Bringing the car over is straightforward. The part worth getting right is the paperwork and the order in which you do it.
If Latvia is becoming your home base, our recommendation is simple: arrange your Latvian residence registration, register the car here, then close the Swedish registration. You can then handle inspections, insurance and vehicle tax locally, without organising trips back to Sweden around the car.
You can do the process yourself using the steps below. We will also cover keeping Swedish plates, because that can make sense when Sweden is still your main home.
This guide covers a used passenger car you own, registered in your name. Leased and company cars need separate arrangements.
Car already in Latvia? You can complete the process here. Skip the ferry step.
1. Get your documents together
Take:
- Your passport or national ID card.
- Both parts of the original Swedish registration certificate.
- Your latest Swedish inspection report.
- Your Latvian residence registration certificate or residence permit, if already issued.
When the car stays in the same owner’s name, you do not need a separate purchase agreement. Swedish-registered passenger cars also do not need a separate conformity certificate.1
Keep the Swedish registration, tax, inspection and insurance valid for the journey. Tell your insurer you are relocating and confirm cover until the registration changes.
Your valid Swedish EU driving licence is fine. You do not need to exchange it before registering the car.2
Already here and missing the Swedish registration documents? Order replacements from Transportstyrelsen and arrange delivery from the address recorded in its register. The car does not need to go back to Sweden to collect paperwork.3
2. Bring the car by ferry
The direct option is Nynäshamn–Ventspils. Drive aboard in Sweden, drive off in Latvia, then continue to Riga.
You can also arrive through Estonia:
| Route | Operator | Drive to Riga after arrival |
|---|---|---|
| Nynäshamn–Ventspils, Latvia | Stena Line | 2.5 hours |
| Stockholm–Tallinn, Estonia | Tallink | 4–4.5 hours |
| Kapellskär–Paldiski, Estonia | DFDS | 4.5–5 hours |
All 3 routes carry cars. Book the car with your ticket and allow extra time for disembarkation, breaks and charging.
3. Get your Latvian residence registration in place
Already registered as a resident in Latvia?
Bring your EU residence registration certificate, permanent residence certificate or residence permit to CSDD. You can register the car without the 6-month restriction below. Ordinary EU residence registration is sufficient; permanent immigration status is unnecessary.
If you already live in Latvia and are importing the car now, CSDD’s published guidance gives you 5 days after import to register it.45
Not registered as a resident yet?
You can still bring the car and register it here, but without a qualifying Latvian residence document, vehicle registration lasts up to 6 months. You will need to update the car’s registration once your residence document is issued.
Apply for EU residence registration through PMLP while in Latvia, and arrange the CSDD visit alongside it.46
Our recommendation: If you are moving here permanently, get your residence registration done first. You will need it for life in Latvia anyway, and it removes the 6-month restriction on the car’s registration. Getting it in place at the start saves another round of paperwork later.
If you would like help with this part, our Residency + eID service covers document preparation and coordination. You still attend the required personal appointments in Latvia.
4. Register the car at CSDD
In Riga, registration is at Bauskas iela 86. Book through e-CSDD or +371 67025777. Ask for first registration of a Swedish car, including the identification check.
Sort out the Swedish plates when booking. Transportstyrelsen requests them for export deregistration, while CSDD normally collects foreign plates. Ask CSDD to let you retain them for return to Sweden, with the reason recorded on your application.789
Bring your documents and tools to change the plates. Check that the car has a first-aid kit, warning triangle and working fire extinguisher.
The sequence is:
- Identification: CSDD checks the car’s identification number and technical details against the documents.
- Registration: submit the paperwork, pay and collect the Latvian registration certificate and plates.
- Insurance: buy compulsory OCTA motor insurance for the Latvian registration.
- Inspection: ask CSDD to recognise your valid Swedish inspection first. If it cannot, complete a Latvian inspection.
Complete inspection or recognition within 5 days after registration. Riga’s passenger-car inspection station is at Antenas iela 2. Before driving there, have OCTA active and ask CSDD to arrange any road-use permission needed for the journey.10411
5. Close the Swedish registration
Register in Latvia first, then deregister in Sweden.
Post these to Transportstyrelsen, 701 81 Örebro, Sweden:
- The completed TS8010 export form.
- A copy of your Latvian registration certificate.
- The Swedish number plates.
