Driving licence and car

Steps

1. On the day of arrival or the next: apply for a 30-day temporary permit (form VEH 64), no later than 1 working day after the car arrives in Malta. Transport Malta gives you a provisional disc to stick on the windscreen.
2. If you are transferring your residence to Malta, apply for the transfer of residence tax exemption (Transfer of Residence Scheme, form VEH 007) before paying. Conditions (rules S.L. 368.01, rule 4): the car (category M1) or motorcycle has been registered in your name for at least 24 months before you settle and still is on arrival; you have lived outside Malta for at least 24 months in a row; it was bought with taxes paid in its country, with no VAT refund on export; you declare it between 2 months before and 12 months after the start of your residence, and no later than 30 days after you settle (if the car is already there) or after its arrival (the settlement date used is the date your residence card is issued). One exemption per person; it is excluded if you had left Malta for studies of less than 5 years. The application goes by registered letter or by hand to Transport Malta (A3 Towers, Paola), and a Ministry for Finance committee decides; appeal possible within 21 days.
3. Get the value and the tax online at valuation-vehicleregistration.gov.mt and print the result.
4. Present the car for inspection at the land transport directorate, A3 Towers, Paola, with the printout and the original registration document. No appointment for a private car.
5. Register the car at an office of the land transport directorate, with the documents requested, and pay: inspection, registration, annual road licence and registration tax. Everything must be finished within 30 days of arrival; if you applied for the exemption, you have 20 days from notification of the decision to file the registration application.
6. Insure the car at least third-party: driving without insurance is prohibited.
7. Every year, renew the road licence in the month set by the first letter of your plate (A, M or Y: January; B, N or Z: February; etc.), online at licenzji-vetturi.gov.mt or through your insurer.
8. Take the roadworthiness test (VRT, Vehicle Roadworthiness Test) at an approved station, in Malta or Gozo, when it is due.

Documents

• Original registration document (log book).
• Valuation printed from the valuation site.
• Identity document and Maltese residence card.
• Purchase invoice if the car has under 6,000 km or is under 6 months old (VAT is then due in Malta).
• For the exemption: form VEH 007 and documents in English or Maltese: proof of 24 months of residence outside Malta (bills, tax returns, social security statements, employment or housing documents) and of 24 months of registration in your name (registration document, insurance certificate, proof that taxes were paid and not refunded), plus the date the car arrived. If the exemption is granted: €100 application fee.
• Insurance certificate.
• Valid roadworthiness test certificate (VRT) (see "Costs and timelines").
• For a car bought in another EU country: proof of actual mileage (document approved by Transport Malta).
• For a car from a third country: certificate of conformity or individual approval (Single Vehicle Type approval), and proof of actual mileage; a car registered in the United Kingdom no later than 31/12/2020 is exempt from approval.

Costs and timelines

• Fixed fees: €55 for vehicle verification (Transport Malta may also ask you to present the car), €15 for registration (€10 if applied for online).
• Registration tax: calculated on the average value of identical or similar cars on the Maltese market, according to the scales in the law (Cap. 368). The online simulator gives the exact amount; no typical amount in the sources consulted.
• Annual road licence (circulation licence): amount set by the Fourth Schedule of the law (Cap. 368, last amended by Act III of 2026) according to CO2 emissions, fuel and the age of the car. Example for a petrol car measured on the NEDC cycle (category 1A): €100 per year up to 100 g/km of CO2 and €125 from 101 to 130 g/km during the first 5 years, up to €525 above 250 g/km; the amount then increases with age (up to €1,125). New cars registered from 01/01/2021 (WLTP measurement, category 1B) have other bands: for example €100 up to 125 g/km and €125 from 126 to 175 g/km during the first 5 years. The Transport Malta simulator gives the exact figure for your car.
• Payment: bank card, bank draft or bank guarantee; no cash, no personal cheque above €1,500.
• Late registration: €30 per day beyond the 30 days.
• Car used without tax and without exemption: it may be seized. You must then pay the tax, fees and penalties, or a penalty of €2,000 and re-export the car.
• Roadworthiness test for a private car (S.L. 65.15, schedule of fees and frequencies): first test 4 years after first registration, then every 2 years, and every year once the odometer exceeds 160,000 km at a test; €30.27 including tax per test since 2023, plus Transport Malta administrative fees. A car coming from another EU country with a still-valid test is considered up to date there, unless Transport Malta asks for a new test; a car from a third country always passes the test before registration.

Common pitfalls

• Letting the 30 days pass. The fine runs every day and the car may be seized.
• Selling an exempted car. If you sell in Malta a car imported with the transfer of residence exemption, the registration tax becomes due on its market value.
• Believing that the 7-month rule applies to you. A non-resident can keep their foreign car for up to 7 months out of 12 without registering it. As soon as you have a Maltese residence card, this is no longer possible.
• An almost new car. Under 6,000 km or under 6 months: VAT is due in Malta, in addition to the tax.
• A car from Northern Ireland or Great Britain. Only a car registered in Northern Ireland (V5CNI registration document, Northern Ireland address and plate) can count as coming from the EU. Otherwise, it is an import from a third country, with customs clearance.
• Driving with the provisional disc beyond 30 days. The temporary tax exemption ends on the date shown on the disc.

What changes by country of origin

• EU and EEA citizens, Swiss nationals: procedure described above for a car coming from the EU. A car registered in Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein comes from outside the customs union: it goes through customs (MTCA) and the Maltese roadworthiness test before registration. If you are settling, it enters without customs duty if you owned and used it for at least 6 months before leaving, you lived outside the EU for at least 12 months and you declare it within 12 months after you settle; no loan, pledge, rental or transfer (sale included) for 12 months without notifying customs beforehand, on pain of having to pay customs duty (Regulation (EC) 1186/2009, art. 3 to 9). For import VAT, ask customs to apply the transfer of residence relief (Directive 2009/132/EC). For the Maltese registration tax, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein count as the EU (S.L. 368.01).
• British nationals (Scots included): a car coming from Great Britain is an import from a third country (customs and VAT); it must pass a Maltese roadworthiness test before registration, even with a valid British test. The registration tax exemption for transfer of residence also applies to a car imported from a third country, on the same conditions (24 months, VEH 007); for customs duty, the transfer of residence relief described above (6 months of ownership, 12 months outside the EU) applies.