How to register my off-the-road Defender in Ireland?
I moved to Ireland in 2016 and came with a 1990 Defender County (12 seats). This developed problems at the end of the journey (gearbox) and I declared it off road in the UK and it has been parked up ever since. What would be required in order to register it in Ireland? It would require a chassis and bulkhead at minimum to be road legal.
Iain (Co Cork)Sep 2025 Filed under: importing
Expert answer
Hi Iain,
By the letter of the law, you should have declared the vehicle within seven days of arriving in Ireland with it and sorted the importation process within 30 days of that. There are mechanisms in place to enforce this and penalise lack of adherence to the rules, but we would be surprised if your vehicle was seized or you were penalised so long as you engage with Revenue openly.
It's worth digging out the paperwork proving that you brought the Defender into the country in 2016, regardless of the above, as that means it was before Brexit and there should be no talk of VAT or import duty.
Book a VRT appointment with the NCTS now for the vehicle to be inspected. It can be brought in on a trailer, but make sure you have all the paperwork. Given its age, the VRT will be a flat-rate €200.
Once that's all sorted, you'll get an Irish registration number for the vehicle and it's up to you whether you get it back on the road or not. Presumably you'd need to declare it off the road in Ireland then, to ensure you don't build up tax arrears until it is road legal once more.
Shane O' Donoghue - Complete Car Advisor