Selling a car in Denmark: change of ownership, tax refund and export (2026)
How to change the owner together with the buyer, get back the tax you have paid – and what to do if you leave Denmark with the car.
Before you put the car up for sale
Check that you are allowed to sell the car. If it is leased, the leasing company owns it. If you have a loan with a charge (pant) on the car, the loan must be paid off or agreed with the lender – the buyer can see charges in the Danish register of charges on cars (Bilbogen) at tinglysning.dk.
List the car for free on BilPorten: enter the number plate, and the car's data is filled in from the Danish Motor Register. Also read how to sell your car fast.
Change the owner together with the buyer
The easiest way is Motorstyrelsen's app Ejerskifte (private sales only). As the seller, you log in with MitID, choose the car and create a code for the buyer. The buyer logs in with MitID, enters the code, chooses insurance and pays DKK 340 (2026). You don't need the registration certificate in the app.
The buyer can also re-register the car online in the Motor Register with the registration certificate and MitID (DKK 340), or at a number plate provider (nummerpladeoperatør) for DKK 380 plus the provider's own fee.
Write the deal down on a bill of sale, and make sure the money is in your account before the buyer drives off. Also read about buying and selling safely.
Until the change of ownership, the car is yours
Until the car is re-registered, you as the seller pay the taxes and the third-party liability insurance. The buyer must re-register the car within 4 working days of the purchase.
If the buyer hasn't re-registered or deregistered the car after 4 working days, you can ask Motorstyrelsen to deregister it. Write to them via TastSelv and attach the bill of sale.
You get the tax back
The periodic tax (owner tax or weight tax) is recalculated, so you only pay for the time you were the registered owner. If you have paid for more, you get the rest back on your NemKonto (the account the Danish state pays to) – as long as you don't owe the public sector anything.
Tell your insurance company when the car has been sold.
Leaving Denmark?
If you move abroad and deregister from the Danish Civil Registration System (Folkeregistret), you must also deregister the car. The easiest way is to sell it in Denmark before you leave – then the buyer re-registers it, and you don't have to deregister anything.
To deregister the car without selling it, hand in the number plates at a number plate provider and get a receipt. The provider sets its own price.
Taking the car with you: export refund
If the car leaves Denmark and is deregistered, you can get part of the registration tax back. This is called an export refund (eksportgodtgørelse), and you apply to Motorstyrelsen.
How to do it: 1) Get the car through an extended registration inspection (udvidet registreringssyn). The inspection may be no more than 4 weeks old when you apply. 2) Request a valuation in the Motor Register with MitID. The fee is DKK 2,250. 3) Hand in the number plates at a number plate provider. 4) Send documentation of the export (for example the car's foreign registration) to Motorstyrelsen no later than 3 months after you requested the valuation. The money is paid to your NemKonto.
The amount is the registration tax it would cost to import the car into Denmark today, minus 15% – and at least DKK 8,500 is deducted for a passenger car. You never get back more than was paid. Cars over 35 years old and cars that are not roadworthy get no refund, and if there is a charge on the car in Bilbogen, the application is rejected. Expect about 9 weeks for the valuation and about 9 more weeks for the payment.
Sources for this guide
Rules and prices change. This guide was checked on 3 November 2026 against Motorstyrelsen on re-registration, Motorstyrelsen on export and borger.dk. Always check the current rules there.