Registration inspection

Vehicle imported as used

When you go for a registration inspection, take with you:

• Foreign registration certificate
  • Both parts of the registration certificate must be provided for a vehicle imported from an EEA member state. If one part is missing the authority in the previous state of registry must confirm that there are no hindrances to registering the vehicle in Finland.
  • If both parts are missing, a certificate of previous registration issued by the registration authority in the previous state of registry or some other registration information retrieved from the said authority’s information system can be accepted.
  • For a vehicle imported from outside the EEA, a foreign registration certificate other documentation referred to above must be presented at the inspection.

• Proof of conformity 
  • A vehicle’s technical conformity can be certified, for example, in the following ways:: 
    • Type certification showing EU or E type approval or a CoC.
    • Report from a designated technical service or other technical service notified by an EEA member state (External link) corresponding to its scope of accreditation
    • Report from a recognised expert (External link) that corresponds to their scope of accreditation
    • A certificate issued by the vehicle manufacturer which is based on tests, calculations or measurements
    • For vehicles manufactured in large series for example for the US, Japanese, South Korean or Canadian markets, the manufacturer’s or competent authority’s confirmation that the vehicle meets the requirements for the model year in the relevant country, or a marking that indicates this (e.g. FMVSS, CMVSS). 
    • Symbols on the registration certificate showing the vehicle’s conformity can also be accepted for a registration inspection. 
• Evidence of periodic inspection carried out abroad, if necessary
  • If you wish to rely on an inspection carried out in an EEA member state in accordance with Directive 2014/45/EU, you have to present to the vehicle inspector a written report (with a translation if required) of the approved inspection. The inspection must include an inspection of the vehicle's condition. The date of the inspection can be indicated in the registration certificate or a separate inspection certificate, for example. 

Read more:

Importing a vehicle 

Decommissioned or deregistered vehicle

In the following cases, a vehicle must pass a registration inspection after the latest deregistration or decommissioning before it can be commissioned for use on the road: 

• the vehicle has been registered in Finland but has been deregistered before 2 November 2007,
• the vehicle has been decommissioned for registration in the military vehicle register or decommissioned for registration abroad or on the Åland Islands, or 
• the vehicle has been decommissioned by an insurance company due to damage.

Registration inspection of a damaged vehicle

In addition to the areas to be checked as part of a registration inspection, checks are also made of the

• dimensions of the vehicle’s bodywork or chassis
• the angles of the wheels and the position of the axles
• possible points where the bodywork could be disconnected
• the rigidity of the body structure
• the methods of jointing of the bodywork parts
• functionality of safety devices that must be in a vehicle to conform to regulations, permanent symbols or technical information.

A vehicle inspector can require additional information regarding the condition of the inspected items listed above.

Inspection of the condition of a vehicle during registration inspection

Condition inspection for vehicles subject to mandatory periodic inspections

Condition inspections for vehicles in categories M, N, O2, O3, O4, L6e, L7e, T1b, T2b and T3b as well as quadricycles and light quadricycles are not carried out during registration inspection if

1. an approved inspection, in accordance with Finnish rules on inspection intervals, has been carried out in Finland, another EEA member state or in Åland.
2. a vehicle is so new that according to Finnish legislation it does not yet need to undergo inspection.

The condition of damaged vehicles that have been decommissioned is always checked.

The brakes of heavy vehicle combinations are checked to ensure the brakes work together and to determine the brake ratio.

Condition inspection for other vehicles

If a vehicle does not need to undergo a periodic inspection in Finland, a condition check is not carried out during the registration inspection. This applies to O1 and L3e vehicles as well as to towed devices and tractors, for example. The condition of damaged vehicles that have been decommissioned/deregistered is always checked.

Evidence of inspection carried out abroad

If you wish to rely on an inspection carried out in an EEA member state in accordance with Directive 2014/45/EU, you have to present to the vehicle inspector a written report (with a translation if required) of the approved inspection. The inspection must include an inspection of the vehicle's condition. The date of the inspection can be indicated in the registration certificate or a separate inspection certificate, for example.

