Car on Polish plates in Norway – when can you drive it? What documentation is required?

As a rule, in Norway you must drive on Norwegian registration plates if you live here for longer. This involves buying a vehicle in Norway or importing one from abroad, which is often expensive and becomes uneconomical. But what if we have a car on Polish or any other foreign plates and want to bring it into Norway? Can we drive it, and for how long? What if the police stop us? Let’s look at the information directly from the regulations.

When can I drive on foreign registration plates?

As a rule – you cannot do this, and breaching this rule may result in a fine and an obligation to re-register the vehicle, which in itself can be painful for our finances. It is certainly not cost-effective. However, there are eight exceptions to this rule that allow a foreign-registered car to be used in Norway permanently or temporarily.

You can find all the exceptions with descriptions in the table below:

Exception number

Information and requirements

Example documentation

Exception no. 1 – When you have family abroad.

If you have family abroad and visit them often enough – you have the right to drive a car on foreign plates for as long as you want. There are no time limits here.

This exception applies to the closest family, which means it must be a spouse or a minor child. The statutory visit frequency is at least once a month (for Poland, once every 3 months may be accepted, as the authorities must also take the distance to the country of visit into account).

Example documentation: marriage certificate, child’s birth certificate, proof of residence or registration of them abroad, and proof of travel to them abroad, e.g. flight tickets, ferry tickets, toll receipts.

Exception no. 2 – When you have permanent work or studies abroad.

Here you must meet 3 conditions:

You must have permanent work or run a business or study abroad
You cannot have family ties in Norway. This means that either you do not have a spouse or minor children in Norway, or they live outside Norway.
You cannot be registered as resident in Norway. Even if you have a personal number – you can report deregistration.

If you meet these conditions, you can also drive a car on foreign plates in Norway for as long as you want.

Example documentation: foreign employment contract or proof of study. Family ties and registration status can be checked by the authorities themselves.

Exception no. 3 – You have a home abroad.

Conditions to be met:

You must own a house or flat abroad.
You cannot have family ties in Norway.
You cannot be registered as resident in Norway.
You must stay abroad for at least 185 days or commute daily between Norway and another country.

Example documentation: title deed for the house or flat or a tenancy agreement. In addition, proof of a stay abroad for at least 185 days will be required, e.g. a travel log together with evidence of the journeys, such as flight tickets, ferry tickets and similar documents.

Exception no. 4 – Your stay in Norway will be shorter than 2 years.

Up to 1 year: only documentation is required, e.g. an employment contract limited to 1/2 years or a time-limited tenancy agreement.

Up to 2 years: in addition to the earlier documents, you must submit an application to the tax office before the first year of using the car has expired.

Up to 1 year: an employment contract or tenancy agreement limited to 1 year or less.

Up to 2 years: an employment contract or tenancy agreement limited to 2 years or less, confirmation of submitting the application to the tax office.

Exception no. 5 – When you use the car for up to 14 days a year.

This exception allows us to use the car in Norway for up to 14 days and to store the car here for up to 182 days a year.

These periods can be split in any way – we can enter Norway on one day, then store the car for 150 days, then use it for 13 days and continue storing it for another 32 days.

In this case, we must report the use/storage of the car in Altinn. In the event of an inspection, we must have confirmation that the application has been submitted.

Exception no. 6 – Use of a privately borrowed car for up to 25 days.

The rules are the same as in the previous point: you can use a privately borrowed car for up to 25 days a year.

The period may be split or combined with storage.

Example documentation: confirmation of submitting the application in Altinn, tenancy agreement.

Exception no. 7 – Use of a car rented from a company for up to 42 days.

This applies only to a car borrowed from a company that professionally rents out cars.

You can use a car borrowed from a company for up to 42 days a year. The period may be split or combined with storage.

Example documentation: confirmation of submitting the application in Altinn, tenancy agreement.

Exception no. 8 – Use of a company car from abroad.

This applies if, for example, the company you work for is based abroad. There are several conditions that must be met for this exception to apply.

The person declaring and using the car must live in Norway.
The person using the car with foreign plates must have it made available to them by a foreign company.
The car must be necessary to carry out work in Norway.
The car must not be in Norway for more than 183 days a year.
The total mileage of the company car abroad must be greater than the total mileage driven in Norway.

The application is submitted through Altinn, and the person using the car must be able to prove that each of the conditions is met. This may include, for example: an employment contract with a foreign company, a contract making the car available to the employee, confirmation of assignments in Norway, vehicle mileage records including private and business journeys in Norway and abroad.

If a given application requires appropriate documentation – remember to carry it with you, as the police may require originals. In the event of an inspection, an oral declaration is usually sufficient, but if necessary present your situation and the relevant documents confirming that one of the exceptions applies.

If a given exception that allows you to enter NO is time-limited – remember to keep track of the deadlines.

What if I do not meet the requirements, but I drive on Polish plates?

In this situation, in addition to a fine, you risk being required to re-register the car. This is associated with fairly high costs, which include: deregistering the car abroad, paying the initial engangsavgift depending on the car’s weight and greenhouse gas emissions, 25 percent VAT on the car’s price, a scrappage deposit of around 2400 kroner and an air-conditioning gas fee of around 1100 kroner. Importing a car into Norway is usually not cost-effective, and it may be even less so if we also have to pay a fine and additional charges.

Summary

Norwegian road, mountains in the distance.

In general, if you live in Norway you should drive on Norwegian registration plates
The law provides 8 exceptions that allow you to drive in Norway on foreign plates
Remember that each exception requires documentation, which you must always keep in the car and which must be clearly authentic – the police may require originals
Remember that exceptions may be time-limited, so it is crucial to check whether they are still met. Some exceptions may also require you to submit an application to the tax office first.
The consequences of illegally driving on foreign plates can be very costly.

Car on Polish plates in Norway – when can you drive it? What documentation is required?