Which documents must the Swiss seller hand over?
The Fahrzeugausweis (permis de circulation), a grey document, is the Swiss registration certificate. It shows the chassis number (VIN), the Swiss type approval number and the technical data. When selling abroad, the seller deposits the plates, which belong to them, at the cantonal road traffic office, which cancels the permit and hands it back to you annotated. Insist on the invoice or contract with the VIN, the latest inspection report (periodic test) and, if it exists, the certificate of conformity handed over at the first sale.
The vehicle is then exported through Swiss customs (export declaration, which allows a dealer to sell free of Swiss VAT) and imported through the customs of your country: payment of VAT and any duty, issue of the import document.
Do I need a certificate of conformity for a Swiss car?
In practice, yes. The Swiss Fahrzeugausweis refers to a Swiss type approval, not to an EC approval readable in entry K: your registration authority cannot tie the vehicle to a European type without the COC. Switzerland having aligned its technical requirements with those of the Union, almost all vehicles sold new in Switzerland through the official network match an EC type-approved type, and the manufacturer issues the certificate from the VIN, as a paper duplicate, within ten years of manufacture.
Two exceptions to spot before buying. Vehicles imported from the United States into Switzerland, tolerated by Swiss approval and frequent on American and German brands: no EC type approval, individual approval in your country. And vehicles whose Swiss configuration differs from the European type (specific engines or equipment): the manufacturer flags it when the request is made. Our VIN check settles it for free.
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 origin: a vehicle built in the Union and then sold in Switzerland may, under conditions and with supporting documents, benefit from returned-goods relief; a vehicle of third-country origin is taxed. Import VAT is due in every case. A Swiss dealer, for their part, recovers Swiss VAT on export.
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 Swiss cantonal inspection (periodic test) is not recognised: a recent roadworthiness test in your country is required for a vehicle old enough to be subject to periodic testing.
How to bring the car home without Swiss plates?
Once the plates have been returned to the canton, the vehicle can no longer be driven under Swiss registration. The most common solution is transport on a trailer to the customs office and then to your home. Ask the cantonal road traffic office about temporary plates for an export journey. In your country, apply for the temporary registration your authority offers as soon as the customs document is obtained.
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.