Notification of transfer

• Holder's notification of transfer to owner
• Notification of transfer to an unknown person

When a vehicle is sold, the seller is advised to note down the buyer’s name, address and date of transfer by copying the notification part of the registration certificate completed with the buyer’s details, for example, or by filling in a separate transfer document with the same information. If the new owner fails to make a notification of registration within seven days of the transfer, the previous owner may indicate the completion of the sale by submitting a notification of transfer either at a vehicle inspection site or through the vehicle’s insurance provider. The notification of transfer can also be free-form, signed by the seller alone.

A notification of transfer entered in the Vehicular and Driver Data Register concludes the vehicle tax liability and motor liability insurance of the previous owner.

Holder’s notification of transfer to owner

The holder of a vehicle can submit a notification of transfer pertaining to the holdership if he/she has surrendered the right of possession and returned the vehicle to its owner, and the owner does not submit a registration notification of the omission of the holder within seven days of the end of the holdership.

The holder’s notification must include

• owners name and address
• date when right of possession ended and information that the vehicle has been returned to the owner
• holder’s contact details and signature.

The notification can be submitted either at an inspection site or through the vehicle’s insurance provider.

Notification of transfer to an unknown person

If the new owner of a vehicle fails to submit a notification of registration on the change of owner, and the previous owner does not know the new owner’s name or address or the exact date of transfer, he/she can submit a “notification of transfer to an unknown person”.

The notification of transfer must include the following:

• Vehicle information (registration number, make)
• Time of transfer as precisely as possible
• Location i.e. where the transfer took place
• Description of the conclusion of the sale
• Description of the buyer
• Report on why the buyer’s details (e.g. deed of conveyance) are not available
• Other possible matters concerning the transfer
• Seller’s signature, print name, personal identification number or address and the date of birth (other contact details, e.g. telephone)
• Signatures of two witnesses, print names and personal identification numbers or addresses and the dates of birth. The witnesses can either verify the whole transaction if present, or that the vehicle has not been in the seller’s possession after the reported date of transfer.

The notification of transfer to an unknown person can only be submitted to Trafi. The date of transfer entered in the Vehicular and Driver Data Register is the date when the notification was received at Trafi.

The notification of transfer to an unknown person can be sent to The Transport Safety Agency, Means of Transport Registers Unit/notification of transfer to an unknown person, PO Box 320, FIN-00101 Helsinki.