How to import a used car to Austria

In brief

1. Check the vehicle documents before you buy. Ask for the original foreign approval document. Also check whether the seller can give you the documents you need to register the car in Austria.
2. Get the purchase in writing. For a private sale, you need a sales contract and a vehicle valuation for the tax process.
3. Arrange transport. If you are buying abroad, ask about export or transfer plates with short-term third-party liability insurance. You can also arrange transport.
4. Have the approval details entered. This is usually handled by the manufacturer’s Austrian representative. If an inspection is already due, check first what evidence of a Pickerl inspection is required.
5. Pay the NoVA. For a used car imported directly from another EU country, the Austrian rules that would have applied when it was first registered in the EU apply.
6. Register the car. Once it has been entered in the approval database and the taxes due have been paid, take your insurance confirmation to an insurer’s registration office.

VAT and customs when buying in another EU country

For VAT, what matters is how the purchase is classed for VAT purposes and who you buy from. If you are a private individual buying a used car from a foreign dealer and collect it there, you pay VAT to the dealer. No further VAT is due in Austria. This is explained by oesterreich.gv.at.

If you are a private individual buying a car classed as used for VAT purposes from a private seller in another EU country, no VAT is due on the purchase. The EU information explains this case. Keep the sales contract. It is also required for the tax process in Austria when you buy privately.

A vehicle can count as a new vehicle for VAT purposes even if it is already described as used in everyday terms. If you acquire such a vehicle from another EU country, Austrian acquisition VAT of 20% is due, even if you buy as a private individual. Source: Bundesministerium für Finanzen. Before buying, check how the vehicle is classed for VAT purposes using its details.

Check with the Bundesministerium für Finanzen about any customs questions relating to your specific purchase before transporting the car.

Documents to collect when you buy

Insist on the original foreign approval document. The Bundesministerium für Finanzen lists it among the vehicle documents needed for the import process. Photos or copies can help you check the paperwork before buying; you will need the original for the later process. Source: BMF.

If you buy from a private seller, you will also need a sales contract and a vehicle valuation for the tax process. Ask early how you should provide the valuation for your vehicle. If you buy from a dealer, keep the sales documents too, and check with the tax office in advance which evidence you need in your case.

Before paying, ask the manufacturer’s Austrian representative which vehicle details it needs to enter the car in the approval database. If the representative cannot act or does not make the entry in time, the regional inspection centre is the designated point of contact. This is especially useful if a document is missing or you are unsure whether the foreign document is sufficient proof of approval. Source: oesterreich.gv.at.

Ask specifically for the original foreign approval document. Find out what must actually be submitted for your vehicle’s entry.

Step by step: Pickerl, NoVA and registration

1. Check whether an inspection is due. If it is already due, the approval details can only be entered after a positive inspection report. Suitable evidence of an inspection in another EU country may be accepted, provided no further inspection has become due in Austria in the meantime. Check with the office making the entry that your evidence is acceptable. Source: Kraftfahrgesetz.

2. Arrange entry in the approval database. This is generally the responsibility of the manufacturer’s Austrian representative; the regional inspection centre can step in when the specified conditions are met. The next steps towards registration can only follow once the details have been entered. Source: oesterreich.gv.at.

3. Check and pay the NoVA and, where applicable, acquisition VAT. For a used car imported directly from another EU country, the NoVA is based on the Austrian rules in force when it was first registered elsewhere in the EU. That alone does not tell you how much you will owe for your car. Use the NoVA calculator and check the filing process with the tax office. If you complete the process online, the tax office releases the vehicle in the approval database once payment has been received. Sources: BMF on NoVA and BMF on the procedure.

4. Go to the registration office. Once the vehicle has been entered in the database and the taxes due have been paid, you can register it at an insurer’s registration office. You will need insurance confirmation. If a periodic inspection has become due, you will also need the most recent inspection report, unless it is already recorded in the inspection sticker database. Sources: oesterreich.gv.at and Kraftfahrgesetz.

