When a vehicle’s register data includes a notification of transfer entry, it means that the person who has been entered in the register as the owner has sold the registered vehicle, but the buyer has not yet registered it in their own name.
The owner of a vehicle is the person who has been entered as the vehicle’s owner in the register. When an owner submits a notification of transfer to Traficom, this concludes their obligations to the vehicle. The buyer of the vehicle, i.e. the new owner, must also report the change of ownership within 7 days.
A vehicle may also have several notification of transfer entries if it has been sold several times without its new owners reporting any of these changes of ownership.
Should I buy a vehicle if it has a notification of transfer entry?
You should only buy a vehicle from its registered owner. This avoids problems related to ownership, motor vehicle liability insurance and vehicle tax. As the buyer, you can insist that the seller register the vehicle in their name before finalising the deal.
If the vehicle has a notification of transfer entry (i.e. the vehicle is being sold by a person who has not registered it in their name), you can request the seller to register it in their name before making your purchase.
If you decide to buy a vehicle from a non-registered owner, consider the following risks:
The vehicle may be uninsured
The registered owner's motor vehicle liability insurance entered in the register is valid for 7 days for the benefit of the buyer, if the vehicle is insured and in traffic use. If you purchase a vehicle from a non-registered owner, this 7-day period may have passed, meaning that the vehicle is no longer insured. In this case, you must take out motor liability insurance for the vehicle and report the change of ownership immediately on the day of purchase to avoid any penalties for possessing an uninsured vehicle.
You may be required to pay vehicle tax and other expenses for the period when you did not own the vehicle
If you report the change of ownership using a certificate you received from the seller, the date of transfer indicated in the notification of transfer is entered as the vehicle’s transfer date. In practice, this means that from the date of transfer reported by the registered owner, you will be responsible for all obligations concerning the vehicle (e.g. vehicle tax, penalties for not taking out motor liability insurance, parking fines, camera surveillance fines, and any additional taxes).
Marking the actual date of transfer in the register requires additional clarifications and a more expensive registration fee
If you wish to mark the actual date of transfer of the vehicle as the start date of your ownership, you must submit your registration at an inspection station that offers registration services. When submitting your registration, you must present the digital certificate or the notification part (Part II) of registration certificate as well as the transfer certificates that indicate the transfer of ownership from the registered owner to you. In this case, a more expensive intermediate owner registration fee will be charged for the registration.