Belgium → United Kingdom
Importing your car from Belgium to the United Kingdom
Bought a car in Belgium? One of the quickest runs we make – collected, cleared through customs and onto UK number plates.
- Collected on our own enclosed transporter
- Customs clearance and VAT handled
- Modifications, MOT or IVA arranged
- DVLA registration in 10 working days
Why choose My Car Import?
We handle as much or as little of the journey as you want – from a single piece of paperwork to the whole job, collection to number plates.
Transporting your car
Our own enclosed multi-car transporter runs regularly across the EU, plus a partner network for everything it can’t cover.
Modifications
Headlights, rear fog light and speedometer brought to UK specification, finished to an OEM standard.
Vehicle testing
MOT or IVA, depending on the age of the vehicle and where it was built. We book it and we present the car.
Registration support
A trade account with the DVLA import department, with an expected turnaround of 10 working days.
Customs clearance
We clear around 3,000 vehicles a year. Post-Brexit an EU car needs proper customs paperwork – we make sure it has it.
Remote registration
Had the work done locally? Send us the paperwork and we’ll register the car without it ever coming to us.
The journey
Getting your car out of Belgium
Belgium is about as straightforward as EU collection gets. It sits right on our transporter’s route to and from the Channel, so a car in Antwerp, Brussels, Ghent or Liège is rarely waiting long for a slot.
We collect from anywhere in the country – dealer, private seller or auction – raise the export and customs paperwork, and bring the car back by road. There’s no need to ship it, which keeps both the cost and the timeline down compared with the longer EU runs.
Because the transporter picks up several vehicles on each trip, yours might be loaded first or last. We’ll give you a realistic collection window when we quote rather than a date we can’t stand behind.
Fully insured from the moment we load it to the moment it’s back on your driveway.
Paperwork
What should come with a Belgian car
Belgium is one of the better countries to buy from on paperwork alone – Belgian cars are usually well documented, and two of the documents you’ll be handed are genuinely useful to us. Send us photographs of everything the seller has and we’ll tell you what’s missing before any money changes hands.
Ask the seller for
- The registration certificateInschrijvingsbewijs / certificat d’immatriculation
- The certificate of conformityGelijkvormigheidsattest / certificat de conformité – Belgian cars are often supplied with one, which can save you sourcing a replacement
- The Car-PassBelgium’s mileage history document, required by law on a second-hand sale – well worth reading before you buy
- The purchase invoice or bill of saleNeeded for the customs value – and for VAT if you’re reclaiming
- Photographs of the VIN and chassis plateTakes two minutes and settles most identity questions
No certificate of conformity with the car? We source them – it’s one of the things we do most.
Choose how much you want us to do
Under ten years old and built outside the EU, or without type approval? An IVA test is usually the route. Everything else generally goes through mutual recognition – we’ll confirm which applies to your car at the quotation stage.
Tell us about the car and we’ll price the whole job.
We’ve imported thousands of cars from around the world into the United Kingdom, over 25 years. A few minutes on the quote form gets you a real answer.
Importing from Belgium: your questions
Every vehicle is different. If yours isn’t covered here, just ask.
What’s the process for a car under ten years old?
Under ten years old, the vehicle normally needs an IVA test unless we can satisfy type approval with a certificate of conformity. Belgian cars are frequently supplied with a CoC, which often makes this the easier route.
Where an IVA is needed, we carry out testing weekly, which gives us one of the fastest turnarounds in the country. We’ll confirm which route applies to your car at the quotation stage.
What’s the process for a car over ten years old?
Over ten years old, the vehicle is exempt from type approval, so no IVA is required. It will need an MOT, along with the modifications appropriate to its age.
That usually means the headlight beam pattern corrected so it doesn’t dazzle oncoming traffic, a rear fog light on the right-hand side, and a speedometer reading in miles per hour.
How long does it take to get a car from Belgium to the UK?
Belgium is one of the shortest runs we make, so the transport itself is quick – what sets the timeline is when our transporter is next on that route and how many vehicles it’s collecting.
Once the car is with us, registration is the predictable part: an expected turnaround of 10 working days with the DVLA, plus whatever testing or modification work is needed first.
How much does it cost to import a car from Belgium?
It depends on a handful of things, which is why we quote per vehicle rather than publishing a flat rate:
- Where in Belgium the car is and whether it travels enclosed or open
- Import VAT at 20% of the purchase price, or 5% if the vehicle is over 30 years old
- What compliance work it needs – headlights, fog light, speedometer
- Whether it needs an MOT or an IVA test
- How much of the process you want us to handle
Taking a few minutes to complete our quote form is the quickest route to a real number.
Importing from somewhere else?
We collect from right across the EU. Pick a country for the guide to bringing a car home from there.
