The EV grant holding period: selling, damage and claw-backs
The grant comes with a condition that lasts 36 months. What you must report in that time and how BAFA deals with a sale, a write-off, a return under warranty and a death.
Worked through by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
Selling early: how much of the holding period is missing
Months missing
18
| Kept | 18 months |
| Holding period ends | October 2029 |
| Purely pro rata | €2,000 |
BAFA decides case by case on a partial or full claw-back; the pro rata figure is only an order of magnitude, not a decision.
If you receive Germany’s 2026 EV grant, the car must stay registered to you in Germany for at least 36 continuous months. The period starts on the day of registration; a car registered on 15 November 2026 must be kept until 14 November 2029. If it is sold, deregistered, taken abroad or transferred to someone else before then, you must report this to BAFA without delay. BAFA then decides case by case, at its due discretion, whether to reclaim the grant partly or in full; no fixed formula has been published. A write-off or theft follows the same procedure, taking the circumstances into account. If the purchase is reversed because of a defect, nothing is reclaimed provided an equivalent eligible replacement is registered within 6 months; the holding period is extended by the gap. If the keeper dies, the heirs take over the remaining time. A 24-month lease is not long enough for the holding period.
What the holding period requires
The funding guideline ties the grant to a minimum holding period. BAFA puts it this way: the vehicle must stay registered to the applicant in Germany for at least 36 continuous months. That contains three conditions: the same person, the same registration without interruption, and Germany.
| Registration | Holding period ends | Earliest sale without reporting |
|---|---|---|
| 1 March 2026 | 28 February 2029 | 1 March 2029 |
| 15 November 2026 | 14 November 2029 | 15 November 2029 |
| 30 June 2027 | 29 June 2030 | 30 June 2030 |
| 31 December 2029 | 30 December 2032 | 31 December 2032 |
Selling or deregistering early
If you sell or deregister before then, you must notify BAFA without delay. BAFA then decides at its due discretion whether and how much to reclaim, partly or in full. It has not published a formula. The table below therefore only shows an order of magnitude, the figure that would result if BAFA worked purely pro rata on the missing months. An actual decision can be higher.
| Kept | Months missing | Pro rata on €5,000 | Pro rata on €3,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 months | 30 | €4,167 | €2,500 |
| 12 months | 24 | €3,333 | €2,000 |
| 24 months | 12 | €1,667 | €1,000 |
| 30 months | 6 | €833 | €500 |
| 35 months | 1 | €139 | €83 |
The small calculator above works out the missing months for your dates. Whether selling early would pay despite a claw-back depends on resale value and your reasons; the grant is only one part of that sum.
Write-off and theft
For events outside your control, the same procedure applies with a difference in how things are weighed. You tell BAFA what happened and explain the circumstances. BAFA decides on a partial or full claw-back taking the individual case into account. Keep ready whatever supports your case: the assessor’s report after an accident, the police report after a theft, the deregistration certificate and, if available, the insurer’s settlement.
Return under warranty
A special case is reversing the purchase or lease under statutory warranty rights (Wandlung). BAFA then reclaims nothing if an equivalent replacement that qualifies under the guideline is registered within 6 months of the reversal. The holding period is extended by the time between the return and the new registration.
| Step | Date |
|---|---|
| First car registered | 15 November 2026 |
| Returned because of a defect | 1 June 2027 |
| Replacement to be registered by | 1 December 2027 |
| Replacement actually registered | 1 September 2027 |
| Original end of holding period | 14 November 2029 |
| Extended end of holding period | 14 February 2030 |
Report the replacement to BAFA without delay, with the deregistration certificate of the first car and the registration certificate of the new one. “Equivalent” is not defined further; a car of the same class that would qualify in its own right is the obvious reading.
Death of the keeper
If the keeper dies before the holding period ends, re-registering the car to the heir does not harm the grant. The heir must then complete the remaining holding period. The inheritance is proven to BAFA with a certificate of inheritance (Erbschein).
What is not a change of keeper
The holding period concerns registration, not who drives. Your partner, children with a licence or friends may use the car as long as it stays registered to you. A financed car whose part II registration certificate (Zulassungsbescheinigung Teil II) is held by the bank as security also stays registered to you, because the keeper is whoever is named on part I. A workshop repair, a courtesy car for a few days or laying the car up for a while are different from a sale. Be careful with deregistration, though: BAFA requires continuous registration, and deregistering must be reported. If you plan seasonal plates (Saisonkennzeichen), clarify it with BAFA first.
Three cases from practice
A job abroad. An engineer gets an offer in Switzerland after 20 months and takes the car. The German registration ends and 16 months are missing. He reports the move to BAFA, which decides on a claw-back.
An accident that was not her fault. A commuter’s car is written off after 14 months and the other driver’s insurer pays. She reports it with the assessor’s report and deregistration certificate. BAFA takes the circumstances into account; a replacement is not required here because it is not a warranty return.
A battery defect. A couple returns the car after eight months because of a recurring fault and registers an equivalent model three months later. Nothing is reclaimed and the holding period is extended by those three months.
Leasing, moving, business use
- Leasing: a 24-month contract does not meet the holding period. You must extend it or buy the car so that it stays registered to you for 36 months. More under leasing.
- Moving abroad: the car must stay registered in Germany. Taking it with you ends the holding period early; see new to Germany.
- Business assets: the car may not be moved into a business during the holding period; see self-employed.
- Moving within Germany, new plates: as long as you remain the keeper and the car is registered in Germany, re-registering changes nothing.
After the holding period
Once the period is over, you are free. You can sell the car, transfer it to your partner, take it abroad or deregister it without asking BAFA and without a claw-back. The duty to keep documents, however, runs longer than the holding period itself.
Reporting: how and what
Report a change as soon as possible, not only when BAFA asks. Have your grant notice number to hand, the date of the change and the evidence: the buyer’s contract, deregistration certificate, assessor’s report, police report, certificate of inheritance. Keep all documents for 5 years. The procedure for the original application is under how to apply.