Buying a motorcycle in a neighbouring country: registration

The right bike is often not at the dealer down the road but across the border. If you buy it there, you have to register it in the country where you live, and each country has its own rules: different taxes, different paperwork, different deadlines. This overview shows what to watch out for when you buy a motorcycle in a neighbouring country and register it at home. It is aimed at people living in Austria, Switzerland, Spain, France, Germany or Belgium. For Austria, Switzerland and Spain we have detailed guides; for France, Germany and Belgium you get the key points from official sources. All information as of November 2026.

In short

• Register in your country of residence: if you live there, you may only use a bike with foreign plates for a short time. In Austria that is generally one month.
• Don't forget the CoC: Austria, Switzerland, Spain, France and Germany ask for the EU Certificate of Conformity as proof. Without it, an individual approval is needed.
• Taxes differ: VAT on import into Switzerland, NoVA in Austria, registration tax above 250 cc in Spain, a tax clearance (quitus fiscal) in France.
• Transfer: with temporary or export plates from the country of purchase, or on a trailer.
• Deadlines: often only one month; in Spain 30 days from first use, 60 days when moving house with a tax exemption.

What applies everywhere

Papers when buying

Always get the original papers from the seller: purchase contract or invoice, the foreign registration certificate (for a German bike, part I and part II) and the CoC. The authorities in Austria, Switzerland, Spain, France and Germany ask for these documents. For a private sale, oesterreich.gv.at recommends having the signatures on the contract certified. In Spain you need the contract with a translation.

Which plates to cross the border on

Which plates you need for the ride is mainly decided by the country you export the bike from. Some countries issue special export plates, others require the bike to be deregistered first. For German export plates with short-term liability insurance, ÖAMTC quotes about 100 to 150 euros. The alternative is a trailer; tips are in our guide to transporting a motorcycle.

Check the condition before you pay

Take your time at the viewing and work through our used motorcycle checklist. In some countries a test on sale is mandatory anyway: in France a bike over five years old needs a test report no older than six months, and in Belgium it must be checked before the change of keeper. Our motorcycle inspection comparison gives an overview of all testing rules.

Destination: Austria

There is no customs duty within the EU. But every imported bike must be entered in the Austrian approval database; with a CoC the general importer does this, according to ÖAMTC for at most 180 euros. Without EU type approval you need an individual approval from the provincial testing centre. Then you pay the NoVA (standard consumption tax) at the tax office: it applies to motorcycles over 125 cc, the rate depends on CO2 emissions and is at most 30 percent. Only then can the bike be registered. If you buy used from a dealer, VAT is paid in the country of purchase. For a new vehicle you pay 20 percent acquisition tax in Austria. If you live in Austria, you may generally use the bike without Austrian registration for one month only. Formula, worked example and procedure are in our guide Importing a motorcycle from Germany to Austria.

Destination: Switzerland

You must declare the bike on your own initiative at a customs office that handles commercial goods. Since 1 January 2024 Switzerland no longer charges customs duty on industrial products, but 8.1 percent VAT is due on the purchase price plus costs up to the destination. According to the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (BAZG), the automobile tax applies to cars, minibuses and vans, not motorcycles. Customs gives you form 13.20 A for CHF 20. Then comes an individual inspection at your canton's road traffic office, including proof of emissions and noise compliance. In the canton of Zurich, a bike bought abroad must be registered within one month of import. All steps are in our guide Importing a motorcycle into Switzerland.

Destination: Spain

Deregister the bike in the country of origin before the transfer. In Spain you get the Spanish technical data sheet (ficha técnica) at the ITV station; you need the CoC or a substitute document. The registration tax, filed with Modelo 576, only applies to motorcycles over 250 cc, at a rate of 0 to 14.75 percent depending on CO₂ emissions. On top come the annual municipal vehicle tax IVTM and the DGT fee of 99.77 euros. For a private purchase you also pay the transfer tax ITP. You must apply for registration within 30 days of starting to use the bike in Spain. Details in our guide Registering an EU motorcycle in Spain.

Destination: France

For a used motorcycle from another EU country that you want to register while living in France, the official portals list these points:

• Deadline: apply for the carte grise (registration certificate) within one month.
• Plates: the bike must have valid plates when it enters France. If the foreign plates are no longer valid, you ride on temporary plates with a special "WW" registration.
• Technical conformity: the manufacturer's CoC or an equivalent certificate. Without either, an individual approval (réception à titre isolé) by the regional authority Dreal is required.
• Tax: for a vehicle bought in the EU you need a quitus fiscal from the tax office.
• Inspection: if the bike is more than five years old, the contrôle technique must be less than six months old when you apply. It must have been done in France or another EU country.
• Forms: application cerfa 13750 and transfer declaration cerfa 15776, plus proof of address, the original registration and the contract or invoice.

How the French test works is explained in our guide to the French contrôle technique.

Destination: Germany

To register a used vehicle from another EU country, the Berlin registration office, for example, asks for: the application, contract or invoice, the electronic insurance confirmation (eVB), ID, the foreign registration certificates and plates, the CoC or a manufacturer's data confirmation, and proof of a valid Hauptuntersuchung (HU). Without type approval you need an expert report under § 21 StVZO no older than 18 months. A SEPA direct debit mandate is needed for vehicle tax. In Berlin the fee is 34.70 euros in the simplest case. The page does not say whether a foreign inspection counts as HU proof, so ask your registration office. We have not checked a deadline for registration or the VAT on a new motorcycle bought elsewhere in the EU against an official source. How the HU works is in our guide to the German motorcycle HU.

Destination: Belgium

If you live in Belgium, you must register your vehicle in Belgium. The federal registration service DIV is in charge; you can get the registration application from the seller, the insurer or a test station, among others. In Flanders the inspection stays mandatory for imported motorcycles from 2027, even though it ends for ordinary used sales. We have not yet been able to confirm the exact import procedure (customs, proof of conformity, deadlines) from an official source, so it remains open here, because the federal authority's page only showed a security check when we accessed it. What the Belgian inspection involves is in our guide to the Belgian motorcycle inspection.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Eigenimport aus Mitgliedstaaten der EU (Austrian Ministry of Finance, in German)
• Eigenimport: Allgemeines (oesterreich.gv.at, in German)
• Fahrzeuge definitiv in die Schweiz einführen (BAZG, in German)
• Import Fahrzeuge (Road Traffic Office, Canton of Zurich, in German)
• Matricular un vehículo proveniente de la UE (DGT, in Spanish)
• Ley 38/1992 de Impuestos Especiales (BOE, in Spanish)
• Quelles obligations pour immatriculer un véhicule acheté à l'étranger ? (Service-Public.fr, in French)
• Carte grise : immatriculer un véhicule d'occasion (justice.fr, in French)
• Zulassung eines aus dem EU-Ausland eingeführten Gebrauchtfahrzeuges (Service Berlin, in German)
• Immatriculer un véhicule (Wallonia, in French)
• Nieuwe regels voor de technische keuring (Flemish Government, in Dutch)

Last checked: November 2026. Rules, taxes and fees may change.