Car registration in Belgium for a car from the Netherlands

The car is first deregistered for export. That can be done at an RDW inspection station, an RDW service desk or an approved export company such as ours. The buyer receives the export certificate, which the RDW calls kentekenbewijs deel II, plus the registration card with one corner cut off (for older cars, the paper part 1B). The seller keeps the vrijwaringsbewijs, which proves the Dutch registration has ended and does not appear in the Belgian document lists.

Take the buyer's documents to Belgium as originals, complete and with nothing written on them. The inspection centre and the DIV ask for the complete original foreign registration certificate, and the Flemish government points out that it may consist of several parts. More on each document on our page about Dutch car export documents.

The Flemish government's instruction is to drive to Belgium on temporary number plates or transit plates, applied for in the country where you buy the car, and to insure the trip with an insurer in the EU. You can also move the car on a trailer or hire a transport company. From the Netherlands, the temporary plates are the white Dutch export plates: valid for 14 days on Dutch roads and never longer than the APK (the Dutch roadworthiness test), with our 14-day export insurance and Green Card.

In a ruling published by the Flemish Tax Administration, the Court of Appeal in Ghent held that driving home on a valid transit plate from another EU country did not require prior DIV registration, but after arrival only journeys serving the formalities may be made. If you'll need the plates beyond the first 14 days, ask in advance whether that is allowed and extend the export insurance in time.

Apply for the electronic customs vignette E705 online through MyMinfin, the portal of the FPS Finance. No visit to a customs office is needed. After validation you receive an e-mail in MyMinfin, and the FPS Mobility and Transport takes the data straight from the system for the registration.

The Brussels Expat Welcome Desk says you can also apply by e-mail to the FPS Finance, attaching as PDFs the purchase invoice, a copy of your identity card (or the 'annexe de la commune'), all parts of the foreign registration certificate and the mileage. According to the Flemish government, the E705 is free. For private buyers, VAT only applies to a 'new' means of transport: no more than 6,000 km, or delivered within six months of first entry into service. The buyer then pays 21% VAT in Belgium; a VAT-registered business includes it in its periodic return.

Every vehicle brought over must pass a technical inspection at an approved inspection centre before it can be registered. Bring the registration application form (the pink form, see step 3) and the complete original registration certificate, plus the foreign inspection certificate if it is less than two months old and the certificate of conformity (CoC) if you have it.

A visual inspection is enough only if the last foreign inspection was in the holder's name and took place less than two months ago. In all other cases a second-hand inspection is required. If you've just bought the car, its earlier Dutch APK is not in your name, so expect the second-hand inspection.

If the European type-approval number (WVTA number) is shown in field K or K1 of the previous registration certificate, the second-hand inspection can go ahead straight away. If not, the inspection centre first validates the vehicle. We offer CoC guidance on request; the application route varies by manufacturer and importer. Flanders drops the second-hand inspection for sales within Belgium from 1 January 2027, but for imported vehicles it remains mandatory.

The 'Aanvraag tot inschrijving van een voertuig', the pink application form, is available free from the vehicle supplier, a Belgian insurer, an inspection centre or the DIV. Take it to your Belgian insurer or broker to insure the car. For the registration, the DIV wants the insurer's vignette in box Z as proof of your car insurance. This Belgian policy is separate from our export insurance for the trip, which is only temporary cover.

Your insurer, broker or leasing company can register the car online through WebDIV, and many do. You can also do it yourself: send the form and attachments by post to the DIV, or hand them in at a DIV counter in Brussels or in your province, by appointment. If you go yourself, bring the complete original registration certificate, the pink form, a copy of the proof of purchase and the insurer's vignette in box Z.

Within 24 hours of registration, bpost delivers the registration certificate and the number plate. The plate costs 30 euros, paid on delivery. Only the official plate, with its relief stamp, comes through the DIV; you have the second plate made yourself to the same specifications, with ruby red characters on a white background.

After registration comes the one-off registration tax. It is regional, and we don't calculate it for you:

• Flanders: BIV. Based on environmental characteristics such as CO2 emissions, fuel and Euro standard, and on the car's age. Age counts from the first registration in Belgium or abroad, so an older car from the Netherlands pays less. Use the BIV calculator of the Flemish Tax Administration (in Dutch).
• Brussels: BIV. Depends on vehicle type, engine power, maximum authorised mass, age and fuel; the rates are on MyTax.
• Wallonia: TMC. For registrations from 1 July 2025 it is based on engine power, CO2 emissions, maximum authorised mass and energy source, and it decreases with age. See the Walloon TMC page (in French).

The annual road tax also varies by region. In Flanders the DIV data passes automatically to the Flemish Tax Administration, so you don't file a separate declaration for the annual tax. Wallonia sends the TMC payment request at the end of the month after the month of registration.

The Car-Pass is a document that comes with a used car in Belgium. A seller there must hand it over, no more than two months old, except when selling to a professional car dealer. When you import a car from the Netherlands yourself, there is no Belgian seller to provide one. The Car-Pass organisation says it obtains the mileage history of a Dutch car from the RDW and states on the Car-Pass of an imported car that it came from abroad. We cannot confirm whether it plays a role in your own registration; ask your inspection centre.

Anyone who lives in Belgium must register their vehicle there. Once you are on the population or foreigners' register, do it as soon as possible; our page on moving to Belgium with a car explains the rules and the exceptions.

There is no official average time for the whole process. As an indication, with complete papers (registration card and export certificate, purchase invoice, CoC, Belgian insurance arranged) the Belgian part usually takes a few days to a few weeks in practice, depending on the E705 validation and the inspection appointment. A validation of the vehicle, an individual approval or missing papers make it longer.

• Written-on or incomplete papers. A note on the registration card or a missing part can hold up the inspection or the DIV. Bring every original, untouched.
• Export insurance running out. Waiting for an inspection slot? Extend before the 14 days end.
• Missing the 13 weeks. For a refund of part of the BPM (Dutch registration tax), the Belgian registration must be complete within 13 weeks of the RDW export status. Plan the E705, the inspection and the DIV straight after the export; see our BPM refund page.

What our part costs is shown below; the Belgian government costs are on our page about the cost of importing a car to Belgium.