Your car from the Netherlands to Italy: Dutch papers and Italian steps

• Export document. The vehicle is deregistered for export in the Dutch vehicle register. The person in whose name the export is arranged receives the export certificate, which the Dutch call kentekenbewijs deel II (registration certificate Part II), plus the registration card (kentekencard) with one corner cut off. The seller receives the indemnity certificate (vrijwaringsbewijs), proof that the Dutch registration has stopped.
• White export plates. Your existing registration number on white plates, for the drive out of the Netherlands.
• Export insurance. Fourteen days of third-party cover with a Green Card, which we arrange through our insurance partner. If the Italian steps take longer, it can be extended by 14 days at a time after approval by the insurer.
• BPM refund service. Because the destination is an EU country, part of the Dutch registration tax (BPM) can sometimes be reclaimed after export. We can prepare and submit the claim for you; the Belastingdienst decides.

No EX-A customs declaration is needed within the EU. What each paper is for, and how Italy refers to it, is explained on our page about Dutch car export documents. Cover for the journey is described under export insurance with a Green Card.

In Italy, registering a used car from another EU country is called nazionalizzazione. The buyer or new owner arranges it, in roughly this order:

1. A VAT check at the Direzione Provinciale of the Agenzia delle Entrate. A private buyer usually pays no Italian VAT on a used car for own use, but the check comes first.
2. A technical document, normally the certificate of conformity (CoC). Without a CoC, another document from the list of the Italian transport ministry (MIT) is needed.
3. One application (istanza unificata) to the Motorizzazione Civile and the PRA (Pubblico Registro Automobilistico), most easily through an STA (Sportello Telematico dell'Automobilista) at the Motorizzazione, the PRA or a Studio di Consulenza Automobilistica.
4. The result: a carta di circolazione that serves as the Documento Unico (DU).
5. Then the provincial registration tax (IPT) and, every year, the regional road tax (bollo auto).

If you become a resident of Italy, the car must be registered there within three months of acquiring residenza (art. 93-bis of the Codice della Strada). The full procedure is on importing a car to Italy, and the rules for residents are on moving to Italy with a car.

In the Netherlands, a desk application with complete papers is usually ready in about 15 minutes. By post, insured DHL shipping takes about 5 working days, or about 1 working day with DHL Express.

For the Italian part there is no official average. As an indication, with complete papers (a CoC, a valid roadworthiness test and no damage) the Italian part usually takes a few weeks, depending on the VAT check and the appointment at an STA. It takes longer without a CoC, with a sworn translation, an expired test or an inspection before registration (visita e prova). If that happens, extend the export insurance in good time.

After deregistration, the car may be driven on Dutch public roads for 14 days, never beyond the expiry of its APK (the Dutch roadworthiness test). Abroad, the rules for a Dutch export registration vary by country, and we found no official source in the countries on this route that mentions it for this journey. Check the rules beforehand for every country on your route, or have the car carried on a transporter. If you live in Italy yourself, ask the Italian authorities before driving in on export plates. More on Dutch export plates.

Did you take the car there on its Dutch registration, for example when you moved? We can still arrange the export: the deregistration with the export certificate (kentekenbewijs deel II). It is handled entirely remotely, with a procedure that differs from the desk and runs by post. Shipping is insured with DHL: standard about 5 working days, DHL Express about 1 working day. Contact us first and we will tell you what is needed and what it costs.

Have you found a car, motorhome or van in the Netherlands, or are you still looking? Arrange the export in your own name, so that you receive the export certificate yourself, and bring your full Italian address. If you cannot come to the Netherlands, the RDW allows a contact person in the Netherlands to arrange the export. Heavier vehicles are covered on exporting a truck or van to Italy. Selling a Dutch car to a buyer abroad instead? See selling a car for export. All our rates and the Italian charges are listed on the cost of importing a car to Italy.