Buying and registering a car in Curaçao

Who does this apply to?

• Anyone in Curaçao (resident, with a residence application in progress, or newly arrived) who wants to buy a new or used car and put it in their own name.
• Anyone already driving in Curaçao with a foreign driver's license who needs to know when to register or exchange it.
• Anyone moving to Curaçao permanently who wants to bring their own car under the import tax exemption for household moves.

Costs

There is no single fixed amount — it depends on which procedure you go through:

• Registering a new car: XCG 30 ≈ US$ 16.76 (inspection card).
• Transferring a used car bought from a private seller: XCG 15 ≈ US$ 8.38.
• Registering your foreign license (Geneva Convention countries): free.
• Temporary Driving Permit (with temporary residence): XCG 50 ≈ US$ 28 (max. 3 months).
• Exchange for a Curaçao license (only with permanent residence): XCG 175 ≈ US$ 98.
• Annual road tax 2026: petrol car, 2018 model or newer, XCG 419/year (XCG 228.50 for half a year); 2017 model or older, XCG 296/year (XCG 167 for half a year); motorcycle XCG 213/year.
• It is paid by 31 January, or half by 31 January and the other half by 30 June (2026 rates of the Ontvanger Curaçao).
• Sales tax (omzetbelasting) on the purchase: 6% in general, 7% on some categories.
• Importing a car WITHOUT qualifying for the moving exemption: import duty of 27% of the CIF value for a petrol or diesel car, 10% for a hybrid and 0% for an electric car (Curaçao Customs tariff, heading 87.03).

Dollar amounts are approximate, at the fixed rate of US$ 1 = XCG 1.79. You pay in XCG.

Decision time

Registering a new car (100% online via sitaautokeuring.gobiernu.cw): 3 business days. Transferring a used car: same day at the counter, no appointment needed. Technical inspection (keur): the result is immediate, but you need an appointment at UOVV in Parera.

Requirements

• To register a new car, or one never registered in Curaçao before: proof of purchase + ownership document (Title for cars from the USA, registration certificate for cars from the EU, or an official translated document for other countries) + the buyer's ID — here a passport is enough; no sédula or residence permit is required.
• To transfer a used car bought from a private seller: buyer and seller must fill in the 'Tegenaangifteformulier' (the pink form) together at the Belastingdienst (tax office) — this form exists only on paper, there is no downloadable PDF, and you pick it up in person. Confirmed (belastingdienst.cw, the official Belastingdienst page): a passport is also enough as ID here — the Belastingdienst itself explicitly lists 'Paspoort, Rijbewijs, Sédula' as accepted identity documents. If you do not have a sédula, the office has a special counter where you can bring your passport or license in person.
• To drive with a foreign license from a Geneva Convention country: register it for free with your passport or sédula at Publieke Zaken (Roodeweg 42), no appointment needed.
• For the Temporary Driving Permit: you must already have a temporary residence permit + sédula + your valid foreign license.
• To exchange your license for a Curaçao one permanently: you need permanent residence (not temporary), your original foreign license, valid and issued before you moved here, a sédula or passport, a medical certificate less than 2 months old, and a declaration of authenticity from the issuing country. If your license is from Venezuela, Haiti, Lebanon, China, India, or the Dominican Republic, you must take the local driving test anyway.
• To import your own car under the moving exemption: you must have owned and used it continuously for at least 12 months immediately before shipping it, only 1 car per household is allowed, and it does not apply to sports cars, collector's/hobby cars, or cars for commercial use. Documents required specifically for the vehicle: a copy of the owner's passport, proof of ownership/original registration from the country of origin, proof of export, proof of purchase, proof of insurance, plus two forms you can only get directly from Customs (they are not published online): 'formulier voertuiggegevens' (vehicle details) and 'formulier verzoek om vrijstelling' (exemption request).
• Third-party liability insurance (WA-verzekering) is mandatory before you can collect the plates — it is required both for a new registration and for a transfer.

Steps to apply

1. Sort out your driver's license situation first: if your license is from a Geneva Convention country, register it for free at Publieke Zaken (Roodeweg 42). If you do not have permanent residence yet, this registered license is the one you will use to buy and register the car — you do not need to exchange it yet.
2. Decide how you are going to get the car: new or never registered before (the simplest, passport only), used and bought from a private seller who already has it registered in Curaçao (this needs the pink form at the Belastingdienst), or brought in from abroad under the moving exemption (this needs the 12 months of ownership and the vehicle-specific documents).
3. If it is new: apply for registration online at sitaautokeuring.gobiernu.cw, uploading your own scans (since July 2025 photocopies are no longer accepted at the counter) — you get an answer in 3 business days.
4. If it is used (a transfer): you and the seller fill in the Tegenaangifteformulier together at the Belastingdienst (Pater Eeuwensweg 9 office) — take it stamped, together with the old inspection card, to UOVV in Parera and pay XCG 15 to have the card put in your name.
5. If you are importing your own car as part of your move: claim the exemption within 6 months of the date you establish your normal residence in Curaçao (extendable if you request it at least 1 month before the deadline) — if you miss the deadline without an extension, you lose the exemption and pay the full duty.
6. Pass the technical inspection (keur) with an appointment at the Keuringslokaal of UOVV, Parera — they no longer accept cash, only card or bank transfer.
7. Before collecting the plates: take out the mandatory insurance (WA) and pay the corresponding road tax (due every 31 January).

Important notes

What the official rules say

• The sales tax on buying a car is still called 'omzetbelasting' (6-7%) — a switch to a tax called 'ABB', planned for 1 January 2021, never took effect in Curaçao (it does apply in Bonaire/Saba, which fall under a different tax authority) — do not confuse the two systems.
• There is no notary involved at any point in this process — everything is handled between the Belastingdienst and UOVV (Uitvoeringsorganisatie Verkeer en Vervoer, the traffic and transport agency).
• The concept of a 'grey plate' (grijs kenteken, the Dutch tax category for commercial vans) does not exist in the Curaçao system — ignore that reference if you see it on Dutch forums.
• (Source: informatie_verhuisgoederen.pdf from douane.cw, April 2023 — verified by extracting the text embedded in the PDF directly, not by image OCR) 'Normal residence' for the purposes of this exemption is defined as the place where you spend at least 183 days a year of your personal and professional life — and you are required to register with Bevolking (the population registry) within 2 weeks of arriving in Curaçao.

• If you buy a USED CAR from a private seller, before you pay:

  1. ask for the current inspection card (keur)
  2. check that the name on the registration card matches the seller's ID
  3. get written confirmation that the road tax is paid up (it's due every January 31)
  4. get a WA insurance quote before deciding, because it varies a lot by model and year
  5. and do the transfer (pink form) at the Belastingdienst THE SAME DAY you pay: until then the car is still in the seller's name.

Still to be confirmed

• How many days a tourist may drive on a foreign license without registering it yet. No official source says. Only unofficial sources mention around 6 months, and only for Dutch and Belgian nationals — do not assume that period applies to other nationalities without confirming it.
• The exact legal minimum amount of the mandatory insurance (it varies between XCG 90,000 and XCG 150,000 depending on the insurer, with no official legal citation found) still needs to be confirmed directly with the insurance supervisor before you treat it as final.
• There is no official page stating how often the keur inspection must be repeated (yearly? every time you pay the tax?) or what the procedure is if the car fails.

Frequently asked questions