How do you import a motorbike from the Netherlands or Belgium to the UK?

Is a bike from the Netherlands or Belgium duty free?

Only if it was built in the EU and you can prove it. The UK Trade Tariff gives 0% as a preference for goods originating in the European Union, so origin follows the factory, not the number plate or the dealer's address. A bike built outside the EU and sold in the Netherlands or Belgium pays the full duty: 6% over 250cc, 8% from 125 to 250cc. The importer needs the exporter's statement on origin or their own knowledge that the bike is originating; gov.uk also allows a claim after import, within 3 years. Send us the frame number before you pay and we look at the origin side.

How much UK tax do you pay on a bike from the Netherlands or Belgium?

Start from the price in euros, converted at HMRC's monthly rate: for October 2026, £1 = €1.1665. A bike bought for €9,000 is £7,715.39. Add £450 for transport (an example, not a typical price) and the value for customs is £8,165.39.

Example: €9,000 bike, £450 transport (October 2026 rate)

VAT is worked out on the value plus any duty, so it rises when duty applies. Dutch BTW or Belgian VAT paid to the seller does not cancel the UK import VAT. Full rates in our duty and VAT guide.

Which Dutch papers come with the bike?

The kentekenbewijs, which is the Dutch registration document, and the invoice. What it looks like depends on when the bike was registered. Since 1 January 2014 it is a credit-card-sized kentekencard. For a paper certificate issued from 1 June 2004 to 1 January 2014, Part IA holds the vehicle details and Part IB the registration details, and Part II, the transfer certificate, stays at home. Before 1 June 2004 the paper parts were numbered differently, so photograph everything the seller holds.

DVLA asks for the original foreign registration certificate to show when the vehicle was made, and keeps it. The kentekencard shows the date of first registration in the Netherlands on its back, which is not always the date the bike was built: if it was first registered in another country, tell us before you pay. The Dutch vehicle authority, the RDW, says the registration code is needed to sell, trade in, suspend, scrap or export a vehicle. Ask the seller for the factuur from a dealer or a signed bill of sale from a private seller.

What about papers from Belgium?

Photograph every page of whatever the Belgian seller holds, together with the invoice, and send it to us before you pay. We have not found an official Belgian page that lists the current documents for selling a bike abroad, so we do not guess at them here: we read the papers you send and tell you what DVLA needs from that bike.

What should you check on the papers before you pay?

That the frame number on the paperwork matches the one stamped on the bike, and that the seller is the person named on it. The frame number is the one that goes on the customs declaration, NOVA and the DVLA application, so a mismatch stops everything.

Does a bike from the Netherlands or Belgium need approval in the UK?

Under 10 years old and first registered in the EU, gov.uk asks for a European Certificate of Conformity. Because the bike was built for riding on the right, it also needs a headlamp that dips to the left and a speedometer in mph. The routes are GB conversion IVA from the VCA (£100) or a Partial MSVA from the DVSA (£12), and the official pages do not say which DVLA prefers: ask us before you choose. Over 10 years old, the VCA's motorcycle form says the bike is exempt from its procedure and points you to DVLA. We obtain the Certificate of Conformity if you need one. More in our MSVA and approval guide.

Does a Dutch APK count as a UK MOT?

No. A bike over 3 years old needs a UK MOT before DVLA will register it; the maximum fee for a motorcycle is £29.65 on gov.uk. Before registration the bike may go on a public road only to a pre-booked MOT or approval test, and DVLA's leaflet INF106 says a UK resident must not drive a vehicle displaying foreign number plates. Plan a van, not a ride home. See our guide to riding and insuring a bike before registration.

Deregistration in the Netherlands or Belgium, any export plates and the export paperwork are handled by the seller. If you need it, we arrange the transport to the UK, and we handle the customs declaration, NOVA and the DVLA side of it.

What we do for you

Before you pay, send us the advert, the frame number and photos of every registration paper. We tell you what the UK side involves for that bike, including the origin question that decides the duty. We lodge the customs import declaration, work out and pay the VAT and any duty, and submit NOVA for a private importer, and we prepare every DVLA form: you just sign and post. We do not test or modify bikes, and we do not buy, sell, inspect or recommend them.

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