Registering your car in Luxembourg: deadline, documents and cost
You've just moved to Luxembourg and your car is still on its foreign plates. Or you bought a used car in France, Belgium or Germany. Either way, you have to register it here, with Luxembourg insurance, and the countdown has already started.
This page complements our guide moving to Luxembourg.
Skimming?
We've prepared the shortcut for you.
Your to-do, in 7 steps
Practical guide · trigger.lu
Registering your car in Luxembourg: deadline, documents and cost
- Deadline
- your 6 months start here
- Cost
- free
Details
Without an address in the national register, the SNCA refuses the registration. So this is the step to do first.
- Cost
- free, or €200 for a personalised number
- Reply
- by post
Details
Without LuxTrust, you can also send the form to [email protected].
- Mandatory
- motor liability with an insurer authorised in Luxembourg
- When
- before the SNCA appointment
- You need
- chassis number
- reserved plate number
Details
The insurer gives you the certificate as soon as it knows your chassis number and your Luxembourg number. To have your bonus taken over, ask your current insurer for a claims history covering the last 5 years: it has 15 days to give it to you.
- Where
- customs, with your car
- VAT
- only if the car is new or comes from outside the EU
- Bring
- invoice or sales contract (with mileage and chassis number)
- foreign registration certificate
- certificate of conformity if first registration
- ID document
Details
The 705 sticker proves that your car is in order for VAT. A used car coming from the EU pays no VAT in Luxembourg, except in special cases.
- Over 6 years old
- inspection less than a year old
- Otherwise
- €77 at the SNCT
Details
A certificate from an EU country or Switzerland remains valid, but according to Luxembourg intervals, and only if it comes from the country of your current registration certificate.
- Cost
- €50
- Where
- Sandweiler, Esch-sur-Alzette or Fridhaff
- Bring
- signed form
- stamp
- invoice
- insurance certificate
- 705 sticker
- complete foreign registration certificate
- ID document
- technical inspection certificate
- European certificate of conformity
Details
The stamp is paid at the AED or by bank transfer, with your name, the plate number and the chassis number in the payment reference.
- Where
- an approved manufacturer (list on the SNCA website)
- Next
- the tax bill arrives by post
Details
You leave the SNCA with a provisional 30-day tax sticker. Activate eDelivery "Autosteier" in MyGuichet to receive the bill online.
This is for you if
- You've just moved to Luxembourg and your car still has French, Belgian, German or other plates.
- You're preparing your move and want to know what to do with your car.
- You already live in Luxembourg and bought a used car registered abroad.
Not for you if you're a cross-border worker: you live outside Luxembourg, your car stays registered in your country. Foreign students who come only for their studies are also exempt, according to Guichet.lu.
Key figures
| Item | Value | Year or date |
|---|---|---|
| Deadline to register after moving | 6 months after the declaration of arrival at the commune | Guichet.lu, April 2026 |
| Chancery fee (tax stamp) | €50 | 2026 |
| Number from the current series | Free | 2026 |
| Personalised number | €200 extra (€24 to keep your own) | 2026 |
| Stamp bought at an SNCA site | €3 extra fee | SNCA fees, August 2026 |
| Car technical inspection at the SNCT | €77 incl. VAT, plus €21.50 for an imported vehicle | SNCT prices since 2 May 2025 |
| Technical inspection in Luxembourg | 4 years after first registration, then 6 years, then every year | 2026 |
| European certificate of conformity required | For a car first registered after 1 February 2016 | 2026 |
| Provisional tax sticker | Valid 30 days after registration | 2026 |
| Unpaid tax | €74 warning before 60 days, vehicle may be immobilised after that | 2026 |
| Minimum tax (including electric cars) | €30 per year | 2026 |
| Change of address to report to the SNCA | Within the month | 2026 |
SNCA or SNCT: who does what?
Many people still search for "SNCT" for their registration certificate. Since January 2012, the former SNCT has been called the SNCA: it registers vehicles and issues driving licences. Technical inspection moved to a subsidiary that kept the name SNCT (Société nationale de contrôle technique). Two other approved centres also do it: DEKRA and Luerenzweiler Kontrollstatioun (LU KS).
The "carte grise" is officially called the registration certificate (certificat d'immatriculation). There is no separate "identification check": the technical inspection checks the vehicle's identity (chassis number, plates) at the same time as everything else.
What about insurance?
Insurance comes before registration: without a valid Luxembourg certificate, the SNCA cannot register your car. Also ask for the international motor insurance card (the green card).
Three reflexes before changing plates:
- Don't cancel your old policy too early. According to the European portal Your Europe, your foreign policy may no longer be valid or may end on re-registration. Line up the dates so you never drive without insurance.
- Ask for your claims history statement. Your current insurer must give it to you within 15 days. It covers your last 5 years of insurance and your claims.
- Use it. A Luxembourg insurer is not obliged to take over your foreign bonus, but some do. Show this statement and ask how it is taken into account.
Your home insurance and your personal liability insurance don't cover your car. And if you have a fender-bender, our guide car accident in Luxembourg explains the accident report.
A worked example
Clara, 31, leaves Lyon for Esch-sur-Alzette. She declares her arrival on 3 March 2026. Her petrol Peugeot, registered in France in June 2019, passed its last French technical inspection in April 2025.
- Deadline to register it: 3 September 2026.
- Technical inspection: her car is more than 6 years old, so the Luxembourg rule is one year. Her April 2025 certificate is no longer enough in May 2026. She goes to the SNCT: €77 + €21.50 imported vehicle surcharge = €98.50.
- Number: current series, free.
- Chancery fee: €50, paid by bank transfer (no €3 fee).
- Known official fees: 98.50 + 50 = €148.50, plus the plates at the manufacturer's price.
- Annual tax: the legal formula multiplies emissions by 0.6 (petrol) and by a CO2 factor (0.5 up to 90 g/km, + 0.1 per 10 g band). At 110 g/km: 110 × 0.6 × 0.7 = €46.20, rounded down to the euro, so about €46 per year. trigger estimate: only the customs amount is binding.
If she drives to work, her commute is deducted as a flat rate: see our travel expenses.
Common mistakes
- Letting the 6 months slip by: after that, your car is no longer compliant, and the whole file (customs, inspection, insurance) takes time.
- Cancelling your French insurance before you have the Luxembourg one: you drive uninsured, with serious consequences in case of an accident.
- Relying on a technical inspection still valid in France: the SNCA applies Luxembourg intervals, which are often shorter.
- Forgetting the tax after the 30-day provisional sticker: €74 warning, then possible immobilisation.
Frequently asked questions
6 months after your declaration of arrival at the commune, if you are settling for good. If you already live in Luxembourg and buy a car abroad, do it as soon as you buy it.
€50 chancery fee in 2026, plus €200 if you want a personalised number. Add the plates, a possible technical inspection and the annual tax.
At the SNCA, by appointment, at one of its three sites: Sandweiler, Esch-sur-Alzette or Fridhaff. The technical inspection itself takes place at the SNCT, at DEKRA or at LU KS.
Not necessarily. A European or Swiss certificate remains valid if it respects the Luxembourg intervals: 4 years, then 6 years, then every year. Otherwise, yes.
Not automatically. Ask your current insurer for your claims history statement (it has 15 days to give it to you) and show it to your Luxembourg insurer.
During the 6 months after your arrival, yes, if your insurance still covers you. Check with your insurer.