To import a car from Germany to the UK, you need two things from the seller: the original German registration papers, the Fahrzeugschein and Fahrzeugbrief, and a Kaufvertrag (bill of sale) showing what you paid. In the UK the car is then declared to customs, notified to HMRC through NOVA and registered with the DVLA. A classic over 30 years old, in its original state and of a model no longer in production, pays 0% duty and 5% import VAT; any other car pays 20% VAT, plus 10% duty unless it was built in the EU and that origin is properly claimed.
- The Fahrzeugschein and the Fahrzeugbrief, officially the Zulassungsbescheinigung Teil I and Teil II. Ask for both parts. The Fahrzeugschein is the small document that travels in the car; the Fahrzeugbrief (also Kfz-Brief) is the larger A4 paper usually kept at home. Most Germans still use these older names. The Fahrzeugbrief names the registered keeper rather than the legal owner, so check that the name matches the seller. Make sure you get the original: the DVLA keeps it.
- A Kaufvertrag or invoice with both names, the date, the price and the chassis number (FIN) exactly as it appears on the car. UK customs will ask what you paid. If there is no invoice at all, an independent valuation is needed instead.
If the German papers have been lost, the car can still be registered, but you will need a dating letter, which we obtain for you.
Deregistration in Germany, any export plates and the export paperwork are handled by the seller. If you need it, we arrange the transport to the UK, and we handle the customs declaration, NOVA and the DVLA paperwork.
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Duty and VAT on a German car
Two separate questions decide the tax, and a German number plate answers neither of them.
Is it a historic collector's vehicle? HMRC classifies a car under commodity code 9705 if it is at least 30 years old, in its original state without substantial changes to the chassis, body, steering, brakes, transmission, suspension or engine, and of a model no longer in production. Restoration with correct parts is allowed. A qualifying car pays 0% duty and an effective 5% import VAT, whatever country built it. HMRC explains the reduced valuation in its guidance on how to value goods for import VAT.
For every other car: where was it manufactured? VAT is 20%. Duty is 10% unless the car has preferential origin under the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, meaning it was built in the EU (or the UK) under the agreement's rules of origin and the claim is backed by proof of origin. With that, duty is 0%.
| The car | Customs duty | Import VAT |
|---|---|---|
| Historic collector's vehicle (code 9705) | 0% | 5% |
| Built in the EU, origin properly claimed | 0% | 20% |
| Built outside the EU, or origin not proved | 10% | 20% |
Origin follows the factory, not the brand or the country of sale. The BMW Z3 was built in Spartanburg in the USA, the first Mercedes-Benz M-Class came from Alabama, and many Beetles sold in Germany after Emden stopped building them in 1978 were made in Mexico. Under 30 years old, cars like these pay 10% duty however long they spent in Germany.
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Work out my import taxGerman classics: what to check
Germany built a large share of the classics British buyers look for, so you are often buying a car in its home market: air-cooled Porsche 911s and 356s, Mercedes-Benz SL and saloon ranges, BMW coupés and early M cars, Volkswagen Beetles and T2 buses, plus Opel and Audi models never sold here in right-hand drive.
Many older German cars wear historic plates (H-Kennzeichen) after an Oldtimergutachten, a German check that the car is close to original and in good condition. That is useful evidence, but it is not HMRC's test and does not by itself put a car into code 9705. Germany also has a strong tuning culture, so look for engine swaps, modern brakes or altered suspension: they can be perfectly legal there and still stop the car being in its "original state" for UK customs.
If you are still weighing up the numbers, our guide to what it costs to import a car from Germany goes through the landed cost, and we can check a specific car before you commit.
The UK steps
- Customs declaration: we declare the car to UK customs and the duty and VAT are paid on the customs value: the price in the Kaufvertrag plus the cost of transport and insurance to the UK.
- NOVA: we notify HMRC through NOVA within 14 days of arrival. The DVLA will not register the car until this is done.
- MOT: the car gets a UK MOT if it needs one, which can be done while it is still on foreign plates. Vehicles built or first registered more than 40 years ago with no substantial changes are exempt (a V112 declaration is used instead), and cars under 3 years old do not need one.
- V55/5: we prepare and pre-fill the V55/5; you sign it and post it to the DVLA with the original Fahrzeugschein and Fahrzeugbrief, the MOT certificate or V112, photo ID, proof of your UK address, the £55 first registration fee and the road tax.
Our checklist of documents needed to import a car covers the UK paperwork in full.