Guide · Montenegro

Driving a UK-registered car in Montenegro: how long you can keep UK plates, why registration is a problem, and what to do instead

Montenegro is outside the EU, drives on the right, and applies its own import and homologation rules. For a UK right-hand-drive car those rules are close to a dead end. This guide sets out what applies and what your options are.

Last reviewed September 2026

How long can I keep it on UK plates?

Visitors may use a foreign-registered car temporarily while its home registration, inspection and insurance are valid. A person resident in Montenegro is expected to register the car in Montenegro, and the UK registration cannot be maintained from abroad because the V5C needs a UK address and the MOT and UK insurance lapse.

Can a right-hand-drive car be registered?

The registration and homologation rules expect the steering wheel on the left, so a right-hand-drive car is not accepted for registration as it stands. A left-hand-drive conversion by an authorised workshop is the only route, and it usually costs more than an older car is worth.

What registering it involves

Left-hand-drive conversion at an authorised workshop, with documentation.
Customs clearance as an import (through a customs agent), paying duty and VAT; age and emissions limits on imported cars apply.
Homologation and technical inspection (tehnički pregled).
Registration with the police (MUP): Montenegrin plates and registration.
Compulsory motor insurance.

What it costs

Customs duty according to the tariff and the car's origin, plus 21% VAT.
Steering conversion: workshop-dependent, commonly several thousand euros.
Homologation, inspection, translations, plates and fees.

Moving home? Transfer-of-residence relief

Montenegro is outside the EU, so the EU transfer-of-residence relief does not apply; any relief for returning residents follows Montenegrin customs rules and does not change the steering-wheel requirement.

The alternative: sell it back to the UK

Selling the car back to the UK trade is the practical answer. We buy UK-registered, right-hand-drive cars in Montenegro exactly as they stand, collect free by transporter from any address, handle the export and transit paperwork, and pay in pounds sterling on collection day — into your UK bank account if you kept one.

Get a free valuation for your car in Montenegro

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

Value my UK car

Common questions

What if the MOT has expired?

Not a problem for us — the car moves on a transporter and does not need to be road-legal.

How long does collection take?

Allow one to two weeks from acceptance; Montenegro is at the end of our Adriatic run.

Do you collect from the coast?

Yes — Budva, Kotor, Tivat and Herceg Novi are covered as well as Podgorica.

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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