Registration

Motor vehicles and trailers that are used in traffic have to be registered. When an owner of a registered vehicle changes, the new owner has to submit a registration notice to post office, insurance company or vehicle inspection station within seven days.

Registration document consists of two sections. Section I (technical section) includes the vehicles technical information and information about the owner and possessor. Section II (notification section) can be obtained from online services of Traficom or from an inspection station that does vehicle registrations. This service has a fee.

Electronic certificate has replaced the Section II in change of vehicle ownership. However, it is still possible to register changes in ownership with the Section II. If you are selling your vehicle check out Selling a used vehicle.

Section I (technical section) must be kept with the vehicle while driving abroad and Ahvenanmaa (Åland).

Insurance

When the ownership of a registered vehicle changes, the new owner must take an obligatory insurance for the vehicle within seven days. Damages caused by a driver are covered from the obligatory insurance.

The insurance of the guilty side covers:

• all the property damages to the not guilty side

• all bodily injuries

Cars are divided into pay classes according to their damage risk. Driving without collisions leads compensation called bonus, the maximum bonus is 85 %. Vehicle insurance cover can be enforced by buying mandatory insurance. It covers the damages in an elk collision and also the property damages if the driver itself is the guilty side in an accident.

Vehicle inspection

Periodic motor vehicle inspection is a vehicle inspection that is required periodically. In the inspection the condition of the vehicle is checked and information in the registration document is verified. Besides the vehicle condition also the road safety and environmental hazards caused by the car are inspected.

Newly-purchased vehicles will not have to be inspected until the vehicles are four years old. After that, those cars are to be inspected every other year until the vehicle is ten years old. After that, the cars are to be inspected every year.

Next inspection will be determined by the previous inspection.

The final date for the next vehicle inspection is determined by the previous approved inspection.

• This date won’t change if the inspection is conducted within 30 days before this final date.

• It is possible to transfer the inspection time to the desired time of the year.

It is possible to check the next inspection date from the inspection certificate, registration certificate (part I) or from the Traficom online services.

Failure to carry out a vehicle inspection leads to a driving ban for the vehicle. Use of a vehicle that has not gone through a periodic vehicle inspection in traffic is punishable by the traffic law.

Tips for a car buyer

If you need a car only for urban commuting choose a small and handy car. A person who drives a lot on motorways should choose a bit bigger car which is more comfortable to drive and travel in. Well serviced car can serve economically for hundreds of thousands of kilometers.

Car type and selection

When buying a car, it is important to choose a car of which price and features correspond to your needs. It is wise to think about the mileage and overall costs. By choosing a car with low consumption it is possible to not only save the environment but also money. You save money through smaller fuel costs and most likely also when you change the car, this is because resale value of a car with low consumption is likely to be higher.

Because of low fuel consumption a suitable car for someone who drives a lot is a car with a diesel engine or a hybrid. A hybrid vehicle uses two or more distinct types of power, such as a petrol engine and an electric motor.

For short-distance driving a plug-in hybrid or an electric car is a good choice. A plug-in hybrid (unlike normal hybrid) can be charged from an electrical outlet same way as an electric car.

When choosing a car it is good to check that from the active safety equipment it has at least ABS-brakes.

More information (in Finnish).

Buying a used vehicle

Guide on Traficom's website