Guide · Hungary

Driving a UK-registered car in Hungary: how long you can keep UK plates, what registering it costs, and what to do instead

Hungary combines the EU's highest VAT rate with a registration tax and an individual-approval route for right-hand drive, so a UK car is expensive to keep. This guide covers how long you can stay on UK plates, what registration involves and costs, and the alternative.

Last reviewed September 2026

How long can I keep it on UK plates?

Non-residents may drive a foreign-registered car while its home registration, inspection and insurance are valid. A Hungarian resident must register the car in Hungary; the UK registration also cannot be kept from abroad, because the V5C needs a UK address and the MOT and UK insurance lapse.

Can a right-hand-drive car be registered?

Right-hand-drive cars can be registered in Hungary through the individual approval procedure (egyedi forgalomba helyezés), with headlamps converted for driving on the right, suitable mirrors and the extra inspection fees that go with it. Hungarian buyers discount right-hand drive heavily.

What registering it involves

Customs clearance as a non-EU import (through a customs broker), paying duty and VAT.
Individual approval and műszaki vizsga at a test station, including the headlamp conversion for right-hand drive.
Registration tax (regisztrációs adó) assessed by NAV.
Registration at the kormányablak: property transfer duty, Hungarian plates and forgalmi engedély.
Compulsory kötelező biztosítás.

What it costs

Customs duty: 10% of the customs value unless UK origin is documented under the EU–UK agreement.
VAT: 27% on the value plus duty.
Registration tax: from tens of thousands of forints for a small, older car to over a million for a large, newer engine.
Individual approval, műszaki vizsga, transfer duty, translations, plates and fees.

Moving home? Transfer-of-residence relief

If you lived in the UK for at least 12 months and owned and used the car for 6 months or more, transfer-of-residence relief normally removes customs duty and VAT when you move back. Registration tax, approval and inspection costs still apply, and the car cannot be sold for 12 months.

The alternative: sell it back to the UK

Selling back to the UK trade avoids all of it. We buy UK-registered cars in Hungary as they stand, collect free from any address, handle the export paperwork, and pay in pounds sterling on the day — into your UK bank account if you still have one.

Get a free valuation for your car in Hungary

Free collection anywhere in Hungary, all export paperwork handled, paid in pounds sterling (£) on the day.

Value my UK car

Common questions

How much is the registration tax on a typical car?

It depends on engine size, emissions class and age. A small older petrol car pays little; a large or newer engine pays hundreds of thousands of forints or more. NAV publishes the table.

What if the MOT has expired?

Not a problem — we buy cars with expired MOT or SORN and collect by transporter.

Do you collect from Lake Balaton?

Yes — the Balaton towns are between Budapest and the Austrian border on our regular route.

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

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