Vintage cars
On this page you can read about the rules for registration of a vehicle that is more than 30 years old for vintage car driving (veterankørsel) and about the tax rules for vehicles that are more than 35 years old.
Vehicles can be registered for vintage car driving if the vehicle was registered for the first time more than 30 years ago and has been subject to periodic inspections.
If the vehicle is registered for vintage car driving, it must only be used occasionally.
Vehicles that are registered for vintage car driving must not be used for:
- commercial transport of persons;
- transport of dangerous goods;
- emergency call-outs or renting out without a driver.
However, the vehicle may be used for driving with graduating students.
Vehicles that are more than 35 years old are regarded as vintage cars according to the Danish Vehicle Registration Tax Act (Registreringsafgiftsloven). There is consequently no correlation between when a vehicle can be registered for vintage car driving and when it is regarded as a vintage car according to the Vehicle Registration Tax Act.
The age of a used vehicle is calculated based on the first registration date. If only the year of registration is known, the vehicle is regarded as being older than 35 years when the year of application minus the year of registration is at least 35 years.
If the year of registration is not known, use the year of manufacture instead. If only the month of registration is known, the date of registration will be calculated from the 1st of the month of registration for practical reasons.
Examples
- If the year of registration is 1992 and the year of application is 2023, the age of the vehicle will be calculated as being 31 years.
- For example, the year of manufacture of a vehicle is 1992, and the year of application is 2023. The age of the vehicle will be calculated as being 31 years, as the vehicle is regarded as having been registered on 1 January 1992.
For vehicles that are more than 35 years old, the vehicle registration tax is calculated either on the basis of the taxable value of the vehicle as new written down to 75% or the current market price, depending on which calculation basis results in the lowest tax.
For motorcycles which are more than 35 years old, the limit of the taxable value is 40%.
In addition, there are two special conditions for vintage cars.
- A basic allowance is not calculated in the vehicle registration tax for vintage cars.
- There is no surcharge to the vehicle registration tax based on the CO2 emission of the car.
There has previously been a requirement that, according to the Vehicle Registration Tax Act, vintage cars should be of the same appearance as at the first registration. The requirement was usually referred to as the ‘originality requirement’. This requirement no longer applies, and changes, conversions, etc. can therefore be changed, rebuilt, etc. to the same extent as all other vehicles.
It is only a requirement that the vehicle must be more than 35 years old in order to be covered by the special favourable tax conditions that apply to vintage cars.
Vehicle weight tax, equalisation tax and surcharge for private use are paid at 25% of the rates in the Danish Vehicle Weight Tax Act (Vægtafgiftsloven) if 35 years have passed from when the vehicle was registered for the first time.
The tax will only be reduced from the tax period that begins 35 years after the vehicle was registered for the first time.
Vintage cars are only called in for periodic inspections every eight years but based on the requirement that they must only be used occasionally. However, the period may be shorter the first time after the vehicle has been registered as a vintage car.
Vehicles used for commercial purposes (for bus services, transport of dangerous goods, emergency call-outs or renting out without a driver) cannot be registered as vintage cars.
If you import a vintage car that has previously been exported against disbursement of an export refund, the tax will be set at the amount of the export refund paid without any reduction of the tax amount.
Trucks with a technically permitted total weight exceeding 12 tonnes are generally subject to road toll.
Trucks can be exempted from road toll if they fall outside the scope of the Act because they are not used for goods transport.
The owner must apply to the Danish Motor Vehicle Agency (Motorstyrelsen) for exemption from road toll and also document that the vintage truck is not used for goods transport.
An application for exemption from road toll can be submitted for:
- trucks that are more than 30 years old and that are registered with the licence for vintage car driving;
- trucks registered more than 35 years ago.
Please note that a truck must be exempt from road toll in order to be covered by the rules on 25% periodic tax for vehicles that are more than 35 years old.
Previous exemption has been continued
Vintage trucks which were exempt from road use tax until 31 December 2024 were automatically registered with exemption from road toll from 1 January 2025, when the new road toll legislation entered into force.
What is goods transport?
If the truck carries goods for transport from one place to another, this constitutes goods transport.
As a general rule, goods are:
- items that are not rigidly mounted in the truck;
- items that are temporarily secured in the truck, for example with straps or rope;
- items that can be moved by natural persons, possibly with the help of machines;
- items that are to be used for display, activity or the like, for example at a meet.
Decoration is not goods transport
If goods are carried in the truck as a fixed part of the decoration of the truck – for example to represent a theme or a specific period of time – this does not constitute goods transport, because the purpose is not to transport the goods from one place to another. For example, if the truck is an old milk car, there may be milk churns in the car if the purpose is decoration.
In connection with a compliance check of the exemption, the Motor Vehicle Agency may request documentation that this concerns decoration and not goods transport. It may therefore be a good idea to take pictures of the truck and its cargo bay where the goods in question are located, at regular intervals – for example before, during and after a meet.
How to apply for exemption
You apply for exemption from road toll by completing this form:
Please note that it is not necessarily a financial advantage to be exempt from road toll if you do not drive much or mainly drive outside the road network that is subject to road toll. The reason for this is that you will have to pay a higher vehicle weight tax for vehicles that are not covered by the Road Toll Act.