Driving in Austria: licence, car registration and the vignette

Austria is a country where the road signs are in clear German, the mountain passes are well kept, and the paperwork for a car is anything but casual. Driving in Austria as a new resident involves three separate questions: your licence, your vehicle and the vignette that lets you use the motorways. Each has its own deadline.

Is your licence valid for driving in Austria?

It depends on where it was issued.

EU and EEA licences. A licence from an EU or EEA country is valid in Austria like an Austrian one. You do not have to exchange it when you settle. Austria may apply its own national rules on validity periods, medical checks and penalties. Older paper licences remain valid but must be replaced by the card model by 2033 under European rules. EU law lets a host country require a licence without an end date to be exchanged after two years of residence, but Austria does not apply that: oesterreich.gv.at says an EEA licence need not be exchanged when you move. If you lose it, you apply for a new Austrian licence at any licence authority, which first consults the issuing country.

Swiss and British licences. Valid for six months from the day you first establish a residence in Austria. Within that window you apply for an exchange (Umschreibung) at the licence authority: the Bezirkshauptmannschaft, or the regional police directorate in big cities. In Vienna it is the Verkehrsamt. Online appointments are recommended.

• Fee: €90 (oesterreich.gv.at, page updated 1 September 2026), plus the medical certificate.
• Documents: passport, valid foreign licence, a translation if needed, a 35 × 45 mm photo, a medical certificate and possibly your registration confirmation.
• Test: no practical test for Swiss or UK licences, for all categories.

Do not let the six months lapse. Only a valid licence can be exchanged, and after the period you can no longer drive on it.

How do you register a car for driving in Austria?

You may drive with foreign plates for one month after the vehicle arrives in Austria. A further month is possible if you can show that registration could not be done in time. After that, the foreign registration document and the plates must be handed in. Driving beyond the period with foreign plates when you live in Austria exposes you to penalties.

The registration process has several stages:

1. Registration in the approvals database (Genehmigungsdatenbank). With a European certificate of conformity (COC), the brand's general importer enters the data. Without a European approval, you need an individual approval from the province (Einzelgenehmigung) at its technical station.
2. The NoVA. You calculate and pay it with the NoVA 2 form at the tax office before registration. The importer can also calculate and pay it when entering the data. For a new car bought in the EU, the 20% acquisition VAT is also due.
3. Liability insurance. Mandatory (Haftpflichtversicherung). The insurer also collects with your premium the motor-related insurance tax, based on power and, for newer cars, CO2.
4. Registration at an insurers' registration office (Zulassungsstelle), with the tax confirmation and the insurance certificate.
5. The technical inspection (the Pickerl): three years after first registration, then two years later, then every year, at an approved garage, ÖAMTC or ARBÖ. The Austrian schedule applies even if your previous country allowed longer.

Before shipping a car across a border, many people want to know whether it is worth it. The NoVA can change the answer. Moovy can walk you through the steps and the questions to ask the tax office. The calculation and the registration remain yours, and a specialist can help for complex vehicles.

What is the NoVA, and can you avoid it when you move?

The NoVA (Normverbrauchsabgabe) is a one-off tax on first registration in Austria, calculated as a percentage of the net value of the car depending on its CO2 emissions, with a malus above a threshold and a fixed deduction for cars. Electric cars are exempt. For a used car from the EU or EEA, the law in force on the date of its first registration applies.

The point that surprises movers: the law makes it due also in case of a move, a gift or an inheritance. Do the calculation before you decide to bring the car. The finance ministry has a calculator, and the exact rates are not repeated here.

A used car bought in the EU carries no Austrian VAT (you pay it to the seller) and no customs duty.

Do you need a vignette to drive on motorways?

Yes, on motorways and expressways. The 2026 prices for a car, including 20% VAT, according to ASFINAG:

Bought online, a vignette for one or ten days can be made valid immediately, while a two-month or annual one only becomes valid from the 18th day after purchase because of consumer protection rules. If you are leaving tomorrow, choose a short vignette or buy at a point of sale. The sticker is offered for the last time in 2026; from 2027 only the digital vignette exists, tied to your licence plate.

What changes if you come from Switzerland or the UK?

For a Swiss car, Switzerland is not in the EU, so this is a third-country import. Outside a house move, it means 10% customs duty (0% for a car of Swiss origin with proof of preferential origin) and 20% import VAT. In a move, your car can enter without duties or VAT if you lived at least 12 months in a row outside the EU, used it at least six months before the move, declare it within 12 months of settling and do not sell it for 12 months. Ask the customs office for a decision first (form ZBefr 2a). The NoVA remains due before registration.

For a British car, the same third-country logic applies: customs formalities and vehicle approval, to prepare with customs and the technical station of the province. Our article for British readers is moving to Austria from the UK.

What are the traps to avoid?

• Assuming a move exempts you from NoVA. It does not.
• Letting the month pass. Overstaying with foreign plates carries penalties.
• Letting a Swiss or UK licence expire before the exchange.
• Driving abroad on a Pickerl in grace period. The Austrian tolerance of one month before to four months after the due month may not be recognised abroad.
• Buying an annual vignette online on departure day. Remember the 18-day delay.

Do you need a car at all?

In Vienna, Graz, Linz, Salzburg and Innsbruck, many residents get by with public transport, bicycles and the occasional rental. In the mountain provinces and rural areas, a car is often a necessity. If you are not sure, consider arriving without the car for the first months and deciding once you know your daily routine. You will also have saved yourself the NoVA calculation. For where to settle, see the best places to live in Austria, and for your overall first steps, the guide to moving to Austria.

What are the basics of the road rules?

The rules most newcomers notice quickly: a motorway vignette is compulsory, liability insurance is compulsory, and cars must pass the Pickerl inspection on schedule. Other rules, such as speed limits, winter tyre obligations and alcohol limits, are set in national law and by the provinces. We do not give figures for them here, because they change and some depend on the region or season. Check the motoring clubs (ÖAMTC, ARBÖ) or the police pages for the current rules before a trip, especially for mountain roads in winter.

If you are stopped, carry your licence, vehicle papers and insurance certificate. If you register your car late, or keep foreign plates after the grace period, the penalties are set by the authority; our fact sheet gives no figure, so ask the registration office.

How does the vignette work in practice?

For a car, the digital vignette is linked to your plate. Buy it from the official seller, ASFINAG, in the app or online, or at a point of sale such as a petrol station or a motoring club office. Check the plate number carefully when you buy, since a typo can mean a fine. Keep the confirmation. Motorcycles and other vehicles have their own prices, so check the right category on the ASFINAG page.

If you only drive on motorways occasionally, a ten-day or two-month vignette can be cheaper than the annual one; if you commute on the motorway, the €106.80 annual vignette is the cheapest per day. If you live in a city and rarely leave it, you may not need one at all. Ordinary roads need no vignette.