Driving licence and car

Steps

The licence

1. Keep your European licence as long as it is valid. Current licences remain valid until their renewal, and at the latest until 2033 for the older models.
2. Have it registered free of charge at the SNCA if you wish: in case of loss or theft, it issues a duplicate itself and you do not need a certificate of authenticity from your country of origin.
3. Exchange it in the compulsory cases (adding a category, restriction of the right to drive, return after a driving ban or withdrawal; Guichet.lu also cites loss of points), at the earliest 185 days after you settle.

The car

1. Request a Luxembourg registration number (standard series or personalised) if it is not already reserved in your name: your insurer needs it, with the chassis number, for your certificate. Once the number is confirmed, have the plate printed at an approved manufacturer.
2. Insure it for third-party liability with an insurer approved in Luxembourg.
3. Pay the fiscal stamp (chancery fee) of €50, at the Administration de l'enregistrement (AED) or at the SNCA (€3 of fees in addition).
4. Obtain vignette 705 at the customs office (Gasperich or Diekirch): it proves that VAT has been settled, in Luxembourg or in another EU country.
5. Check the technical inspection: a valid certificate issued in an EEA country or in Switzerland may be accepted, with Luxembourg validity periods; otherwise, have the inspection done by an approved body.
6. Book an appointment at the SNCA (Sandweiler, Esch-sur-Alzette or Diekirch-Fridhaff) with the file.
7. Pay the road vehicle tax: the SNCA gives you a 30-day provisional vignette; subscribe to Autosteier on MyGuichet.lu to receive the electronic invoice.

Documents

• Licence exchange: 45 × 35 mm photo, €30 stamp, double-sided copy of the licence, copy of an identity document, bulletin no. 4 of the Luxembourg criminal record less than 3 months old, original licence.
• Registration: application form, complete foreign registration certificate, invoice if the certificate does not prove ownership, insurance certificate, vignette 705, fiscal stamps, identity document, European certificate of conformity (COC) for cars first registered after 1 February 2016, technical inspection certificate for vehicles subject to periodic inspection. The SNCA may ask for certain documents to be translated by a sworn translator in Luxembourg, and you present each document in the original.

Costs and timelines

• Licence: registration free; exchange €30. A Luxembourg licence is valid for 10 years.
• Registration: €50 chancery fee (more for a personalised number), then annual vehicle tax calculated by customs.
• VAT: for an individual, a second-hand car (more than 6 months old and more than 6,000 km) bought in the EU does not pay Luxembourg VAT; a "new" car (less than 6 months old or less than 6,000 km) pays 17% VAT in Luxembourg, unless an exemption is possible in case of transfer of residence (Guichet.lu).
• Timeline: 6 months after your arrival declaration at the commune.

Common pitfalls

• Waiting until the end of the 6 months: customs, the technical inspection and the SNCA appointment take time.
• Foreign documents not translated: the SNCA may require translation by a sworn translator in Luxembourg (registration certificate, technical inspection, etc.).
• Believing that everyone must register: foreign students and, under conditions, the company car provided by a company from another EEA State where it is registered are not covered by the obligation.
• Forgetting Autosteier: without a subscription, you receive neither an invoice nor an electronic vignette.
• Residential parking vignette: your commune may require it; it is collected with the registration certificate.

What changes by country of origin

• EU, EEA: rules above.
• Swiss and British nationals (Scots included): their licence is not an EEA licence; a non-EEA licence must in principle be transcribed into a Luxembourg licence within the year following settling (Guichet.lu rule: you have one year at most after settling to have it transcribed, but transcription is only possible from the 185th day; fee of €30; examination required if the deadline is exceeded; the page names neither Switzerland nor the United Kingdom, but refuses licences from countries outside the 1949 Geneva and 1968 Vienna conventions).
• Car coming from Switzerland or the United Kingdom: non-EU import, with customs clearance: customs duties of 10% and VAT of 17%, unless an exemption is possible in case of transfer of residence if the European conditions are met (see customs). If the vehicle is cleared in Luxembourg under T1 transit, customs asks you to first contact by email the Customs receipt office (brd@do.etat.lu) before going to the Excise counters.