How do you import a car from Finland to the UK?

To import a car from Finland to the UK, get both parts of the original Finnish registration certificate, the rekisteröintitodistus (often called the rekisteriote), and a kauppakirja from the seller, then have the car cleared through UK customs, notified on NOVA and registered with the DVLA. A historic collector's vehicle pays 0% duty and 5% VAT. Other cars pay 20% VAT, plus 10% duty unless they have preferential origin, for example built in the EU, and origin is proved.

Ask for both parts before you agree a price. A private seller who has only ever sold cars inside Finland may not know that a buyer abroad needs them, and the owner can order them through Traficom's online service, Oma asiointi.

Deregistration in Finland, 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

For the historic rate a car must be at least 30 years old, of a model no longer in production, and in its original state with no substantial changes to chassis, body, engine, steering, brakes, transmission or suspension. Restoration is allowed; modernisation is not. HMRC's guidance on classifying vehicles is the reference.

For younger cars, the factory decides the duty. A car built in an EU country can qualify for 0% under the UK-EU trade agreement, backed by a statement on origin or the importer's own evidence. A car built outside the EU does not become EU-origin through its Finnish history: an American car pays 10% duty, while a Japanese or Korean car pays 0% only with proof of origin under the UK's own trade deal with that country. Import VAT of 20% is payable in both cases.

Finnish classics and museum vehicles

Finland has a formal museum vehicle status, museoajoneuvo. Traficom defines it as a vehicle at least 30 years past the end of its year of manufacture, kept in original condition or properly restored. Eligibility is confirmed by a statement (museoajoneuvolausunto) from a recognised club such as SAHK (Suomen ajoneuvohistoriallinen keskusliitto), and museum vehicles can carry black plates with a registration beginning in M.

A museum statement is not the same as the UK's 9705 test, which HMRC applies on its own terms. But it is a written, independent opinion that a car is original, and it is exactly the kind of supporting evidence we like to have when we classify a Finnish classic. Ask the seller for it.

There is a Saab story here too. Valmet's plant at Uusikaupunki built its first car, a Saab 96, in November 1969, and Saabs came off that line for decades afterwards, so a Finnish Saab may well be Finnish-built. As for condition, Finnish winters are long and roads are salted in many areas, so give the underside a proper inspection and look at the katsastus history for recorded rust or brake faults.

For a Finnish car, ask the seller for both parts of the rekisteriote, and for the museum statement if it has one.

The UK side

• We prepare the UK import declaration with the right commodity code and any origin claim, and VAT and duty are settled.
• We make the NOVA notification within 14 days of arrival.
• If the car needs a UK MOT, it can be done on the Finnish plates. Cars built or first registered more than 40 years ago with no substantial changes are exempt and use a V112 declaration instead.
• We prepare the V55/5 for you to sign and send to the DVLA with the original rekisteriote, the NOVA letter, the MOT or V112 declaration, photo ID, proof of UK address, the £55 first registration fee and the road tax.

Our guide to registering an imported car with the DVLA explains that last step.