The NCTS centre: booking the VRT appointment and what to bring

Every imported car is registered at a National Car Testing Service centre. The centre inspects the car against its documents, takes the VRT, and issues the Irish registration number. This guide is the practical side of that visit: the booking, the papers, the day itself and what comes after. It is from Revenue's page on the procedure at the NCTS centre, dated 24 August 2026, and the NCTS's own VRT questions.

The NCT and the VRT inspection are different things done in the same buildings. The NCT is the roadworthiness test an Irish-registered car sits every year or two. The VRT inspection is a one-off identity check on a car that is not yet registered here. Only some centres do it.

The two deadlines

From the day the car arrives in the State, book the appointment within 7 days and complete the registration within 30 days. Both are on Revenue's page on VRT and registration, which adds that additional VRT is charged on a car registered late. Revenue does not publish how much, so treat the 30 days as firm.

Evidence of the date of arrival is one of the documents asked for, so the clock is not a matter of opinion. For a car shipped from Japan it is the day the ship discharges; for a car driven in from Northern Ireland or off a ferry from Great Britain, the ferry ticket or the sailing.

Camber's import file keeps both dates and sends a reminder before each.

Booking

Three ways:

• Online, on ncts.ie, which has a separate booking page for VRT.
• By phone, on 01 413 5975.
• By post, to Vehicle Registration Tax Inspection, 3026 Lake Drive, Citywest Business Campus, Naas Road, Dublin 24.

Only a car with a confirmed booking is inspected. Appointments can be scarce at the busier centres in the weeks after a Budget, when imports pile up, so book the day the car lands.

Revenue pays for one appointment. If the car is refused for a missing document and has to come back, the second appointment is at your expense. Changing or cancelling a confirmed appointment within five working days of the date carries a surcharge of €54.76.

The centres that do VRT

NCTS lists these centres for VRT inspections: Arklow, Ballinasloe, Ballymount, Blarney, Carlow, Carndonagh, Carrick-on-Shannon, Donegal, Dundalk, Ennis, Enniscorthy, Galway, Greenhills, Kells, Kilkenny, Letterkenny, Limerick, Monaghan, Naas, Navan, Nenagh, Northpoint, Skibbereen, Sligo, Tralee, Tullamore, Waterford and Westport.

Dublin has three: Ballymount, Greenhills and Northpoint. Cork is served by Blarney and Skibbereen. The list changes now and then, so check it on ncts.ie when you book.

What to bring

Revenue's page lists what the centre asks for. Bring originals, and keep copies of everything, because the centre keeps some of it.

• A passport or driving licence, for the person who will be the registered owner.
• That person's PPSN, on a document that shows it.
• Proof of address: a utility bill or bank statement on paper, or two online statements from two different providers.
• The invoice, showing the date of purchase and the price.
• The foreign registration certificate or certificate of de-registration. For a car from Japan this is the export certificate, with a certified English translation. Without this document registration is refused, so make a copy before you go.
• Evidence of the date the car entered the State: shipping details or travel documents.
• For a car from outside the EU, the customs declaration's reference number, the MRN. The centre checks it against Revenue's customs system, so the declaration must be filed and the duty and VAT paid before the appointment.
• The Vehicle Purchase Details form, VRTVPD2 for a used car, completed online on revenue.ie before the appointment.
• For a car from Japan, confirmation of the CO2 and NOx figures from the website of Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, translated. Without evidence of the figures, VRT is charged at the highest rates. See the NOx charge.

Camber's import file carries this list for the car's origin and records where each document stands.

On the day

The inspector examines the car to confirm it matches the documents: the chassis number, the engine, the body, the odometer reading. The reading goes on record, and Revenue takes the value down for a car that has covered more than the norm, so make sure it is the true figure.

Revenue then sets the value and the VRT. The figure can differ from any estimate, Camber's included: the value is Revenue's, set on the day. Where the car is on Revenue's list of versions, the estimate is usually close. Where it is not, or the CO2 evidence is thin, it can be a long way off. The report in the import file sets what Revenue charged against the estimate afterwards.

You pay there and then: debit card, credit card other than American Express, a bank draft or postal order made out to Applus Inspection Services Ireland Ltd, or cash up to €250. After payment the registration number issues, and the centre sells the plates, which must be on the car within three days.

After the centre

Three things follow, none of them at the NCTS centre:

• Motor tax. The car cannot be driven until it is taxed. The first taxing of an imported car is done at the local motor tax office with the RF100 form issued at registration, not online. See motor tax on an imported car.
• Insurance on the new registration number. Have the quote agreed before the car lands; see insurance for Japanese imports.
• The NCT, if the car is four years old or more. An imported car has no NCT history, so it is due as soon as it is registered, and the certificate is needed to tax it for the second year.

Estimating before you go

Camber's calculator shows the VRT the way Revenue works it out, on Revenue's own value for the version. Run it before you buy, not at the centre, and put the car's real odometer reading in: the value, and so the VRT, moves with it.