When does a registration inspection correspond to a periodic inspection?

If a condition check covering the items required in a periodic inspection is carried out as part of a registration inspection or if it can be shown that a corresponding inspection has been carried out in another EEA member state, the vehicle can be used on the road until the deadline for the next inspection required by law.

Exceptions to registration inspections

Vehicles that were removed from the Finnish register before 2 November 2007

• Was the vehicle taken into use on or after 1 January 1975? 
  • If the information can be found in the Transport Register, fill in the Registration inspection and registration of an undocumented vehicle (Owner’s report) form (B527). 
  • If the information cannot be found and you do not have a registration certificate or copy of the register card, you can order a copy of the register card (subject to a fee) from the National Archives of Finland. After you have received your register card copy, you must also fill in the Owner’s report form (B527). 
  • If no copy of the register card can be found, the vehicle cannot be registered as a vehicle that has been previously included in the Finnish register. 
  • Take your vehicle for registration inspection and present the aforementioned certificates. 
  • After your vehicle has passed the registration inspection, register it at an inspection station that offers registration services.
• Was the vehicle taken into use before 1 January 1975? 
  • Fill in the Owner’s report form (B527) on when the vehicle was previously registered in Finland. 
  • Take your vehicle for registration inspection and present the aforementioned certificates. 
  • After your vehicle has passed the registration inspection, register it at an inspection station that offers registration services. 

Mopeds and snowmobiles

• Fill in the Owner’s report form (B527) on when the vehicle was previously used in Finland. 
• Take your vehicle for registration inspection and present the aforementioned certificates. 
• After your moped or snowmobile has passed the registration inspection, register it at an inspection station that offers registration services.

Vehicles that have been taken in use in Finland but are not registered

• Was your vehicle previously used in Finland for other than road traffic purposes – for example at an airport, factory, mine, in a competition or for some other special purpose? 
  • In this case, you will need a certificate that indicates the vehicle’s special purpose and the date that it was taken into use. 
  • The certificate can be for example a motor insurance certificate for an off-road vehicle, a certificate of use in an enclosed area, a transfer permit certificate for a vehicle that was in competitive use, or a document on the vehicle’s competitive history that includes its identification number. 
  • You must also submit a report on how the vehicle was previously used in Finland with the Owner’s report form (B527). 
• Take your vehicle for registration inspection and present the aforementioned certificates. 
• After your vehicle has passed the registration inspection, register it at an inspection station that offers registration services. Please note that you must notify the Finnish Tax Administration about your vehicle if it is subject to car tax, and you must pay the car tax before you register your vehicle.

Vehicle’s technical requirements

As a rule, a vehicle must meet the technical requirements that were in force in Finland at the time when it was first taken in use or more recent requirements. The date when the vehicle is taken in use is the date when it was first registered or actually taken in use. 

More than 50 per cent of the vehicle’s parts must be original parts. If they are not, the vehicle must be registered in Finland as what is termed a constructed vehicle in which case it must meet the technical requirements for a new vehicle. The relative shares of parts and assemblies on passenger cars and motorcycles are specified in the Government decree on vehicles (162/2021).

If structural changes have been made to a vehicle that were permitted under previous regulations that were later repealed, and if these structural changes were entered in the register, the vehicle will be approved in accordance with the same principles.

• Example: On 1 October 1992, temporary rear seats were installed in a van in accordance with section 57 of the vehicles decree implementing decision, and after that the van was deregistered. The vehicle can be approved for registration again with the same seats, even though the decision has been repealed.

Compulsory equipment for passenger cars

The list below gives the most common equipment for passenger cars which became compulsory at the date of first commissioning. Just the existence of the equipment is not necessarily sufficient. The inspection station has the right to demand additional information about its technical characteristics and conformity.

Validity dates for passenger car equipment (in Finnish)