Car-Pass: selling a used electric SUV in Belgium

Selling a used electric SUV in Belgium requires a valid Car-Pass, handed to the buyer on the day of the transaction. The document costs 11.10 €, lasts two months and comes out of the roadworthiness test. Since 2026 it can carry the battery state of health. Can, not must.

Do you need a Car-Pass to sell an electric SUV?

Yes, with no exception by engine type. Belgian law requires the seller of any second-hand car or van to hand a valid Car-Pass to the buyer, whether that seller is a private individual, a garage or a dealer. Electric, plug-in hybrid, diesel: the text draws no distinction.

One exception exists, and it is narrow. If the buyer is a motor trade professional, the document is not owed.

Selling to someone who lives in Lille or Maastricht does not let you off either: Car-Pass states that the document follows the car even when the buyer is foreign. The penalty is anything but symbolic. With no Car-Pass, the buyer cancels the sale unilaterally and recovers every euro paid, without having to prove the slightest loss, which turns an oversight worth 11.10 € into a five-figure dispute on a used electric SUV advertised at 30,000 €.

Getting the Car-Pass in four steps

The document cannot be ordered online. It is produced at the roadworthiness centre, with the car on site.

1. Book a pre-sale inspection, the visit Belgium calls a contrôle occasion. You may choose any station in the country, including outside the municipality printed on your summons card.
2. Bring the SUV with its registration certificate and its certificate of conformity. The inspector records the chassis number and the odometer reading.
3. Collect the Car-Pass together with the inspection certificate. It is printed on the spot and issued if the car leaves with a green certificate.
4. Hand it to the buyer on the day of sale, against a signed receipt. That receipt is your only proof that the obligation was met.

A parallel route exists, and few sellers know about it. You can obtain a Car-Pass at the counter of any station, without an appointment and without taking the test: you simply have to turn up with the vehicle, since the chassis number and the mileage must be recorded to create the document. Handy when your pre-sale inspection is already more than two months old and the buyer finally shows up.

What does compliance cost, region by region?

Between 85.50 € and 100.50 €, depending on where you present the vehicle. The fees are set by ministerial decree, on the basis of the Royal Decree of 15 March 1968, and they differ across the three regions.

The figure that matters: 15.00 € between Wallonia and the other two regions, for a strictly identical document. The full scales are published by the approved operators, Auto Contrôle Technique for Brussels, and set out region by region in the 2026 fee comparison.

One detail deserves an electric seller's attention. The discount granted to zero-emission vehicles, 53.40 € instead of 59.60 € in Wallonia, applies to the periodic test and to that test only. The pre-sale inspection stays billed at 89.40 € in Wallonia and 74.40 € elsewhere, whatever the engine: no line of the scale singles out electric cars. Your SUV escapes the emissions check and its surcharge, yet it pays the same sale inspection as a 2014 diesel.

Does the battery SOH appear on the Car-Pass?

It can. It does not by default, and that nuance decides how you prepare your sale.

In October 2025, minister for consumer protection Rob Beenders and minister for mobility Jean-Luc Crucke signed a declaration of intent allowing Car-Pass to add the battery state of health to the document from early 2026, without waiting for a European measurement standard. The announcement travelled widely. The official press release, however, already noted in its penultimate paragraph that the SOH "will not yet be mandatory for every Car-Pass of a used electric car". Eleven months on, the page detailing what the document contains confirms it with a single word in brackets: optional. A seller who has nothing measured therefore hands over a Car-Pass with no battery percentage, exactly as before.

The buyer, meanwhile, arrives with the question ready. The battery accounts for 30 to 40% of an electric vehicle's value, and our file on the used electric SUV shows how little the odometer says about its real health.

The Belgian market explains why the stake is not purely technical. Over the first nine months of 2025, Belgium registered 106,229 new electric cars, close to 33% of the market, against 21,912 used electric cars, around 4%. Eight times less market share second-hand than new.

What does a certified battery test cost?

80 € in centre and 150 € at home, recorded on 18 September 2026 at EV Health Check in Willebroek, DEKRA or AVILOO certificate included, result in about fifteen minutes. We have not tested this provider: this is a dated public price reading, not a bench test.

Other routes lead to the same percentage. Car-Pass names the brand's approved dealer, the VAB (a Belgian motoring association), and the independent tests run by Aviloo, Moba and Electrify. Not all of them publish their fees, and we quote no figure we cannot verify on an accessible source.

Is it worth paying? On an electric SUV advertised at 30,000 €, 80 € amounts to 0.27% of the asking price and replaces a doorstep argument with a percentage the buyer can hold you to. A healthy battery justifies your price; a tired one is something you would rather learn before the buyer does. Below an asking price of 10,000 €, though, the bill weighs too heavily for an argument the buyer can go and get from their own mechanic.

Which documents go to the buyer?

Seven items, five of which are not negotiable.

• The Car-Pass, less than two months old on the day of signature.
• The inspection certificate from the pre-sale visit, with its issue date.
• The registration certificate, part II included where the vehicle has one.
• The European certificate of conformity, the COC, required for the new registration.
• A written sale agreement, dated and signed in two copies.
• The battery SOH report if one exists, with its measurement date and the protocol used.
• The service book and the invoices, particularly those covering work on the high-voltage circuit.

The number plate does not leave with the car. In Belgium the plate is personal: it stays with the seller, who reuses it on the next vehicle or returns it to the DIV (the federal vehicle registration office). The mistake comes up often between private individuals, and it stops the buyer's registration dead.

A Car-Pass older than two months voids the sale

Two months. That is the only date to watch while the advert runs.

If the sale drags on, go back to a station counter rather than hand over an expired document. The sales channel then weighs as much as the paperwork: our comparison of where a used SUV is bought works in the other direction, our survey of the SUVs that hold their value gives the orders of magnitude, and our comparison tool places your model against its direct rivals.

Frequently asked questions

Is a Car-Pass mandatory when selling to a private buyer? Yes. The seller of any second-hand car or van must hand a valid Car-Pass to the buyer, whether selling as a private individual, a garage or a dealer, and whatever the engine. The obligation also applies when the buyer is a private individual living abroad. The only exception covers a buyer who is a motor trade professional.

How much does a Car-Pass cost? 11.10 € including VAT, a price set by the Car-Pass non-profit body. The document is entirely free when it holds fewer than four odometer readings, which is common on a recent vehicle that has rarely seen a workshop. That amount comes on top of the pre-sale inspection, which runs from 74.40 to 89.40 € depending on the region.

How long does a Car-Pass stay valid? Two months. The law requires a recent Car-Pass at the point of sale, which in practice means a document less than two months old on the day of the transaction. If your advert drags on past that window, you need a fresh one before signing.

Is a roadworthiness test mandatory before the sale? For a sale between private individuals, yes: the vehicle goes through a pre-sale inspection, and the Car-Pass is produced during that visit. Exceptions exist for transfers within a family, between spouses, legal cohabitants or from a parent to a child. You may pick any inspection station anywhere in Belgium.

Does the battery state of health appear on the Car-Pass? It can appear, it does not appear automatically. Car-Pass added the State of Health to the document in early 2026 following a ministerial declaration of intent, but the mention is explicitly optional while the European measurement framework is still pending. A seller who does not have the battery measured hands over a Car-Pass without that percentage.

Can you sell a car without a Car-Pass? Not validly. With no Car-Pass, the buyer may cancel the transaction unilaterally and recover the money paid, without having to demonstrate any loss. Have a receipt signed when you hand the document over: it is your only proof that the obligation was met.