Decommission a vehicle | Traficom
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Transport and Communications Agency

Decommission a vehicle

Temporarily decommission your vehicle, motorcycle or other vehicle if you are not using it right now. This will save you money on vehicle costs.

The decommissioning takes effect immediately after the notification. Still, you can use the vehicle until the end of the decommissioning date if the periodic inspection and motor vehicle liability insurance are valid, the registration plates are attached and the vehicle tax is paid. After that date, you are only allowed drive your decommissioned vehicle in exceptional circumstances until it is recommissioned. You can learn about such circumstances at the bottom of this page under Exceptional situations where a decommissioned vehicle may be used. 

The decommissioning is valid until further notice, and it cannot be done in advance, retrospectively or for a limited period. You do not need to return the registration plates when you decommission a vehicle.

If you misuse a decommissioned vehicle, you will have to pay an additional tax of at least EUR 1,000.  

Vehicle surtax and back tax in case of improper use

When can you decommission your vehicle?

  • You are the owner or the holder of the vehicle.
  • You are at least 15 years old.

Read more about service-specific restrictions at the end of the page under Additional conditions and restrictions on decommissioning a vehicle.

When can you not decommission a vehicle?

If you have sold your vehicle, you can no longer decommission it. You can end your obligation to pay vehicle tax and motor vehicle liability insurance premiums by submitting a notification of transfer. However, if the vehicle has been demonstrably taken abroad or to Åland for registration, you can decommission it abroad. 

How to decommission a vehicle transferred abroad or to Åland

If a vehicle in the Transport Register is registered in the military vehicle register, it can be decommissioned to the military vehicle register.

How to decommission to the military vehicle register

If you intend to never use a vehicle again, perform a final deregistration. For final deregistration, you can deliver your vehicle free of charge to an authorised collection facility for end-of-life vehicles operated by Suomen Autokierrätys Oy.

How to perform a final deregistration

Do the following

  • Step 1

    Log in to My e-Services

    After identification, select your service role: personal services, acting on behalf of another person or acting on behalf of a company/an organisation.

  • Step 2

    Perform the decommissioning of a vehicle in the Vehicles and taxation section

    In the list, select the vehicle you want to decommission temporarily. Then select Decommission vehicle.

  • Step 3

    Pay for the decommissioning

    You can save the receipt if you want. You can also later check that the decommissioning succeeded on the My Activities page.

    Watch a video on decommissioning a vehicle (YouTube)

The service uses an automated decision-making procedure. 

Automated decisions at Traficom

If you cannot perform a decommissioning electronically, you can contact your insurance company or an inspection station that offers registration services.

Inspection stations on the map

If necessary, you can also use the e-service provided by your own insurance company.

How decommissioning affects vehicle fees

Vehicle tax does not need to be paid when a vehicle is decommissioned, except for the date of decommissioning. Excess vehicle tax is reimbursed in the following tax bill unless you apply for a refund. If you recommission a vehicle between decommissionings, a vehicle tax bill of at least EUR 10 will always be sent for the period of use (the minimum levied amount of vehicle tax).

The effect of decommissioning on insurance premiums depends on your insurance policy. For more details, check with your insurance company. The decommissioning will be updated in insurance companies’ data with a few days’ delay. If you want to terminate your motor vehicle liability insurance when you decommission your vehicle, you have to agree on it separately with your insurance company.

How to apply for a refund of vehicle tax

More information on decommissioning a vehicle

The registration service cannot be used in the following situations:

  • The registration number is missing: The vehicle does not have a valid registration number.
  • The right to change registration details has been restricted: The vehicle is subject to a registration alteration prohibition issued by an authority, or it contains registration pendency data.
  • The vehicle has been deregistered or finally deregistered, decommissioned for registration to the military vehicle register or decommissioned for registration abroad or to Åland.
  • The vehicle has been stolen: The police have marked the vehicle as stolen.

See general instructions on how to use My e-Services

A decommissioned vehicle must not be driven before it has been recommissioned except in the exceptional situations stated below. Misuse will incur a tax surcharge of at least EUR 1,000.  

  • You can drive your vehicle up to the end of the day on the date of the decommissioning notification if your vehicle insurance is valid and your registration plates are still attached.
  • Taking the most direct route, you can drive the vehicle for a periodic roadworthiness inspection at a time reserved for it, and from there to the place where the vehicle is kept, or where it can be repaired. Your vehicle insurance must be valid and your registration plates must be still attached.

    Please note that the abovementioned right to drive the vehicle to roadworthiness testing only applies to the vehicle’s immediate transfer to the inspection office for the tests to be carried out. For example, the transfer of a vehicle to a garage before a roadworthiness inspection is not permitted without a transfer permit or the commissioning of the vehicle.
     
  • You can apply for a transfer permit for the vehicle, which will allow you to transfer or use the vehicle temporarily.
  • A company can transfer and use a vehicle temporarily with a test plate certificate. 
  • You can apply for an export registration for the vehicle, which will allow you to transfer the vehicle abroad from Finland.
  • You can move the vehicle either by trailer or by towing it with one axle off the ground. Confirm the acceptable method of transfer with your insurance company.
  • More detailed provisions on towing vehicles are laid down in the Road Traffic Act.

Frequently asked questions about decommissioning a vehicle

Decommissioning is sometimes referred to as laying up a vehicle, even though the two mean slightly different things. Decommissioning means performing a vehicle registration notification that suspends the charges for insurance and interrupts the tax period for vehicle tax while the vehicle is off the road. Laid-up insurance is a service provided by insurance companies to suspend insurance fees for the period when a vehicle is off the road. Most insurance companies stopped offering laid-up insurance when it became possible to decommission a vehicle. 

Under the Road Traffic Act, a vehicle can be towed either with a rope or a towing bar. Using a dolly is not allowed.

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