I want to buy a used vehicle

A Car-Pass is a document that shows the odometer and maintenance history of a vehicle. In addition to the paper document, there is also a digital version that can be accessed using the QR code. The Car-Pas shows the registered odometer readings and the dates they were recorded. It shows the registered odometer readings and the dates when they were recorded. You get a picture of the mileage history of the vehicle and can better judge whether the odometer reading at the time of sale is realistic. Since 1 January 2024, companies in the automotive sector are also, obliged to report what work they have carried out on the vehicle. This allows the reader to see whether the vehicle has been properly maintained and whether important parts have been replaced. 

In addition, the Car-Pass contains the following information:

• the Vehicle Identification number (VIN) of the vehicle;
• the make and model of the vehicle; 
• the Euro emission standard;
• the CO2 emissions;
• whether the vehicle still needs to undergo a Post-Accident Vehicle Inspection;
• whether any recalls need to be carried out on the vehicle;
• the date on which the vehicle was first registered (in Belgium); 
• a unique QR code and Car-Pass identification number (which allows the authenticity of the document to be checked and the maintenance history to be retrieved).

Whenever a used car or light van is sold, the seller is legally required to give a Car-Pass to the buyer. It doesn't matter whether the seller is a private person, professional dealer or garage.

The only exception to this rule: if the buyer is a professional, no Car-Pass needs to be provided. 

So if you sell a used vehicle to a foreign private person, you are also required to provide a Car-Pass.

The Car-Pass is printed on special paper that contains a hologram to make counterfeiting and fraud much more difficult. Do you suspect your document is a forgery or the odometer readings are incorrect? You can scan the QR code or fill in the identification number here. What you will see on the screen should match with the data on the document. If this isn't the case or if you get an error message, then most probably the document is a fraud or has expired since quite some time.

The law states that any Car-Pass handed over with a used vehicle must be dated recently. In practice, this means the Car-Pass must be less than two months old.

For imported vehicles, the date of first registration in Belgium will not be filled out on the Car-Pass, or it will be more recent than the date of the first use. The following is also stated at the bottom of the Car-Pass: “This used vehicle was imported from abroad.”  Car-Pass does receive foreign odometer readings in two ways:

1. Cars imported from the Netherlands. Car-Pass asks the RDW (the Dutch agency that manages the central odometer readings database in the Netherlands) for the odometer history and displays it on the Car-Pass document.
2. Most vehicle manufacturers have a central database in which odometer readings are registered by their dealers at home and abroad. Manufacturers and importers are obliged to forward the odometer readings from their database to Car-Pass when a vehicle of their make(s) is imported into Belgium.

However, it is still possible no odometer information is available from abroad. In such a case, the first odometer reading recorded in our database is the one recorded during the import inspection. Unfortunately, there are fraudsters who clock odometers before the technical inspection. So be careful before buying a used vehicle imported from abroad.