Transferring a car, camper, (mini) bus, (light) truck, or trailer from an EU country to Belgium

• Is the European type approval stated on the foreign registration certificate and registered? The inspection of second-hand vehicle is performed if the European type approval number (WVTA number) is stated in section K and/or K1 of the previous registration certificate. If the European type approval number is not specifically stated in section K of the registration certificate, a validation procedure will have to be started.

• European type approval and registered, but subsequently modified? Then you should apply for an individual approval certificate (in Dutch) in Belgium. Was the modification a tuning? Then you must, in certain cases, apply for a validation certificate for car tuning.
• No European type approval, but registered in the other EU country? Then you should request a validation procedure in Belgium.
• No European type approval and not registered in the other EU country? Then you have 2 options:
  • The vehicle must have a permanent registration in the EU country. You must subsequently request a validation procedure, since your vehicle does not have a European type approval.
  • For non-registration in the EU country, you can request an individual approval procedure in Belgium.
• Individual approval certificate from that EU country and registered? Then you must first have the vehicle validated in an inspection centre and then have it subjected to a technical inspection.

Does the vehicle have a European type approval and a registration certificate? Then you can transfer it to Belgium with these documents:

• purchase invoice, purchase receipt, sales agreement, gift document or deed or will with statement of:
  • the price excluding VAT
  • name, first name and full address of the purchaser and seller
  • details about the vehicle: make, model, type, fuel, chassis number, year of construction, cylinder capacity, engine power, taxable horsepower (hp), date of first registration and odometer reading
  • method of payment
  • and delivery date.
• complete original foreign vehicle registration certificate, better known in Belgium as the registration certificate (Dutch: inschrijvingsbewijs) or the pink card (Dutch: roze kaart). Please note that the certificate sometimes consists of several parts. Nothing may be written on it.

You must insure the vehicle for the trip to Belgium with an insurance company in the EU.

• Transport your vehicle with a trailer or use a transport company.
• Drive to Belgium with temporary number plates or transit plates. You apply for these in the country where you purchase the vehicle. The brochure ‘Transit plates in the European Union’ (in Dutch)(opens in new window) contains a summary of prices and procedures in the various European countries.

New vehicle or not?

If you transfer a vehicle from an EU country to Belgium, you must always visit a customs office to make sure that your vehicle is in order for tax purposes. A distinction is made between new and not-new vehicles. These definitions apply in all EU Member States.

What is a new vehicle for customs?

• Your vehicle has not driven more than 6,000 km
• or the delivery takes place within 6 months of the first use of the vehicle, regardless of the mileage or the year of construction.

Visit a customs office that is authorised to draw up an E705 vignette: (in Dutch)(opens in new window)

• Applying for the E705 vignette at the counter: take the purchase receipt, the gift documents or the will with you, including the original registration certificate.

Have you, according to customs, purchased a new vehicle? Then you must pay 21% VAT in the customs office if:

• both you and the seller are private individuals
• you are a private individual, the seller is liable to VAT and the vehicle is motorised.

You do not pay VAT in the customs office if:

• you are liable to VAT. You include the VAT in your periodical tax return.
• you are a private individual and the vehicle is not new or the vehicle is non-motorised.

You will receive the pink form from customs. This is the application for registration of a vehicle. Once you have paid the VAT, customs will draw up an E705. You will receive a report as proof. Your vehicle is now in order for tax purposes.

The purchaser stated on the invoice must visit customs. If you send someone else, you must give that person a power of attorney.

Any vehicle that you transfer must be given a technical inspection in Belgium before you can have it registered. This also includes oldtimers. You will need the following documents:

• the registration form
• the complete original registration certificate.

Additional documents you can present:

• the foreign inspection certificate if that is not yet 2 months old
• the certificate of conformity (COC).

Which inspection centres can you use for your imported vehicle?

• Vehicles from certain categories (such as cars and agricultural tractors) which were first taken into use before 15 June 1968 and other categories which were first taken into use before 22 May 1947 can go to any inspection centre for an import procedure. No appointment is required for this;
• Vehicles from certain categories (cars and agricultural tractors) which were first taken into use after 15 June 1968 and all other categories which were first taken into use after 22 May 1947 and without a European approval can undergo an import procedure in one of the following inspection centres. Contact the inspection centre by telephone and make an appointment in advance:
  • Autoveiligheid (region Antwerp and Limburg): 014/57 86 00
  • SBAT (region East Flanders): 09/321 76 20
  • KM (region West Flanders): 059/55 27 70
  • AIBV (region Flemish Brabant): 02/559 09 99.

The procedure for technical inspection depends on the type of approval certificate:

• Does your vehicle have a European type approval?

Then make an appointment with an inspection centre for an inspection of a second-hand vehicle. Did the last foreign inspection take place in the name of the holder and does the inspection certificate date from less than 2 months ago? Then they will perform a visual inspection. In all other cases an inspection of a second-hand vehicle is required. When the vehicle is approved technically, you will receive a valid inspection certificate with which you can register the vehicle.

• Does your vehicle have a national individual approval certificate from another EU Member State?

The inspection centre will first perform the validation of the vehicle. The vehicle will then undergo an inspection of a second-hand vehicle. When you make an appointment, ask whether the inspection centre can combine the validation procedure and the inspection of a second-hand vehicle.

• Make an appointment with an inspection centre.
• Take the original registration certificate with you.
• The inspection centre will forward the technical details of the vehicle to the Approval Unit (Dutch: cel Homologatie) of the Department of Mobility and Public Works. The unit will then draw up the validation certificate and return it to the inspection centre. The inspection centre will notify you when the validation certificate is ready.

Take the pink registration form to your insurance broker or insurer for your car insurance. If you so wish, your agent can also handle the online registration for you with the Vehicle Registration Service (DIV) (Dutch: Dienst voor Inschrijvingen van Voertuigen). (in Dutch)(opens in new window) This will mean you no longer have to visit the DIV.

Would you prefer to handle the registration with the DIV yourself? You should then always make an appointment first and take the following documents with you:

• the complete original registration certificate
• the pink registration form
• a copy of the purchase receipt, the gift deed or the will
• the vignette issued by your insurer in section Z as proof of your car insurance.

The law does not actually state when you have to visit the DIV. But it is best if you do so as quickly as possible, since anyone who is registered in the population or aliens’ register and uses a vehicle on the road is obliged, under Belgian law, to register that vehicle with the DIV. If you only use the vehicle on private property, therefore not on the public road, registration is not mandatory.

From the moment you use a vehicle on the public road in Belgium, you must pay vehicle registration tax (Dutch: belasting op de inverkeerstelling/BIV). The Flemish Tax Service (Dutch: Vlaamse Belastingdienst) calculates that tax according to:

• environmental characteristics, including the Euro emission standard
• the age of the vehicle.

You can use the road tax simulation to calculate approximately how much road tax you will be required to pay.

Overview of fees for transferring a vehicle from an EU country to Belgium (2020):

• Electronic customs E705 vignette: free of charge
• Validation certificate: 75 euros
• Inspection: Go to the adjusted fees for technical inspection. (in Dutch)
• Registration:
  • number plate European model: 30 euros
  • number plate Belgian model: 26 euros.