A white Fiat with French plates crawls up a street in Chania, and the neighbours know it has been there for a year. Sooner or later, people who move to Greece ask the same two questions: "can I keep my licence?" and "can I keep my car?". The answer to the first is mostly yes. The answer to the second is "yes, if you plan it before you leave".
Can you keep your EU driving licence when driving in Greece?
Yes. A valid European licence is recognised in Greece and you are not required to exchange it. You can still choose to exchange it for a Greek licence if your habitual residence is in Greece, meaning at least 185 days a year, in principle without a new exam or medical visit, according to the national procedure register MITOS.
The exchange becomes necessary mainly in four situations:
- your licence is lost, stolen or damaged;
- you commit an offence in Greece that leads to a sanction applied there;
- your licence expires;
- you hold an older-model licence (issued before 19 January 2013) whose expiry date goes beyond your 65th birthday and you have lived in Greece for more than two years.
To exchange it, apply at the transport and communications department of your regional unit or at a KEP (citizen service centre), in person or by post. You need a readable copy of your licence, a recent photo, a solemn declaration, proof of payment of the €30 electronic stamp, an ID copy and proof of residence in Greece. The new licence is valid for 15 years and the estimated time is about 45 days.
What about a Swiss or British licence?
Swiss licences are recognised for 12 months after arrival. After that, they have to be exchanged under the Greek-Swiss agreement, without exam but with a medical check by two specialists. The cost is €105 for the first category, more with extra categories, and it takes about 45 days.
For British people the rules are stricter. GOV.UK says you can drive on your UK licence for up to six months. If you are resident for six months or more, you must exchange it, and you cannot renew a UK licence while you live in Greece. The same page mentions a theory and a practical test for a Greek licence application. For those protected by the Withdrawal Agreement (residents before 2021), the Greek register describes an exchange without exam: €105, two medical certificates and about 45 days. For a Briton who arrived after 2021, the procedure is not described on the register, so ask the transport department. Our guide to moving to Greece from the UK puts this into context.
Can you bring your car to Greece without paying the registration tax?
Under certain conditions, yes. The relocation exemption means no VAT and no registration tax on your car and your personal goods. The conditions are:
- your habitual residence was outside Greece for at least two years, with at least 185 days a year;
- you owned and used the car for at least six months before moving;
- you obtained a relocation certificate from the Greek consulate in your country before the move. It costs €120, paid once the application is accepted, and its issue date fixes the date of your move: you can clear your belongings at once or in stages within the next 12 months. If you have already arrived, the application goes through the consular affairs department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Athens.
The right to this exemption can be used only once.
Goods imported in this way cannot be sold, rented or pledged for one year.
How do you register an imported car?
- Declare the car's arrival to customs as soon as it enters Greece (Δήλωση Άφιξης Οχήματος). It is done online with your TAXISnet codes and is free.
- File the special declaration (Ειδική Δήλωση), online and free, with your relocation certificate if you claim the exemption. The deadline is short: the national register says the 30th day after the tax becomes due, while customs guidance from March 2026 says the 15th of the following month, so ask customs for your exact date on arrival.
- Once the declaration is settled, customs sends your registration certificate in digital form to the transport ministry's online service; it is not printed.
- Register the car at the transport and communications department of your regional unit and get Greek plates. You provide the last foreign roadworthiness certificate if the car was subject to one, the certificate of conformity and the cancelled foreign registration papers.
- Enter a used car in the register of imported second-hand cars (ΜΕΜΟ) within 20 days of the registration request. It is free, but forgetting it can lead to a fine of €500 to €2,000. The procedure was under review in September 2026.
- Insure it. Civil liability insurance is compulsory.
What does it cost without the exemption?
A registration tax, plus VAT for a new car. It depends on taxable value (reduced by age and mileage for a used car), CO2 emissions and the Euro standard. Older used cars pay more, and low-emission cars get reductions that have changed several times recently. We could not reread the current AADE tables, so we give no amount here: ask customs to calculate it for your car before you ship it.
Which cars cannot be registered?
The customs guidance says that cars with the Euro 1, 2 or 3 standards, or cars whose emissions cannot be proved, cannot be registered in Greece. We could not reread that page, so confirm with customs, and check the standard on the registration certificate before you pay for transport.
What are the common mistakes?
- Buying a car just before leaving. For the exemption it must have been used for six months.
- Forgetting the consulate certificate. No certificate, no exemption.
- Missing the deadline for the special declaration.
- Driving for years on foreign plates as a resident. You risk a fine.
- Reselling within a year. It cancels the exemption.
For the rest of your first weeks, follow the moving to Greece checklist.
What is it like to drive in Greece?
The legal side is only half of driving in Greece. The other half is the road itself: narrow streets in old centres, mountain roads on the mainland and the islands. We do not have an official source on road conditions or local habits, so we will not generalise. What we can say is that in cities like Athens, where the metro and buses are dense, many residents manage without a car, while on islands and in villages a car is closer to a necessity. Decide with your address in mind, not in the abstract; our guide to the best places to live in Greece can help you choose where.
When does the licence have to be renewed?
Once you hold a Greek licence it follows Greek rules for validity and medical checks. The licence you receive by exchange is valid for 15 years, according to the national register. At renewal, everyone takes a medical examination (a general practitioner or internist and an ophthalmologist); after 80, an ear-nose-throat specialist and a neurologist or psychiatrist are added. Renewal costs €105, plus a small local fee of €5.87 in the Cyclades, and you apply online on gov.gr no earlier than two months before expiry. The validity granted by age under presidential decree 51/2012 is not detailed on the register page, so confirm it with your transport department. An old paper-format licence has to be replaced by 2033 at the latest.
Do you need insurance, and what about fines?
Civil liability insurance is compulsory for any vehicle, and you can take it with any insurer authorised to operate in Greece. As a resident with foreign plates you risk a fine for failing to register the car or pay the taxes, so carry proof of your residence abroad if you are only passing through. The detailed fine schedule is outside this article; check it with the traffic police before a long stay.
What is the bottom line on driving in Greece?
Driving in Greece with a European licence is easy. Moving a car is where the planning is: a relocation certificate, two years of residence abroad, six months of use, and a recent enough vehicle. Before you ship a car, ask Greek customs, or an accountant who handles car imports, to confirm the tax for your own vehicle. Start with the licence and decide about the car last; our guide to the moving to Greece checklist shows where it fits. Whatever you choose, driving in Greece is a question of registration and tax before it is a question of roads.