Importing a car from Belgium: registration, COC and paperwork

The documents to gather

From the seller, you should leave with the Belgian registration certificate (the pink card) and the Belgian certificate of conformity, often called gelijkvormigheidsattest in Dutch, together with a sales contract or invoice quoting the chassis number.

For the registration file itself, three items come up every time: the registration document of the country of origin, the certificate of conformity and the tax clearance. A roadworthiness test is added depending on the age of the vehicle and the rules of your country of registration.

The exact list depends on the authority that will process your file.

The certificate of conformity: why it is often missing

A Belgian paradox: the certificate of conformity is a well-known and required document there, and yet it will still be missing about half the time. The reason lies in the structure of the market. Belgium has the highest share of company cars in Europe, and those vehicles are registered by a lessor or an employer who keeps the administrative file.

When the vehicle is sold at the end of the contract, it passes to a dealer who receives the keys and the registration certificate, rarely the rest. The Belgian certificate of conformity stays in the lessor’s archive.

A second point, specific to Belgium: car taxation has encouraged the sale of commercial versions of vehicles that do not look like vans at all. A Volvo estate, a Peugeot MPV or a Škoda Combi may be approved in category N1, two seats, with a bulkhead. The certificate then records that configuration, and it does not freely convert back at registration elsewhere.

Step by step

1. 1

   The purchase

   Collect the complete Belgian documents and note the chassis number, 17 characters.

2. 2

   The certificate of conformity

   Start the request at signing: it is the longest step, because it depends on the manufacturer.

3. 3

   Tax clearance

   Handled in parallel with the tax authority of your country of registration.

4. 4

   Roadworthiness test

   Required depending on the age of the vehicle and the rules that apply where you register it.

5. 5

   The registration application

   It brings all the documents together. A single missing item blocks the file.

The only turnaround we state is the manufacturer’s, brand by brand: the administrative steps depend on the authority concerned.

The cost of the COC by brand

The brands most represented among imports from Belgium:

Indicative prices including VAT, confirmed once the chassis number has been checked. Full list: price by brand. Turnarounds: turnaround guide. What the eCOC changes in 2026: our eCOC guide.