Denmark
Importing a car into Denmark
From the single market, bringing a car into Denmark is informal, and yet no import in this region turns as completely on one single item: the registreringsafgift. It decides whether buying abroad adds up at all — everything else is administration.
- Registration authority
- Motorstyrelsen
- Customs
- Toldstyrelsen
- Technical inspection
- Syn
- Last reviewed
Where the car comes from decides the effort
From an EU state
From an EU state there is no customs declaration, and no import VAT on a used car. The registreringsafgift still applies: it hangs on the first Danish registration, not on the border. If the car counts as new for tax, Danish VAT comes on top.
From a third country
From Switzerland or Liechtenstein it is an import in the full sense: declared to Toldstyrelsen, with duty and import VAT, and only then the registreringsafgift. The two are assessed differently — duty on the customs value, the registration tax on the car's Danish value — and both land on the same car.
The process, in order
The order is not arbitrary. Pull a step forward and you usually end up repeating it.
01Before buying: estimate the Danish value
The registreringsafgift is assessed on the taxable value in Denmark, in bands — not on the advertised price. A car that is cheap abroad is not assessed more cheaply for it. Anyone who does not estimate this item before buying is buying blind.
02Book the toldsyn
The imported car is presented to a licensed test centre for the toldsyn. Identity, equipment and condition are established there — the findings the later valuation builds on. Without a toldsyn, Motorstyrelsen will not take the application.
Handled by: Licensed test centre (synsvirksomhed)
03Declare the vehicle and have the tax assessed
With the inspection report and the vehicle papers, the car is declared to Motorstyrelsen. The agency sets the taxable value and assesses the tax. Registered dealers may self-declare; for private individuals the agency decides.
Handled by: Motorstyrelsen
04Take out insurance
Third-party cover must exist before registration; the insurer reports it electronically. Without it no plates are issued, even once the tax is paid.
05Registration and plates
Once the tax is paid the car is entered in the register and plates are issued. From that point the recurring duty runs against the keeper too.
Handled by: Motorstyrelsen
06Deregister in the country of sale
Deregistration and returning the foreign plates happen where the car was registered. Leave them undone and tax and insurance obligations continue there.
What gets added
Without amounts, and deliberately so: official rates change, and a stale figure is worse than none. What is here is the basis of assessment — enough to calculate with, once the current rate is known.
- Registreringsafgift
- Assessed on: The decisive item. Assessed on the car's taxable value in Denmark, in bands, with additions and deductions for equipment and consumption figures. What counts is the Danish value, not the foreign purchase price; Motorstyrelsen sets it.
- Does not apply: For time-limited use there is a proportional tax (forholdsmæssig registreringsafgift) instead of the full one, for leasing among other cases. It requires a permission from Motorstyrelsen that has to be in place before registration.
- Customs duty
- Assessed on: Only on import from outside the single market, on the customs value. Toldstyrelsen states the rate.
- Does not apply: Does not arise when the car comes from an EU state.
- VAT
- Assessed on: On imports from outside the single market, on customs value plus duty; within the EU only where the car counts as new for tax.
- Toldsyn and syn
- Assessed on: The test centre's prices, by vehicle category. Test centres set their own.
- Plates
- Assessed on: A fee per set, set by Motorstyrelsen; personalised plates cost extra.
- Grøn ejerafgift
- Assessed on: Recurring, levied half-yearly, assessed on CO₂ output or, for older cars, on fuel consumption.
The papers
Miss one of these and the appointment is wasted.
- Foreign registration document, parts I and II or the equivalent.
- Certificate of conformity (COC) where one exists — it documents the equipment that feeds into the valuation.
- Purchase contract or invoice; with a conspicuously low price, proof of payment as well.
- The toldsyn report from the licensed test centre.
- The keeper's CPR number and Danish address, or a CVR number for a company.
- Proof of third-party insurance; a MitID for the online forms.
Where the sum tips
- Treating the advertised price as the basis. The tax is assessed on the car's Danish value. A bargain abroad is not assessed lower for it, and the price gap that made the import look worthwhile never appears in the sum.
- The order. No assessment without a toldsyn, no registration without an assessment, no plates without registration. Planning the steps in parallel does not stop them happening in series.
- The leased car without permission. The proportional tax needs a prior permission from Motorstyrelsen. Register first and ask afterwards, and the full tax has already been assessed.
- The tyres. Denmark allows studded tyres only within a defined period and only on all four wheels. The minimum tread depth applies all year and is checked at the syn — a set of tyres that just passed in the country of sale does not necessarily pass here.
How long it takes
As an order of magnitude: a toldsyn within days, then one to several weeks for Motorstyrelsen's valuation, depending on workload and on whether the information is complete. With queries about the valuation, rather one to two months.
The technical inspection
Syn
The recurring technical test is the syn, carried out by licensed synsvirksomheder. On an import it is preceded by the toldsyn, which establishes identity and equipment. A valid foreign test does not replace the toldsyn, because it answers a different question: one checks roadworthiness, the other the basis of the tax.
Common questions
Is importing into Denmark worth it at all?
That turns on the registreringsafgift, not on the advertised price. A car never registered in Denmark is assessed on its first Danish registration — and because the tax hangs on the Danish value, a large foreign price gap can disappear into it entirely. Having Motorstyrelsen indicate the item in advance answers the question before the purchase.
Do I get the tax back if I export the car again?
For cars deregistered and permanently exported there is the eksportgodtgørelse. It comes with conditions — among them an inspection and a minimum condition — and Motorstyrelsen sets it; it is not something a seller can promise.
May I drive on foreign plates in Denmark?
Anyone resident in Denmark has to register the car here. There are exceptions for cross-border workers and for cars used mainly abroad; they require a permission from Motorstyrelsen and are not a status you simply keep.
How is the taxable value determined?
Motorstyrelsen derives it from the Danish market — from comparable cars of similar age, mileage and condition. Equipment and consumption figures affect it, which is why the COC is more than a formality here. Where there is doubt the valuation can be reviewed; that costs time but not another inspection of the car.
This overview is not a substitute for information from the competent authority. Rates, fees and deadlines change; the office that registers the car is always the binding source.