Motor Vehicle ownership transfer

The motor vehicle ownership transfer Fee is FRW 60,000 for vehicles and FRW 30,000 for motorcycles. In case of the ownership transfer is requested for motor vehicles with number plates with ‘IT’, ‘CD’ or ‘UN’, to new owner who does not have that status, the buyer must pay all Customs Duties due on imported motor vehicles, except for Motor Vehicle Registration Fees that have already been paid for that motor vehicle.

In general, the required documents for motor vehicle ownership transfer are the following:

• Sale Contract (containing the date, location, value and the names, phone numbers and signatures of both the buyer and seller).
• Payment of  Transfer Fee  according to the asset (vehicle or motorcycle)
• Latest Yellow Card for the motor vehicle
• The buyer should possess the TIN
• Copies of ID for buyer and seller
• Full RDB registration certificate, for company/ RGB registration certificate for NGOs, and RCA registration certificate for Cooperatives, etc.
•  Motor vehicle insurance for one year. In case the motor motor vehicle is for business purpose such as taxi, the historical insurance information is also required.

However, the requirements may vary depending on the reason for the transfer as indicated below.

Requirements for normal sales

A notarized sell contract between the seller and the buyer. If the sale was done outside Rwandan territory ( in diaspora), the sale contract must be signed and stamped by the Rwandan Embassy in that country and be approved by the Ministry of Foreigh Affairs (MINAFFET).

• Copies of ID for both parties (the buyer and the seller).
• Full RDB registration in case of Company, RGB registration certificate for NGOs, and RCA registration certificate for Cooperatives
• Board of Directors resolutions for companies, resolutions for Board of members for NGOs and General Assembly’s resolutions for cooperatives, etc.
• EBM invoice in case the seller is VAT registered.
• One year insurance certificate and insurance historical information in case the motor vehicle is for commercial purpose.
• Transfer fees should be effectively paid during the request process otherwise the request is canceled.
• The seller’s account should be free of tax types  liability (having no tax arrears for central taxes, local taxes, customs duties and motor vehicle taxes).

Requirements for donation
The requirements are similar to those of the normal sale, except the donation contract which replaces the sale  contract. The donation contract should also be notarized.

Requirements for public auction

The public auction is the auction processed only by public institutions and in this case the cost (money) of auctioned asset is deposited in the National treasury.
 In that case, below are the requirements :

• In the case the auctioned asset is a vehicle ,the success bider should possess the sell contract, the copy of his/her ID, RDB full registration certificate for Companies, RGB full registration certificate for NGOs, RCA full registration certificate for Cooperatives, proof of payment, to whom it may concern signed by RRA( this is not mandatory in case the auctioned asset is the motor) and the release note (gate pass) signed by the institution that auctioned the asset .

Note: The success bidder should ensure that the institution which auctioned the asset, has sent to RRA the public auction report requesting for the ownership transfer in due time. In case the auctioned asset is the motor, the public auction report is co-signed by the auctioning institution and RRA.

Requirements for private auction

This is the auction processed by court bailiff, receiver (in case the asset is registered in RDB as mortgage ), sale  initiated by big companies or International NGOs.

In case of the court bailiff, the requirements are similar to those of normal sale. In this case, the sale contract is signed between  the court bailiff and the buyer.
Furthermore, the court bailiff presents the court order or ruling as the basis for conducting the auction.

In case of the receiver (asset registered in RDB as mortgage), the requirements are the following:

• Mortgage registration issued by RDB
• Permit to sell issued by RDB
• Statement of the auction issued by receiver
• Auction report issued by the receiver
• Sell contract signed between the buyer and the receiver
• Copies of ID for the receiver and the buyer

In case of sale  done by big companies or International NGOs: the requirements are similar to those of the normal sells except the following:

• If the auctioned asset is registered with a temporary number plate such as IT,CD,CMD,UN,RIT, the buyer should pay the Customs duties.

Requirements for court orders

The requirements are the following:

1. Court decision with statutory stamp (cashe mpuruza). The court decision should specify the details of the person to whom the motor vehicle will be transferred.
2. The asset should have no caveat.
3. The copy of ID/passport for the court beneficiary.

Requirements for inheritance

In case of the death of one of the spouses
A. In case the heir is the spouse of the deceased

While requesting for the motor vehicle ownership transfer for a deceased spouse, the heir must present the the following requirements:

• Death certificate of the deceased spouse (owner of the asset)
• Marriage certificate indicating the Community property regime
• Widow’s certificate (icyemezo cy’ubupfakazi),
• Copy of ID for both spouses
• One year insurance certificate and insurance historical information in case the motor vehicle is for commercial purpose.
• Transfer fees should be effectively paid during the request process otherwise the request is cancelled.
• The deceased’s account should be free of taxtypes  liability

B. In case the heir is the family member of the deceased or any other person ( children, parents, other relatives)

The requirements are similar to the one for a deceased spouse except the marriage and widow’s certificate which are not needed here. Rather, in this case, the heir should present the inheritance certificate issued by the local authorities (Sector Office) or court.

This happens when a court ruling/relevant authority orders for cancellation of the ownership transfer based on reasons such as illegal transfer done with a wrong buyer, a minor, breach of contract, etc.
In this case, the following process is followed:

• The claimant submits his/her cancellation request to RRA official email (info@rra.gov.rw ) accompanied with the court ruling with power of execution. This process is only possible when the motor vehicle is physically available.