Driving a UK-registered car in Ireland: the 30-day rule, what VRT costs, and when selling makes sense

How long can I keep it on UK plates?

If you live in Ireland, a car you bring in must be registered within 30 days of arriving. Book the VRT appointment with the NCTS, which registers vehicles for Revenue, within 7 days of the car's arrival. Miss the 30 days and additional VRT is charged: 0.1% of the VRT due for every day since the car arrived. Driving an unregistered car is an offence, and Revenue or the Gardaí can detain it or seize it. Revenue's enforcement manual allows a first offence to be settled locally: release on a compromise payment (5% of the car's value if registration is 30 to 60 days late, 10% up to six months, more after that) and an undertaking to register the car or remove it permanently from the State, normally within 30 days. If you live abroad, you can drive a car taxed and registered abroad in Ireland for up to 12 months without registering it, as long as it isn't sold, hired or lent to someone who lives here; students and people who live abroad and only travel here to work can stay longer. On the UK side, the DVLA treats a car taken to Ireland for 12 months or more as permanently exported, which you have to notify.

Can a right-hand-drive car be registered?

Yes, and nothing needs changing: Ireland drives on the left, so a right-hand-drive UK car is a normal car here. The NCTS appointment checks the car against its documents (VIN, make, model, engine); it isn't a roadworthiness test. Depending on its age, the car may be called for an NCT shortly after registration.

What registering it involves

1. Within 7 days of the car arriving, book the VRT appointment with the NCTS (online, by phone or by post).
2. If you are moving your home here, claim the VRT relief within 7 days of the car arriving, ideally so it is decided before the appointment.
3. At the NCTS, within 30 days: bring the V5C (the NCTS keeps it), proof of the CO2 and NOx figures, ID and your PPSN, form VRTVPD2, the purchase invoice, proof of address and proof of the date the car arrived. The car is checked against its documents.
4. Pay the VRT, which Revenue works out from the car's value, receive the Irish registration number and fit Irish plates within three days.
5. Insure the car in Ireland and pay motor tax. Depending on its age, it may then be called for an NCT.

What it costs

• VRT for a car (Category A): 7% to 41% of its Open Market Selling Price (OMSP) in Ireland, by CO2 band, with a minimum in each band. Revenue's online calculator gives an estimate for most models. Budget 2027 raises the rates for bands 3 to 20 by 1% from 1 January 2027.
• Older UK cars only have an NEDC CO2 figure, which Revenue converts: petrol (NEDC × 0.9227) + 34.554, diesel (NEDC × 1.1405) + 12.858. Without CO2 evidence the highest rate applies.
• NOx charge, added to the VRT: €5 per mg/km up to 40 mg/km, €15 per mg/km from 40 to 80, €25 above 80. Without satisfactory NOx evidence the maximum applies: €4,850 for a diesel, €600 for other cars.
• Late registration: additional VRT of 0.1% of the VRT due for each day since the car arrived.
• Tyre charge on first registration: €2.80 per tyre, spare included. There is no separate NCTS charge for the registration itself.
• Worked example (assumed values): a 2018 VW Golf 1.5 TSI with 116 g/km NEDC (about 142 g/km once converted, the 21.5% band), an Irish value of about €14,000 and NOx of 30 mg/km. VRT about €3,160, NOx charge included.
• Worked example (assumed values): a 2018 diesel SUV with 135 g/km NEDC (about 167 g/km, the 30% band), an Irish value of about €16,000 and NOx of 60 mg/km. VRT about €5,300, NOx charge included. Without NOx evidence the NOx charge alone would be €4,850.
• With the VRT relief for people moving home, the VRT in both examples is nil; the tyre charge still applies.

Moving home with the car?

Ireland relieves VRT when you move your normal residence here. The car must be your own, tax-paid and for private use, and you must have owned and used it abroad for at least 6 months before the move; time in Ireland doesn't count. Bring the car in within 12 months of moving, claim the relief within 7 days of the car arriving and register it within 30 days. If you sell or dispose of the car within 12 months of registration, the VRT becomes payable in full. The relief doesn't cover the tyre charge, motor tax or insurance.

The alternative: sell it back to the UK

The usual alternative is to take the car back to Great Britain and sell it there: the ferry, the drive to a buyer, the sale itself and the trip home, and only while the MOT and UK insurance are valid. If the car has been in Ireland for more than 30 days, even the drive to the port is use of a car that should already be registered. Selling to us skips all of that: we buy the car as it stands, collect it free from your address, handle the export paperwork and pay in pounds sterling (£) on collection day.

Common questions

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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