Guide · Austria

Driving a UK-registered car in Austria: the one-month rule, what NoVA and approval cost, and what to do instead

Residents may use a UK-registered car in Austria for one month. This guide covers that rule, what NoVA and approval cost, and the alternative.

Last reviewed October 2026

How long can I keep it on UK plates?

It depends on where your main home (Hauptwohnsitz) is. Residents may use a foreign-registered car for one month from its first entry into Austria, and trips abroad do not stop or reset the clock. If registration was impossible within that month, the deadline can be extended once, by one month, and no further. After that the UK registration document and plates must be handed in to the local authority. Since 2014 a foreign-plated car brought in and used by a resident is presumed to have its permanent base in Austria until the owner proves otherwise. Non-residents, including second-home owners and people here for a season who keep their main home in the UK, may use the car for up to one year from entry. Using a car beyond the deadline is one of the most serious offences under the motor vehicle act (KFG): the driver faces administrative fines, the keeper can face tax-offence proceedings for NoVA, the foreign registration no longer counts and insurance cover may go with it. NoVA and vehicle tax can arise from that use alone, without the car ever being registered.

Can a right-hand-drive car be registered?

Right-hand-drive cars can be registered in Austria; there is no ban. The car must meet the technical rules for its year of manufacture and may need conversion work, usually headlights set for driving on the right and a speedometer that reads in km/h. Since Brexit a car approved by the UK authority may not have an EU type approval that Austria can use, which means an individual approval at the provincial test centre (Landesprüfstelle), so ask them before you spend money. Austrian buyers pay less for right-hand drive.

What registering it involves

Approval: an entry in the approval database (Genehmigungsdatenbank) if the car has a usable EU type approval, otherwise an individual approval (Einzelgenehmigung, colloquially "typisieren") at the Landesprüfstelle. There is no automatic right to it, and it may require conversions.
NoVA, assessed on the car's market value and CO2 figure and paid as part of registering it.
A §57a inspection (the Pickerl), which a car of this age then needs every year.
Austrian motor insurance, then registration at a Zulassungsstelle, where you get Austrian plates and the registration certificate.

What it costs

NoVA in 2026: (CO2 in g/km − 91) ÷ 5 per cent of the net value, capped at 80%, plus a malus of €80 for every g/km above 155, minus €350. The 91 g/km deduction falls to 88 in 2027.
For a used car from a third country, NoVA is charged on its market value excluding VAT (the Eurotax mean if the price paid was lower). Most UK cars from around 2018 only have an NEDC CO2 figure, which is multiplied by 1.27, and the malus applies in full, with no allowance for the car's age.
Example (illustrative CO2 and value): 2018 VW Golf 1.5 TSI, 116 g/km NEDC (147 after × 1.27), worth about €10,000. NoVA about €750.
Example (illustrative CO2 and value): 2018 Ford Kuga 2.0 TDCi, 135 g/km NEDC (171), worth about €11,700. NoVA about €2,800, including a €1,280 malus.
Example (illustrative CO2 and value): 2018 Range Rover Sport SDV6, 185 g/km NEDC (235), worth about €33,300. NoVA about €15,700, including a €6,400 malus.
On top: about €130–180 for the approval, plus the §57a inspection, registration, plates and any headlight work.
Light vans (class N1) have been exempt from NoVA since July 2025; the approval still applies.

The alternative: sell it back to the UK

The obvious comparison is driving it back to the UK yourself. Vienna to Calais is about 1,350 km: two long days at the wheel, plus fuel, the Channel crossing, the journey back and then the job of selling the car in the UK. It only works while the MOT and UK insurance are valid, and once you are past the one-month deadline (two with an extension), the drive out of Austria is itself use of a car that should already have been registered in Austria. We collect it free from your address on a transporter, handle the export paperwork and pay you in pounds sterling (£) by bank transfer on collection day.

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Common questions

Can I estimate the NoVA before deciding?

Yes. Take the CO2 figure from the V5C (multiply an NEDC figure by 1.27), subtract 91 and divide by 5 to get the rate in per cent, up to 80%. Apply it to the car's net market value, add €80 for every g/km above 155 and subtract €350. The finance ministry (BMF) publishes the rules.

If I register it and leave Austria later, do I get the NoVA back?

Usually not. Since 1 July 2026 NoVA is refunded on export only for cars no more than 48 months old, so for a typical older UK car it is gone once paid.

I commute with a company car from a UK employer. Does the one-month rule apply?

The same presumption, that the car is based in Austria, covers an employee of a foreign company using a company car in Austria. You can rebut it with evidence, such as activity reports showing the car is based abroad.

What if the MOT has expired?

Not a problem. We buy cars with an expired MOT, no UK tax or a SORN, and collect them by transporter.

Rules, rates and thresholds change. This guide is a general summary as of October 2026, not legal or tax advice — check the current position with the registration authority before relying on it.

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