Car and driving licence in Czechia: no excise duty, but Czech plates
Czechia charges no excise duty on a car you bring from another EU country. What there is: Czech plates once you live there, an inspection, and 800 crowns in fees. The driving licence is the easiest part: an EU licence doesn't need exchanging, and if you want to anyway, it costs 200 crowns.
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Written and checked by Auke on , against the sources at the bottom. Is something no longer right? Report it below and I'll fix it.
Yes, your car can come to Czechia without paying excise duty, and that makes it cheaper than to most neighbouring countries. Excise duty here is the tax some countries charge on a car entering the country. There is also no exemption to apply for and no requirement about how long the car has been yours.
What it does cost:
- the inspection;
- 800 crowns in fees at the counter (640 online);
- Czech insurance.
The cost indication works with € 150 to € 900. The top end is an old car that pays an environmental levy.
Two things to know in advance:
- Your licence doesn't need exchanging. The three-month deadline for the driving licence that circulates online appears on the ministry's page only for licences from outside the EU. A Dutch licence doesn't need exchanging at all.
- The car must go onto Czech plates once you live there. The law sets no deadline in days. So arrange it straight after arrival, in the same weeks as the report to the foreign police, which does have to be within thirty days.
Do I pay excise duty on my car?
No. Unlike Poland, where the exemption hangs on five conditions, Czechia charges no excise duty on a passenger car you bring from another EU country as removal goods. There is no exemption you have to apply for and no condition about how long the car has been yours. You bring it, and you register it.
When must the car be registered, and what do I bring?
You register at the municipal office with extended powers for your place of residence. That is the municipal office that also handles tasks for the surrounding municipalities. The law sets no fixed deadline in days: whoever lives in Czechia must register the car there. For an EU citizen that applies with a stay of at least six months in a calendar year. Whoever goes in person with all documents can usually complete the application on the spot. A complicated application can take up to thirty days.
You bring:
- proof of your residential address in Czechia;
- the Dutch registration certificate, or the manufacturer's COC certificate (the statement that the car meets the European requirements);
- a Czech inspection; the counter sees the result electronically;
- Czech insurance;
- for a new car from another EU country, proof of the VAT paid.
| Item or deadline | What |
|---|---|
| Registration of the car | no deadline in days; required once you live in Czechia |
| Handling at the counter | usually on the spot, up to 30 days for a complicated application |
| Registration fee | 800 crowns at the counter, 640 crowns online |
| Environmental levy | only for an old emission class, on top of the fee |
| BPM refund in the Netherlands | the car must be registered elsewhere within 13 weeks of the RDW status 'Export' |
| Exchanging the licence (voluntary) | 200 crowns, ready within 20 days |
A car that doesn't meet the Euro 3 emission standard pays an environmental levy of 3,000 to 10,000 crowns at its first registration, on top of the fee. If your car is from before 2001, have it checked before departure which standard it meets. Selling in the Netherlands can then be cheaper than bringing it.
Don't forget the Dutch side:
- the export notification at the RDW;
- the BPM refund, which requires the car to be registered in Czechia within thirteen weeks (easily met if you register it straight after arrival);
- the cancellation letter for your car insurance.
How heavy is the inspection?
The technical inspection is the step that takes time. A car that has been on the road for less than four years gets by with an evidence check: a check that the car matches its papers. It carries over the inspection date from the Netherlands. An older car goes through the full inspection. The result also determines the emission class the environmental levy hangs on.
Plan the inspection in your first week. No inspection, no registration, and you want the registration done straight after arrival.
Do I have to exchange my driving licence?
No. A valid licence from an EU country doesn't need exchanging; it simply stays valid in Czechia. Do you want to anyway, for instance because it is about to expire and you'd rather renew it in Czechia? That is only possible if you have your normal residence in Czechia. You bring your identity document and your EU licence, pay 200 crowns, and the Czech licence is there within twenty days.
The three-month deadline that circulates online applies to licences from outside the EU. Not to you.
What is the pitfall?
One clock of thirty days, and everyone misses it. Whoever stays in Czechia for more than thirty days reports to the foreign police within thirty days. That report is free, a form, and the step almost everyone skips because the rest of the Czech registration is voluntary. For the car the law sets no deadline in days, but it does set the duty. Put both in your diary on the same day: the day you arrive.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 3 of 5 of the journey, step 3.2: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Czechia or go straight to step 3.2 in the open plan.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- Gov.cz — registration of a new or imported vehicle — portal.gov.cz
- Act 56/2001 Coll., section 6 — registration required for whoever lives in Czechia — e-sbirka.gov.cz
- Ministry of Transport — registering a used car from an EU country, usually handled on the spot — md.gov.cz
- Ministry of Transport — exchange of a driving licence from an EU member state — md.gov.cz
- Your Europe — exchanging and recognising a driving licence in Czechia — europa.eu
- Your Europe — registering your car in your new country of residence — europa.eu
- Belastingdienst — BPM refund on export of a used motor vehicle (thirteen weeks) — belastingdienst.nl
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