Bringing a vehicle when moving from an EU country to Belgium
Are you moving from an EU Member State(opens in new window) to Belgium in order to live here, and you would like to bring a vehicle with you? Then you must:
- visit a customs office
- visit an inspection centre
- take out insurance in Belgium
- register your vehicle with the Vehicle Registration Service (Dutch: Dienst voor Inschrijvingen van Voertuigen/DIV).
You only need to register your vehicle if you are registered in the population or foreign register, so not if you have a second home or holiday home in Belgium.
Which vehicles are subject to this procedure?
All land vehicles, vessels and aircraft for passenger or goods transport. There is no need to register bicycles or electric bikes. Speed pedelecs, tricycles, and trailers must be registered.
Will you purchase a vehicle in a foreign country or obtain one as a gift or inheritance? You must then follow one of the following procedures:
- Stap 1
Visit a customs office for your electronic E705 vignette
Visit a customs office that is authorised to draw up an E705 vignette. Take the following documents with you:
- national register number
- registration certificate of your vehicle
- Belgian residence permit or proof of registration in a municipality.
You will receive the pink form from customs. This is the Belgian application for the 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.
- Stap 2
Go to the technical inspection
During the technical inspection in a recognised inspection centre, your vehicle will be checked for any defects. The inspection of vehicles has a positive impact on road safety and on the environment.p het milieu.
- Stap 3
Is your vehicle insured and registered?
Take the pink registration form to your insurance broker or insurer for Belgian insurance. If you so wish, your agent can also handle the online registration for you with the DIV. This will mean you no longer have to visit the DIV.
Would you prefer to handle the registration with the DIV (in Dutch)(opens in new window) (in Dutch) yourself? You should then always make an appointment first and take the following documents with you:
- copy of the purchase invoice
- all parts of the original registration certificate
- pink registration form
- vignette issued by your insurer in section Z as proof of your car insurance
- Belgian inspection certificate.
If you move to Belgium from abroad and bring your vehicle with you, the vehicle must be registered in the name of the same person in Belgium. The vehicle may not be sold on.
This procedure does not apply in the following cases:
- rented motor vehicle from a foreign professional services company for a maximum of 6 months
- company vehicle that a foreign employer provides for you
- a car if you are a civil servant of an international institution in another country of the EU
- trailer that will be used on the road for less than 6 months
- vehicle of persons who are temporarily absent for military service, for an assignment in development cooperation or through disappearance
- vehicle that is provided free of charge to a natural person
- vehicle of a student who is staying in Belgium to study.
In all cases, there must be a link between the driver and the vehicle, for example a rental contract in your name, proof of enrolment with a Belgian educational institution, accreditation card, etc.
- Stap 4
Pay your vehicle registration tax
You are subject to vehicle registration tax (Dutch: belasting op inverkeerstelling/BIV) from the moment that you use your vehicle on a public road in Belgium. The Flemish Tax Service (Dutch: Vlaamse Belastingdienst) calculates that tax according to:
- environmental characteristics, including the Euro emission standard
- age of the vehicle.
You can calculate yourself how much BIV you must pay using the online simulator / simulation app. The simulation is purely indicative and does not give the official amount.
