Driving licence and car

Steps

1. Your licence.
   • EU or EEA licence: it counts like an Austrian licence; exchange is not mandatory (it remains possible on request). Austria may apply its national rules on validity period, medical examinations and taxation. An old paper-type licence remains usable throughout the EU, but, unless renewed, Your Europe states that it must be exchanged for the card model by 2033 at the latest. European law allows the host country to require the exchange of a licence with no end date after 2 years of residence, but Austria does not impose it: oesterreich.gv.at states that an EEA licence does not have to be exchanged when you move, without mentioning a 2-year period (the licence law, FSG, does not provide for one either in its articles on foreign licences). For categories C, C1, D and D1 issued in another EEA State, the licence is only valid after your move until the date set by the issuing State, five years at most, if it has not been exchanged by then (oesterreich.gv.at). In case of loss or theft, you apply for a new (Austrian) licence from any licensing authority, which first queries the country that issued it and the one where you last lived (§ 15 FSG).
   • Non-EEA licence (Switzerland, United Kingdom…): valid for 6 months after you move. Apply for the exchange (Umschreibung) within this period to the licensing authority (Führerscheinbehörde): the Bezirkshauptmannschaft, or the Landespolizeidirektion in large cities (in Vienna, the Verkehrsamt), online appointment advisable. For Switzerland and the United Kingdom, no practical test, for all categories. A licence that is not written in German is only valid with an international licence or a translation (oesterreich.gv.at).
2. Your car, if you bring it from abroad. You can drive with your foreign plates for one month from the vehicle's arrival in Austria; one more month is possible if you make it credible that registration could not be done in time. After that, the registration certificate and the foreign plates must be handed in to the authority.
3. Have the vehicle entered in the approvals database (Genehmigungsdatenbank). With a European certificate of conformity (COC), it is the brand's general importer who enters the data; without European approval, an individual approval (Einzelgenehmigung) from the Land is needed, at its technical station (Landesprüfstelle).
4. Calculate and pay the NoVA with form NoVA 2 to the Finanzamt (tax office), before registration. The general importer can also calculate and pay it when entering the data in the database. For a new car bought in the EU, also pay the acquisition VAT (Erwerbsteuer) of 20%.
5. Take out third-party liability insurance (Haftpflichtversicherung), which is mandatory. The insurer also collects with your premium the motorbezogene Versicherungssteuer (vehicle tax calculated on power and, for recent cars, CO2).
6. Register at an insurers' registration office (Zulassungsstelle), with the tax confirmation from the Finanzamt and the insurance certificate.
7. Pass the technical inspection (§ 57a-Begutachtung, the "Pickerl"): 3 years after first registration, then 2 years later, then every year, at an approved garage, at the ÖAMTC or at the ARBÖ. The Austrian deadline applies even if the foreign deadline is longer.
8. Buy the vignette before taking the motorway.

Documents

• Exchange of a non-EEA licence: passport, valid foreign licence, translation if needed, one ID photo (35 × 45 mm), medical certificate (ärztliches Gutachten), possibly Meldebestätigung (the authority can consult the population register instead).
• Car bought in the EU: oesterreich.gv.at advises getting from the seller the purchase contract or the paid invoice, the vehicle papers (foreign registration document, original), the warranty card, the service book and the manual, and the certificate of conformity (COC). To register: the Finanzamt confirmation of payment of the NoVA (and of the Erwerbsteuer for a new car) and the insurance certificate, once the car has been entered in the approvals database (step 3).

Costs and timelines

• Exchange of a non-EEA licence: €90 (oesterreich.gv.at, page updated on 01/09/2026), plus the medical certificate and, if applicable, the test.
• NoVA: one-off tax, as a percentage of the vehicle's net value depending on its CO2 emissions, with a malus beyond 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. Exact amount: Ministry of Finance calculator (rates not reproduced here).
• Used car bought in the EU: no VAT in Austria (paid to the seller), no customs duties.
• Technical inspection: the price varies by body. Tolerance: one month before to four months after the due month.
• 2026 vignette (car): year €106.80; 2 months €32.00; 10 days €12.80; 1 day €9.60. Bought online, an annual or 2-month vignette is only valid from the 18th day. The sticker vignette is offered for the last time in 2026: from 2027, only the digital vignette (linked to the plate) will exist.
• Timelines: 1 month (plus 1 month with justification) to register; 6 months to exchange a non-EEA licence.

Common pitfalls

• Believing that a household move exempts you from the NoVA. The law makes it due also in case of a move (Übersiedelung), a gift and an inheritance. Do the calculation before deciding to bring your car.
• Letting the month pass. Driving beyond it with foreign plates when you live in Austria exposes you to penalties (not quantified here).
• Letting the 6 months pass with a Swiss or British licence. After this period, your licence loses its validity in Austria and you can no longer drive with it before the exchange; the exchange is provided for within 6 months, and only a licence still valid in its country of origin can be exchanged (oesterreich.gv.at).
• Driving abroad with a Pickerl in tolerance. Other countries do not always recognise the Austrian tolerance.
• Buying the vignette online on the day of departure. The annual vignette bought online is only valid after 18 days; take a 1-day or 10-day vignette, valid immediately, or buy it at a point of sale.

What changes by country of origin

• EU and EEA citizens: licence recognised without exchange; car imported without customs duties.
• Swiss nationals: licence to be exchanged within 6 months, no practical test. Car: Switzerland is not in the EU, so this is an import from a third country. Outside a household move: 10% customs duty (zero customs duty with proof of preferential origin: EUR.1 certificate or, up to €6,000 in value, origin declaration on the invoice) and 20% import VAT. During a household move, your car enters without duties or VAT if you have lived at least 12 months in a row outside the EU, if you used it for at least 6 months before leaving, if you declare it within 12 months of moving and if you do not transfer it for 12 months; first ask for a basic decision from the customs office (form ZBefr 2a). The NoVA remains due before registration.
• British nationals (including Scots): licence to be exchanged within 6 months, no practical test. A car coming from the United Kingdom is imported from a third country (customs formalities, approval): to be prepared with customs and the Land's technical station.