Insured on the way to Norway: export cover, Green Card and Grenseforsikring

The export insurance is third-party liability cover (WA) for 14 days, with a Green Card as international proof of insurance. You receive the confirmation by email, with the Green Card as a PDF; at our desk you are also handed the Green Card and the white export plates. A car gets two plates. Insurance with plates starts from €100, or from €150 as part of the complete package with the export document.

To arrange it we need the desired start date, the destination and route, and the details of the policyholder and the driver. With complete documents a standard application at our counter is usually ready in about 15 minutes. The cover starts on the date you choose, so plan it around the day the car actually leaves.

The Green Card proves that the vehicle has at least the compulsory third-party cover of the country you visit. Which countries and which driver your policy covers is stated on the policy and the Green Card, so check them for the whole route before you leave. Skatteetaten advises checking in advance that the car has valid plates and insurance to be driven to and in Norway. Statens vegvesen is blunt: a vehicle must always be validly insured, and using one without valid insurance is a criminal offence.

If a vehicle arrives at the Norwegian border without valid insurance, you must take out separate border insurance, Grenseforsikring, with Tolletaten. Valid foreign plates may be used up to the customs office only if the vehicle is insured. So make sure your export insurance is still running on the day you reach the border, and keep the Green Card with the car's papers.

After customs clearance a car may be driven for up to 30 days on valid foreign plates if it is insured and technically roadworthy. Whether white Dutch export plates count as valid there is something to check with Tolletaten or Statens vegvesen beforehand: the rules for driving on Dutch export plates after the first 14 days vary by country. The approval, the one-off registration tax and the registration appointment can easily take longer than 14 days. In that case extend the export insurance, from €120 per 14 days, after the insurer agrees. The extension covers the insurance only; the Dutch export plate itself is not extended.

For registration in Norway you need Norwegian traffic insurance. The insurer sends the insurance declaration to Statens vegvesen electronically, and the owner pays the road traffic insurance tax (trafikkforsikringsavgift) through the insurer. The buyer arranges this with a Norwegian insurer; we do not. Meanwhile, your Dutch car insurance stopped being valid when the car left the Dutch register, says NederlandWereldwijd, which is why temporary insurance is needed in between.

A caravan or trailer also gets export insurance of its own. Up to 750 kg it is insured on its chassis number and carries one white plate with the towing vehicle's registration number; a heavier one has its own registration number on one white plate. The rates for caravans and trailers are on our prices page.

If the car goes on a trailer or car transporter, it usually does not need driving insurance. The export document stays necessary, and so does the export declaration, because Norway is outside the EU. See Dutch export plates, the EX-A export declaration and the full import steps in Norway.