Importere Bil fra USA til Norge — Avgifter, Enkeltgodkjenning and the VIN Check

USA to
Norway

Norway has no customs duty on cars but a one-off registration tax that can dwarf the price, 25% VAT, and an amcar culture with 35,000 club members. Since June 2018 a car registered for at least six months in the USA or Canada is treated like an EU-registered one for approval purposes. About 63% of Norway's used imports in 2024 were electric, and the US is the obvious source of used Teslas.

At a glance

Customs duty
0% (Norway applies no customs duty on cars)
VAT (mva)
25%
Engangsavgift
One-off registration tax by weight, CO2 and NOx; Skatteetaten publishes a calculator. Reduced for EVs
Approval
Statens vegvesen; cars registered 6+ months in the USA or Canada treated like EU-registered (rule since 1 June 2018)
Market
US car imports worth NOK 1.4 billion in 2024 (SSB); around 6,000 used cars imported in 2024, ~63% EVs (OFV via press)

Salvage Teslas

Elbilforum threads on importing a Tesla from the USA rarely mention that a large share of US Tesla exports are Copart salvage cars. Flood, fire and undercarriage damage codes on the auction record are battery-relevant and invisible after repair. The VIN is on the lot page.

Who is a serious importer

Amcarforum's "hvem er seriøs og ikke?" threads are the Norwegian buyer's due diligence today. A history report by VIN is the part of that due diligence that does not depend on anyone's reputation.

What to check before you pay

  • Title brand and state.
  • Prior auction records with photos and damage codes.
  • Odometer in miles, in sequence.
  • How long the car was registered in the US, for the six-month rule.

The same check, wherever the car is going

Every guide in this hub ends the same way because every destination shares the same blind spot. Norway's registry, inspection and customs process each verify something real, and none of them reads the American title, the insurer's total-loss declaration or the auction record. Enter the VIN above to see which of those records exist for the car you are looking at. The preview is free; the report is $19.99, once.

Three things to check before money moves

  1. 1

    The US title brand

    Clean, salvage, rebuilt, flood, junk. Issued by a US state, invisible in every European registry.

    How it is checked
  2. 2

    Prior auction records and photos

    Copart and IAAI intake photos, damage codes and sale price, from every sale the car went through, not only the current lot.

    How it is checked
  3. 3

    The odometer sequence in miles

    Readings at US titles, registrations and inspections in date order. A reading below an earlier one is a rollback.

    How it is checked

Frequently asked questions

Lønner det seg å importere bil fra USA?

For EVs and for American models unavailable in Europe, often. The one-off tax and 25% VAT apply to everything; Skatteetaten's calculator gives the number. The history check tells you whether the car is worth that number.

Hva er regelen fra 2018?

From 1 June 2018 a vehicle registered for at least six months in the USA or Canada is treated like an EU-registered vehicle for Norwegian approval, per AMCAR. Confirm current practice with Statens vegvesen.

Check the vehicle before you pay

Enter the VIN to see which US and Canadian records exist. The preview is free; the report is $19.99, once.