehicle to the country of destination. Failing that, a trailer. On arrival, the temporary registration your authority offers 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.