Commissioning

Commissioning refers to the recommissioning of a vehicle that has been decommissioned from traffic and the entry of this information in the Vehicular and Driver Data Register. Registration notification of commissioning is submitted by the owner or the holder at an inspection station or, if the registration plates were not returned at decommissioning, at the insurance company where the vehicle is insured. Private customers can also submit the notification of commissioning online.

The towing vehicle is by default always in use when decommissioning a lorry. Notice of non-use must be resubmitted for the towing vehicle when the lorry is commissioned.

Decommissioning frees the owner or holder from the liability to pay the basic vehicle tax. The release from liability can be activated in connection with commissioning by calling vehicle tax assistance, tel. +358 (0)20 618 5125 or by sending an e-mail to verotus (at) trafi.fi.

• Submitting a commissioning notification
• Preconditions for commissioning

Submitting a commissioning notification

The owner or holder of the vehicle entered into the register may submit the registration notification on the commissioning to traffic of the vehicle at an inspection site. A vehicle can also be commissioned at one’s own insurance company if the registration plates were not returned at decommissioning. Private customers may also submit a vehicle commissioning notification online, provided that the registration plates have not been returned, and there are no registration entries preventing the commissioning of the vehicle.

Using a proxy, the owner or holder may also authorise another person to act as an agent in submitting the notification. If the owner or holder personally signs the notification part, the party acting as an agent may submit the notification without a proxy to a registration office, but in this case only the technical part, not the notification part of the registration certificate, is given to the agent. The notification part is sent to the owner by post.

The registration notification is submitted at an inspection site with the notification part of the vehicle’s most recent registration certificate. If the registration plates of the vehicle were not returned at decommissioning, the notification may also be submitted at the insurance company where the vehicle is insured. In that case, the customer must also present the technical part of the registration certificate. If the holder submits a registration notification concerning commissioning to traffic, he/she must request the notification part from the owner. The registration notification is subject to a charge. A new registration certificate for commissioning will be printed out for the customer. If the online service is used, the new registration certificate is always delivered to the customer by post.

The statement of commissioning must be submitted on the day of commissioning before actually using the vehicle in traffic. The notification cannot be submitted in advance or after the fact.

Preconditions for commissioning

A vehicle to be commissioned to traffic must have a valid motor liability insurance policy. If the owner of the vehicle has changed during the time the vehicle was decommissioned from traffic and the new owner(s) has (have) not been entered in the register, the customer must provide a report showing all the owners at the time of commissioning. Commissioning does not usually require a registration inspection.

A registration inspection is required in conjunction with commissioning if:

• the vehicle has been decommissioned abroad/on the Åland islands
• the vehicle has undergone deregistration as damaged
• the vehicle has been deregistered prior to 2 November 2007, excluding working machinery and tractors other than a traffic tractor
• the periodic inspection is valid to use the vehicle in traffic. Data can be checked in the technical part of the registration statement.

Any outstanding vehicle taxes prevent submission of a notification on commissioning. The tax status of a vehicle can be checked by calling Trafi’s vehicle tax assistance, tel. +358 29 534 5125 (local network charge/mobile call charge, open daily from 8 am to 8 pm).