Importing a Vehicle and Getting Austrian Plates in 2026
Registering a vehicle with foreign plates in Austria can involve several separate authorities, documents and fees. This guide explains the process step by step, based on a practical vehicle-registration experience.
How long can you use foreign plates in Austria?
If you habitually live in Austria, you may use a vehicle with foreign plates for a maximum of 1 month from the first import. After that, the vehicle must be registered in Austria. If you can credibly prove that registration could not be completed within this period, you may use the vehicle for one additional month.
Whether you have a Hauptwohnsitz or Nebenwohnsitz is not decisive. The important question is where you habitually live. Special circumstances may apply to people who commute across the border.
Step 0: Make sure the vehicle is roadworthy
Austria has strict inspection requirements, and older vehicles generally need inspections more frequently. For passenger cars, the 3-2-1 rule applies: the first inspection is due 3 years after first registration, the second 2 years later, and then every year.
If the foreign inspection remains valid for longer, the Austrian deadline still applies. The due month is based on the month of the vehicle’s first registration. For example, a vehicle first registered on 2014.07.08 has an Austrian inspection deadline every July. The deadline is set by month rather than by exact day.
There is a four-month grace period after the expiry date for completing the inspection, and you may also have the inspection carried out during the month before expiry. Other countries often do not recognise this grace period, so when driving abroad, use the vehicle only until the end of the month shown on the inspection sticker.
Step 1: Obtain the EU CoC certificate
You need a Certificate of conformity, or CoC, for registration. This is an A4 document containing the vehicle’s technical details, emissions data and other information.
The certificate can be requested from the vehicle manufacturer’s representative in the country of previous registration. In the described case, it was issued and posted free of charge to an address in that country after the registration document had been scanned and sent by email.
Step 2: Complete the technical inspection
Find a nearby 57a Prüfstelle and have the vehicle inspected. The inspection can be completed even if the vehicle still has foreign plates. If everything is in order, the confirmation is issued using the vehicle identification number.
Bring the foreign registration document with you. The cost in the example was 75€, although fees vary between inspection stations.
Step 3: Enter the vehicle in the Genehmigungsdatenbank
Contact the vehicle manufacturer’s representative in Austria. Some representatives are authorised to enter vehicles in the Austrian approval database, the Genehmigungsdatenbank. If the representative is not authorised or does not complete the entry promptly, the provincial authority carries it out.
A vehicle without a CoC requires an individual approval, or Einzelgenehmigung, at the provincial technical inspection station.
It is advisable to handle this in person, as card payment is not available everywhere. The fee is 180€, and the entry is completed within a few days. You receive another A4 certificate.
You can check whether the vehicle has been entered into the database using its vehicle identification number at https://gdb.vvo.at/kfz-finanzsperrauskunft/. A status of “gesperrt” indicates that the vehicle has been entered but is blocked because the NoVA has not yet been paid.
The list of authorised importers and representatives is available at https://www.bmimi.gv.at/themen/verkehr/strasse/fahrzeuge/typengenehmigung/fahrzeugimport.html. Click the Liste der Ermächtigten link to download the Excel file. Searching by the first three characters of the vehicle identification number can help narrow the results. For example, the first three characters for one Suzuki motorcycle were “JS1”.
Step 4: Pay the NoVA
The NoVA, or Normverbrauchsabgabe, is a tax payable before registering a new vehicle or importing a foreign vehicle. It is normally paid once.
As a private individual, you calculate the NoVA using the NoVA 2 form and pay it to the Finanzamt Österreich. Have the purchase contract and the vehicle’s foreign documents ready.
An easier option may be for the vehicle representative to calculate and pay the NoVA on your behalf during the database entry. In that case, the vehicle can be unblocked for registration immediately.
The NoVA is calculated using the vehicle’s age, value and emissions data. For a used vehicle imported from the EU, the NoVA rules that applied in Austria when the vehicle was first registered in the EU are used, while the basis is the vehicle’s current value. The official Ministry of Finance NoVA calculator can be used to estimate the amount. In the example, a 2014 vehicle valued at approximately 4000€, with a 1200cc three-cylinder petrol engine, resulted in 228€ NoVA.
If the vehicle is later taken abroad, a proportional refund of the NoVA can be requested only if the vehicle was first registered no more than 48 months before deregistration in Austria. This generally cannot be expected for an older imported vehicle.
NoVA calculation rules for 2026
In 2026, the NoVA rate is (CO2 – 91 g) / 5 percent, up to a maximum of 80 percent. Above 155 g/km, a Malus of 80€ per gram is added, and 350€ is deducted from the final amount. Fully electric vehicles are exempt. Check the exact amount with the official BMF NoVA calculator.
Step 5: Arrange compulsory insurance
Every vehicle must have compulsory third-party liability insurance. Request a quote using the vehicle’s details.
Find a nearby Zulassungsstelle. There are many of them, and you can use any one within the province. Contact the office by phone or in person and ask for an email address where insurance agents normally send quotations.
In the example, the insurance cost was 50€ per month without transferring a bonus at that time.
Step 6: Register the vehicle and receive Austrian plates
Visit the Zulassungsstelle in person with all the documents you have collected. The office can find the vehicle in the system using its identification number and can also see the valid compulsory-insurance offer.
You will receive:
- an Austrian registration document, normally an orange folding paper in two parts;
- an optional plastic card instead of the paper document;
- a windscreen sticker showing the inspection validity;
- two new Austrian number plates.
The plastic card costs an additional +31,10€ in 2026 and arrives by post within two weeks.
The example registration cost was 208€. The official 2026 passenger-car fees are: authority fee 178€, processing fee 65,60€, central residence-register query 1,10€, inspection sticker 2,30€ and number plates 23€, for a total of 270€.
After registration, fit the new plates and attach the sticker to the outside of the upper-left corner of the windscreen.
If you have an online motorway vignette, remember to obtain a new one. A digital annual vignette can be transferred to the new registration number through ASFINAG for 18€ if the owner has not changed. From 2027, only a digital vignette will be available.
Austrian plates may not fit a foreign plate holder, or may fit only with difficulty, so you may also need to buy a new holder.
Practical steps checklist
- Confirm that you are within the permitted period for using foreign plates.
- Check the vehicle’s technical condition and the applicable Austrian inspection deadline.
- Request the EU CoC certificate.
- Book a 57a Prüfstelle inspection and bring the foreign registration document.
- Arrange the Genehmigungsdatenbank entry with an authorised representative or the provincial authority.
- Calculate and pay the NoVA to the Finanzamt Österreich, or arrange payment through the vehicle representative.
- Obtain a compulsory-insurance offer from a Zulassungsstelle or insurance agent.
- Attend the Zulassungsstelle with all documents, pay the registration fees and collect the Austrian plates.
- Fit the plates, attach the inspection sticker and arrange a new or transferred ASFINAG vignette.