Guide · updated 22 September 2026

VRT statistical code: what it is and how to find yours

Behind every VRT figure sits an eight-digit number: the statistical code. It is how Revenue’s valuation system tells a 1.2 Icon from a 1.2 Icon Tech, and picking the wrong one at inspection changes your tax bill. Here is what the code looks like, where you will see it and how to get yours before the NCTS appointment.

What the code is

Revenue keeps a valuation database of more than 25,000 vehicle versions. Each version, a specific combination of make, model, trim, engine, transmission and body, gets its own statistical code and its own Open Market Selling Price. The code is what the NCTS inspector selects when your car is examined, and it fixes three things at once: the OMSP, the CO2 figure used for the rate band, and therefore most of your VRT.

What a statistical code looks like

Eight digits, no letters. Here is one from Revenue’s own estimate page, the way it appears on the “Your VRT Estimate” screen:

Everything below the code follows from it: the OMSP of the car when new, the depreciation Revenue applies for its age, and the CO2 band that sets the rate. Change the code to the Icon Tech or the 1.8 hybrid and the OMSP, the band and the tax all move.

Why one car can have several codes

Two things surprise importers. First, popular models split into many versions: a single Corolla model year can have a dozen codes, one per trim and gearbox combination, each with a different OMSP. Second, the codes are tied to registration dates. The same version sold across several years appears under different validity windows, precise to the month. That is why a code that works for a June 2020 car returns “no available statistical code” for a November 2020 one: the manufacturer revised the version mid-year.

Where the code appears

• On the result page of Revenue’s VRT calculator on revenue.ie, labelled “Statistical Code”, once you have picked the make, model and version by hand.
• On the VRT receipt the NCTS centre gives you after the inspection. That is the code Revenue actually charged you on.
• In the VRT breakdown from this site: the free calculator matches your reg to Revenue’s versions by trim, and the paid document prints the statistical code of the version you chose, with the OMSP and CO2 behind it, as the page to hand the inspector.

It is not on the V5C, the export certificate or anywhere in the VIN. It is Revenue’s own index.

How to find your code

The practical route: run your registration through the VRT calculator. We identify the car from the UK register, then show you Revenue’s matching versions, and you pick the one whose trim matches the V5C. The free figure is the VRT for that version; the breakdown prints its statistical code, and the same code is what you should see on the VRT receipt at the NCTS centre.

For Japanese imports, the version is identified by the Japanese model code (like DAA-NHP10) stored in Revenue’s “further description” field. Details in the Japanese import guide.

If the inspector picks a different code

The inspector’s choice decides the bill, and mistakes happen: trims look alike. If the receipt shows a version that is not your car and the VRT is higher than the estimate for your true version, you can appeal through Revenue’s VRT appeals procedure (you pay first, appeal within 2 months via MyEnquiries). Bring evidence: the V5C, the manufacturer’s spec sheet, and your calculator estimate showing the correct code. If you want the evidence gathered and the letter drafted for you, that is what the VRT appeal pack does.

If your car has no code at all

Some models never got a statistical code: many Japanese imports, rare trims, cars that were never sold new in Ireland. The calculator shows no versions, and Revenue values the car by hand after the NCTS appointment. The OMSP evidence pack explains what the officer works from and gives you the comparable adverts to hand in with the car.