Deregistering a vehicle

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General information

During deregistration, it is also possible to apply for the registration number to be held for another vehicle for a maximum period of twelve months. In this case, the new vehicle must be registered with the registration office where the previous vehicle was deregistered.

Caution

In general, these rules also apply to EU citizens with a vehicle registered in Austria.

A vehicle must be deregistered if:

  • it is no longer intended to be used on public roads,
  • the permanent location of the vehicle has been moved to the catchment area of another authority,
  • the vehicle has been sold and the previous registration holder is no longer the legal owner of the vehicle,
  • there is no statutory third-party liability insurance for the vehicle, said insurance has expired, or the insured sum does not meet the statutory minimum amount.

Competent authority

Any registration officeGerman text in Austria.

Procedure

The necessary documentation must be submitted to a registration office. It is also possible for a third party to deregister the vehicle on someone else’s behalf if they can provide a written proxy form.

If the registration holder is deceased, the executor of their will (usually a notary) must inform the authorities. The executor will be responsible for fulfilling the obligations incumbent upon the registration holder. They should therefore be informed if the vehicle is being used by any relatives. The vehicle can be deregistered by the authority that originally registered the vehicle.

Advice

If the registration holder is deceased, their vehicle insurer must be contacted to ensure that the vehicle may still be used on the road and is covered by their insurance policy. This should be done even if their policy has not yet expired. To this end, the notary (or court commissioner during probate proceedings) should be contacted to ensure that any deregistration does not affect the rights of other parties to the proceedings, usually heirs or persons entitled to a compulsory portion.

It will be noted on Part I and Part II of the vehicle registration certificate that the vehicle has been deregistered. The person deregistering the vehicle will retain the Part I document after confirmation of deregistration, unless there are reasons preventing this. If the vehicle is re-registered, the previous Part II will be replaced by a new document, on which the number of previous registrations will be indicated.

A hole is usually punched in registration chip cards upon deregistration to invalidate them. They are then returned to the former registration holder.

If it is not possible to provide the registration certificate or a part of it, the reasons for this must be explained to the registration office.

Required documents

  • Official photo ID of the person deregistering the vehicle
  • Registration certificate (both parts)
  • Proof of approval or approval document:
    • type-approval
    • single approval
    • Nproof of registration
    • valid certificate of conformity
    • data extract from the approval database for vehicles with EC type-approval or
  • Proxy formGerman text if the registration holder is not deregistering the vehicle in person
  • Declaration of consent from the executor of the registration holder’s will if the vehicle is being deregistered because the registration holder is deceased
  • Number plates

Costs and fees

No costs are incurred.

Legal basis

Translated by the European Commission
Last update: 4 July 2023

Responsible for the content: Federal Ministry for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology