In most cases, a motor vehicle used in traffic or a trailer connected to it must be registered. Any changes to the data of a registered vehicle must be reported to the register within the specified time limit.
The registration obligation applies to the owner and holder of a vehicle. If you do not submit the required registration notifications, you will be guilty of a vehicle violation, and the police may remove the vehicle’s registration plates and issue you a fine.
Which vehicles do not need to be registered?
- Vehicles used exclusively on construction sites or in factories, ports, warehouses, competitions or other similar areas isolated from public roads (including off-road and pedestrian traffic).
- Off-road vehicles, not including snowmobiles.
- Heavy snowmobiles used in areas that are not snowmobile routes
- Mobile machinery built or equipped for producing or harvesting crops (e.g. combines) or performing road maintenance (e.g. graders), not including tractors or similar mobile machinery that are driven on foot.
- Trailers coupled to category L vehicles, tractors, mobile machinery, or off-road vehicles.
- Towable equipment coupled to vehicles other than a car.
- Sleighs.
Even if a vehicle does not need to be registered, it may still require motor vehicle liability insurance in some situations.
For more information on the insurance obligation, please contact your insurance company or the Finnish Motor Insurers’ Centre (LVK).
All-terrain vehicles (ATVs) used in road traffic must be registered
Different types of ATVs are subject to different legal requirements. If an ATV has EC type approval in one of the following vehicle categories, it must be registered before it can be driven on public roads:
- three-wheel moped (L2e vehicle)
- tricycle (L5e)
- light quadricycle (L6e)
- heavy quadricycle (L7e)
ATVs of other types are considered off-road vehicles and therefore cannot be registered for use on public roads.