Registering in Luxembourg a car bought abroad

To register in Luxembourg a used car bought abroad, you must obtain a vignette 705 from the Customs and Excise Administration, then submit your file to the National Motor Vehicle Company (SNCA) by appointment. This article follows the official Luxembourg pages, consulted on 28 October 2026.

The steps in order

According to Guichet.lu, the procedure concerns anyone who lives in Luxembourg, buys a vehicle already registered in another country and wants to register it in their name. The steps follow a defined order:

1. request a registration number (if necessary);
2. apply for a registration certificate;
3. take out third-party liability insurance;
4. clear the vehicle through customs;
5. pay the tax stamp;
6. book an appointment with the SNCA.

With a professional seller, they generally take care of all these steps. You must be entered in the national register of natural persons, have an address in Luxembourg and a valid identity document.

The invoice document and the foreign certificate

The seller must give you an invoice document: a sales invoice on letterhead with their intra-Community VAT number if they are a legal entity, or a sales contract signed by the seller and you if they are a private individual. It must notably state the chassis number, make, model, mileage and sale price (specifying whether it is excluding VAT or including VAT). Without an invoice, or if the new owner cannot be identified unambiguously, the SNCA may register you as holder and not as owner. You must also provide the complete foreign registration document: check the number of parts indicated and that the seller gives you all of them.

Vignette 705 and VAT

According to Luxembourg customs, anyone who has bought a vehicle abroad must go to the Excise Collection Office (Guichet Accises Centre at Croix de Gasperich, or Guichet Accises Nord in Diekirch) to obtain a vignette 705, needed for registration. It certifies that Luxembourg VAT and, where applicable, customs duties have been paid in Luxembourg, or that the taxes have already been validly collected in another EU Member State.

Documents to present: proof of purchase (invoice, sales contract between private individuals or leasing contract) which must state the mileage and chassis number, the registration certificate(s), an identity document of the declarant and, for a first entry into service, the certificate of conformity.

For a private individual, customs distinguishes:

• New vehicle: first entry into service 6 months ago or less or mileage of 6,000 km or less. Purchase within the EU: declaration 446L and payment of Luxembourg VAT, then issue of the vignette.
• Used vehicle: more than 6 months and more than 6,000 km. Purchase within the EU: presentation of the vehicle, then issue of the vignette; no VAT is due, as it has already been paid in the country of purchase. A private individual who has bought a used vehicle must physically present the vehicle.

For a purchase outside the EU, the default route is clearance at the first EU point of entry (customs duties and local VAT), then presentation of the vehicle and the clearance document to Luxembourg customs. Another option, on request, goes through external transit T1 and an import declaration in the LUCCS system; the page details the conditions.