Estonian Transport Department to deregister over 91,000 vehicles on November 1

Estonia's Transport Department is preparing to strike more than 91,000 vehicles from the national road register on November 1, targeting vehicles whose registration status has remained suspended for seven years or more. As of October, 91,538 such vehicles were on the list.

The department first compiled this list in July, when the register showed 97,668 vehicles meeting the criteria, 72,488 of which fall into categories that will become subject to a vehicle tax starting in 2027. Under Estonia's Road Traffic Act, vehicles with registrations suspended for that long are considered lost or abandoned and are therefore removed from the register.

Few owners acted

Over the following three months, some owners took action, but the number of vehicles still slated for removal dropped only slightly, to 91,538. Of these, 68,053 belong to categories that will be taxed starting next year. The department is urging people to check whether a vehicle is registered under their name and to act if necessary.

Options for owners

Owners who want to keep a vehicle with a suspended registration can temporarily remove it from the register through the department's e-service, confirming the vehicle's existence using a dedicated app. To put the vehicle back into active use, it must pass a technical inspection and have a mandatory third-party liability insurance policy.

If the vehicle still exists but the owner does not intend to keep it, it can be handed over to a waste management operator that works with the Transport Department, which will deregister it free of charge.

Starting in 2027, the vehicle tax will also apply to vehicles with suspended registrations. In addition, the state fee for deregistering a vehicle without a certificate of disposal will rise to 800 euros, compared with the current fee of 15 euros.