Confirm that deregistration is complete, then close the Swedish insurance and check any vehicle-tax refund. Swedish tax and insurance obligations continue until deregistration unless the car has officially been taken off road.9
What it costs
Registration and inspection
| Per car | Petrol, diesel or hybrid | Fully electric* |
|---|---|---|
| Identification, registration, certificate and plates | €61.13 | €0 |
| Natural resources tax | €110 | €110 |
| Full inspection and road-use authorisation | €36.95 | €36.95 |
| Subtotal | €208.08 | €146.95 |
EV exemptions apply when receiving the special electric-car plates. Hybrids do not qualify. Recognition of the Swedish inspection may reduce the inspection charge.12131415
Add ferry travel, insurance, vehicle operation tax and any repairs. Any paid assistance is separate from these charges.
Annual vehicle operation tax
For petrol, diesel and hybrid cars, the amount depends on the first registration date and recorded emissions. These examples assume engines no larger than 3.5 litres:
| Recorded CO₂ | First registered 2009–2020 | First registered from 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| 100 g/km | €54/year | €39/year |
| 150 g/km | €132/year | €99/year |
| 200 g/km | €186/year | €147/year |
Use the date the car was first registered anywhere, not when you brought it to Latvia.
Under these schedules, engines above 3.5 litres add €330/year. Older cars use different calculations. Check your exact amount in the CSDD tax calculator.16
Fully electric cars registered in Latvia pay €0 annual vehicle operation tax. For taxable cars, the first year covers the remaining months, including the registration month.1718
Other options: keeping Swedish plates
If Sweden is still your home base and you visit Latvia regularly, keeping Swedish registration may suit you. Here is what you continue to handle:
- Swedish inspections and tax: pay Swedish vehicle tax as usual and take the car to Sweden when its inspection is due. A Latvian inspection cannot renew the Swedish inspection.
- Insurance: tell your insurer where the car will actually be kept and confirm your cover.
- Time in Latvia: our reading of the Latvian rule is 3 months per stay. On that reading, keeping each stay below the limit means taking the car outside Latvia before the period ends, for example to Lithuania or Estonia. The published rule does not expressly describe a border-reset procedure.194
- Swedish requirements: Transportstyrelsen says cars kept abroad for more than 6 months of the year should be registered where they are kept. Trips to Lithuania or Estonia still count as time outside Sweden.20
- Latvian tax: if your declared address is in Latvia, pay the applicable vehicle operation tax through e-CSDD, additional to Swedish tax. A €99 annual rate works out at €8.25 per month of use.2118
Our suggestion:
- Sweden is your main home: keep Swedish registration for visits within the applicable limits. A separate Latvian-registered car is another option if you visit frequently.
- Latvia is your main home: register the car here. You can then handle its inspections, insurance and tax where you actually live.
Want help with your move?
The steps above are there if you want to handle the process yourself.
If you would rather have someone prepare the documents or coordinate locally, see our Residency + eID service and Practical Support.
For a specific question, start with a 15-minute consultation. Explain your situation and establish what needs doing before committing more time or money.
General information only, not legal, tax or insurance advice. Requirements and fees may change; confirm current details with the relevant authorities and your insurer before acting. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Evakuera excludes liability for errors, omissions or losses arising from reliance on this article. This does not exclude liability or affect rights that cannot lawfully be excluded.
Sources
- CSDD: first-registration documents.
- CSDD: use and exchange of foreign driving licences.
- Transportstyrelsen: registration certificates.
- Latvian Road Traffic Law, particularly Sections 10 and 16.
- CSDD: deadlines for cars imported from the EU.
- PMLP: where documents may be filed.
- CSDD: Riga registration office.
- Vehicle Registration Regulations, paragraph 39.4 on foreign plates.
- Transportstyrelsen: export and deregistration.
- Latvian roadworthiness inspection regulations, including paragraphs 6 and 33.
- CSDD: Riga passenger-car inspection station.
- CSDD: first-registration fees.
- CSDD statutory tariff.
- CSDD: natural resources tax.
- CSDD: passenger-car inspection fees.
- CSDD: passenger-car vehicle operation tax rates.
- CSDD: vehicle operation tax exemptions.
- Vehicle Operation Tax Law, including Sections 3, 5 and 9¹.
- Transportstyrelsen: inspections abroad.
- Transportstyrelsen: vehicle inspections.
- CSDD: tax for driving foreign-registered cars.