When the exemption from the one-off registration tax no longer applies
If the conditions for the exemption or reduction of the one-off registration tax no longer apply to your vehicle, you must pay the one-off registration tax.
The tax you must pay is determined based on the rules and tax rates that apply from the time the vehicle is no longer exempt. The vehicle scrap deposit fee is part of the one-time registration tax.
The lock-in period
Vehicles with a reduction in or an exemption from the one-off registration tax have a lock-in period calculated from the date of registration in Norway. This means that you cannot sell, rebuild or change the use of the vehicle – reallocate the vehicle – during this period without notifying the Tax Administration. There are different lock-in periods for different types of tax exemptions.
If you sell the vehicle to a new owner who also meets the conditions for exemption, and the sale is within the lock-in period for the exemption, you do not have to pay the one-off registration tax. If this applies to you, you must contact the Tax Administration to maintain the exemption.
Find out what applies to different types of vehicles
Unless you've received permission from the Tax Administration, a change of use is not allowed until 20 years have passed since the vehicle was first registered. This means that you cannot sell, rebuild or change the use of the vehicle – reallocate the vehicle – during this period.
The owner of the vehicle is responsible for paying the one-time registration tax. This must happen before the vehicle can be re-registered to a person or enterprise that's not exempt from the one-time registration tax. If the vehicle is older than 20 years, the owner must also pay the vehicle scrap deposit fee.
The application must include:
- Verbal Note (contact the Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
- a copy of the registration certificate
The application must be submitted to the address found in the Verbal Note from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Read more about importing and selling motor vehicles on the Ministry of Foreign Affair's website
The vehicle has a 3-year lock-in period calculated from the date of registration in Norway. This means that you cannot sell, rebuild or change the use of the vehicle – reallocate the vehicle – during this period without notifying the Tax Administration.
If the vehicle is sold or the use is changed before 3 years have passed, you must notify the Tax Administration and pay the one-off registration tax for the months that remain of the lock-in period. Part of a month is considered a whole month.
After 3 years, the binding period ends automatically. Then it's no longer necessary to contact the Tax Administration prior to a re-registration.
The vehicle has a 3-year lock-in period calculated from the date of registration in Norway. This means that you cannot sell, rebuild or change the use of the vehicle – reallocate the vehicle – during this period without notifying the Tax Administration.
If the vehicle is sold or the use is changed before 3 years have passed, you must notify the Tax Administration and pay the one-off registration tax for the months that remain of the lock-in period. Part of a month is considered a whole month.
After 3 years, the binding period ends automatically. Then it's no longer necessary to contact the Tax Administration prior to a re-registration.
The vehicle has a 3-year lock-in period calculated from the date of registration in Norway. This means that you cannot sell, rebuild or change the use of the vehicle – reallocate the vehicle – during this period without notifying the Tax Administration.
If the vehicle is sold or the use is changed before 3 years have passed, you must notify the Tax Administration and pay the one-off registration tax for the months that remain of the lock-in period. Part of a month is considered a whole month.
After 3 years, the binding period ends automatically. Then it's no longer necessary to contact the Tax Administration prior to a re-registration.
The vehicle has a 3-year lock-in period calculated from the date of registration in Norway. This means that you cannot sell, rebuild or change the use of the vehicle – reallocate the vehicle – during this period without notifying the Tax Administration.
If the vehicle is sold or the use is changed before 3 years have passed, you must notify the Tax Administration and pay the one-off registration tax for the months that remain of the lock-in period. Part of a month is considered a whole month.
After 3 years, the binding period ends automatically. Then it's no longer necessary to contact the Tax Administration prior to a re-registration.
Bus registered at an institution or organisation for the transport of disabled people.
Changes before 3 years have passed
The vehicle has a 3-year lock-in period calculated from the date of registration in Norway. This means that you cannot sell, rebuild or change the use of the vehicle – reallocate the vehicle – during this period without notifying the Tax Administration.
If the vehicle is sold or the use is changed before 3 years have passed, you must notify the Tax Administration and pay the one-off registration tax for busses for the months that remain of the lock-in period. Part of a month is considered a whole month.
It's important that the vehicle is changed back to bus before you notify us of the reallocation.
Changes after 3 years have passed
After 3 years, the binding period ends automatically. Even if the lock-in period has expired, the vehicle must be re-registered as a bus (vehicle group 215, tax group J) before it's to be sold or its use is to be changed. This is because the vehicle has been temporarily registered as a passenger car. The temporary registration applies as long as the vehicle is owned and used by the institution.
If the vehicle is not re-registered as a bus, you must pay tax for modifying a bus into a passenger car.
If you are going to change (re-register) the lorry from vehicle group 380/381 to, for example, a class 2 van, you must .
Unless you've received permission from the Tax Administration, a change of use is not allowed until 20 years have passed since the vehicle was first registered. This means that you cannot sell, rebuild or change the use of the vehicle – reallocate the vehicle – during this period without applying for permission from the Tax Administration.
The owner of the vehicle is responsible for paying the one-time registration tax. This must happen before the vehicle can be re-registered to a person or enterprise that's not exempt from the one-time registration tax. If the vehicle is older than 20 years, the owner must also pay the vehicle scrap deposit fee.
The vehicle must be cleared through customs and import duties must be paid before the Tax Administration calculates the one-off registration tax. Ask Norwegian Customs if you have questions about customs clearance.
The vehicle has a 3-year lock-in period calculated from the date of registration in Norway. This means that you cannot sell, rebuild or change the use of the vehicle – reallocate the vehicle – during this period without notifying the Tax Administration.
If the vehicle is sold or the use is changed before 3 years have passed, you must notify the Tax Administration and pay the one-off registration tax for the months that remain of the lock-in period. Part of a month is considered a whole month.
After 3 years, the binding period ends automatically. Then it's no longer necessary to contact the Tax Administration prior to a re-registration.
Unless you've received permission from the Tax Administration, a change of use is not allowed until 20 years have passed since the vehicle was first registered. This means that you cannot sell, rebuild or change the use of the vehicle – reallocate the vehicle – during this period without notifying the Tax Administration.
The vehicle has a 2-year lock-in period calculated from the date of registration in Norway. This means that you cannot sell, rebuild or change the use of the vehicle – reallocate the vehicle – during this period without notifying the Tax Administration.
If the vehicle is sold or the use is changed before 2 years have passed, you must notify the Tax Administration and pay the one-off registration tax without the deduction for use. The tax is determined based on the rules and tax rates that applied when the vehicle was registered.
After 2 years, the binding period ends automatically. Then it's no longer necessary to contact the Tax Administration prior to a re-registration.
It's illegal to transfer a vehicle permanently to Norway (the mainland) without permission from the Tax Administration. This means, in practice, that you must report a reallocation to the Tax Administration.
You must pay both import duties and the one-off registration tax, including the vehicle scrap deposit fee, before the vehicle can be transported to the mainland.
If you're going to apply for an alternative calculation of the one-off registration tax, Norwegian Customs or the shipping agent in Svalbard must enter the vehicle's mileage on the customs declaration.
Unless you've received permission from the Tax Administration, a change of use is not allowed until 20 years have passed since the vehicle was first registered. This means that you cannot sell, rebuild or change the use of the vehicle – reallocate the vehicle – during this period without notifying the Tax Administration.