What does importing cost?

Before you buy, check how much NoVA is due for your vehicle. The amount does not depend on the country of purchase alone. For a used car imported directly from another EU country, the Austrian rules in force when it was first registered in the EU apply. Enter your specific car’s details in the NoVA calculator or the Austria import cost calculator.

For entry of the approval details, the manufacturer or its Austrian representative may charge no more than €180.00 including VAT. Source: Kraftfahrgesetz. Ask about the fee before commissioning the entry.

The published registration fees add up to €247.00: government fee €178.00, processing fee €65.60, Central Register of Residents query €1.10 and inspection sticker €2.30. Number plates and an optional credit-card-style registration certificate are not included. Source for all amounts: oesterreich.gv.at.

Also include transport, insurance and, where applicable, an inspection in your calculation. The example below combines a purchase in Germany with the import costs calculated for Austria. It is an example for a particular vehicle, not a general statement about price advantages. Compare the total cost through to registration for each offer. Use the dealer’s advertised price as your starting point.

What a typical 2024 Volkswagen Golf costs, bought from Germany and registered in Austria

What a typical 2024 Volkswagen Golf costs, bought from Germany and registered in Austria

Cost	Amount
Price paid to the seller	€24,600
NoVA (registration tax)Malus and deduction reduced by one eighth per full year (original new value unknown); with the original net new price the reduction follows the value ratio instead.	€1,391
Transport (open truck)Transport estimate is low-confidence until dated quotes are collected.	€450 – €1,000
Registration (fee, office, register query, sticker)	€247
Number plates (pair)	€23
Approval database entry (Genehmigungsdatenbank)Estimate: EUR 180 including VAT is the legal maximum the importer may charge (KFG §28b(1a)); it may be less.	€180
Total landed cost	€26,891 – €27,441
Median asking price of the same model, year and fuel in Austria	€25,900
Landed total against that median	€991 – €1,541 above

The median covers all mileages of that model, year and fuel, across 51 listings in Austria: a market benchmark, not the price of an identical car.

Assumptions

Purchase price

€24,600, the asking-price median of 203 cars in Germany in our data dated 3 Nov 2026.

First registration

June 2024 (assumed month)

Mileage (origin median)

26,000 km

Fuel (most listed for this model and year)

Petrol

Engine size and CO₂

1,498 cm³ and 135 g/km WLTP. Typical assumptions, not listing data.

Seller VAT

Unknown. The calculator shows a range when VAT treatment changes the cost.

Transport

Truck, using the calculator's route estimate.

Planned registration date

2026-12-04

• Seller VAT status unknown: the range covers a VAT-deductible and a margin-scheme listing.
• A roadworthiness inspection (§57a) is needed if one is due under the Austrian 3-2-1 schedule from the first registration abroad; add the inspector's price.

Change these assumptions

Getting the car to Austria

For the journey under its own power, the foreign dealer can arrange export or transfer plates with suitable short-term third-party liability insurance. Before you set off, check that the plates and insurance cover your route and planned use. Alternatively, arrange transport. Source on transfer plates: oesterreich.gv.at.

If your main residence is in Austria, you can generally use a vehicle with foreign number plates there for one month from the date it is first brought into Austria. Do not take this as a deadline for any of the other steps. Plan the approval database entry, tax payment and registration in good time. Check any special circumstances in your case with the relevant authority. Source: oesterreich.gv.at.

Checklist

After registration

Keep your insurance in force. You pay the motor-related insurance tax through your insurer, in line with the agreed payment schedule for your insurance premium. Source: Bundesministerium für Finanzen.

Also keep track of the next Pickerl. For an ordinary privately used passenger car, the first periodic inspection is due three years after its first registration, the next two years later, and then annually. Source: Kraftfahrgesetz. The month stamped on the sticker determines the inspection month. For an ordinary privately used passenger car, the Austrian inspection window runs from one month before to four months after that month. Source: oesterreich.gv.at.