Yes — private individuals can bid and buy at Copart Germany, and you do not need a business or a dealer licence. What you do need is the Basic membership at €70.21 gross per year, and as a private customer every price and fee you see is gross, with 19% VAT included. Every purchase then carries three fees: the buyer fee, tiered from €1.19 to €904.40 and then 5% of the sale price from €15,000 net (= €17,850 gross) upwards; the Virtual Bid Fee (€21.42–€36.89) on winning bids placed online; and the €53.55 lot retrieval fee. These are the fees Copart Deutschland GmbH charges in Germany; this page covers nothing beyond that invoice.
Fee table: January 2025 · Last checked: 17 August 2026 · Source: copart.de
The fees private buyers pay
Every figure in this table is gross: private customers see prices with 19% VAT already included. The official fee table does not split the storage, late payment, relist and processing fees into net and gross, so they appear here exactly as Copart prints them.
Private customer terms
As of: January 2025 · Source: copart.de
Fee
Amount
When does it apply?
Basic annual membership (private customers)
€70.21
Charged once a year; you need it before you can bid. Gross, with 19% VAT included.
Buyer fee (Member Fee)
€1.19 – €904.40
On every purchase, tiered by sale price. From €15,000 net (= €17,850 gross) it becomes 5% of the sale price, with no upper limit. Full tier table in the calculator.
Virtual Bid Fee (online bid fee)
€21.42 – €36.89
Only if the winning bid was placed online on copart.de; winning bids made at a bid kiosk are exempt. Tiers below.
Lot retrieval fee
€53.55
On every vehicle, whatever its condition.
Document handling fee
€29.75
For processing and sending the vehicle documents.
Storage fee (late removal)
€15.00 / vehicle / day
From the 6th business day; the first 5 business days, auction day included, are free.
Late payment fee
€50.00
If the invoice is not paid within 3 business days, counting the invoice date itself.
Relist fee
10% of sale price, min. €500.00
When a sale is reversed, for example because the buyer does not pay on time.
Processing fee if the sale does not go ahead
€75.00
Under the private customer terms. Not the same as the relist fee.
Guest fee
€11.90
For visitors to a Copart yard who are not members.
Virtual Bid Fee: tiers by sale price
The tier depends on the net sale price; the fee itself is shown gross, with 19% VAT included.
Virtual Bid Fee by sale price
Sale price (net)
Fee gross
up to €6,750.99
€21.42
€6,751.00 – €13,500.99
€29.75
from €13,501.00
€36.89
How the purchase works, step by step
From registration to collection, with the fees and deadlines that matter at each stage.
Register and buy a membership
Step 1/4
Open an account on copart.de as a private customer and buy the Basic membership: €70.21 gross per year. That membership is what lets you bid.
Without it you can only visit a Copart yard as a guest, for a guest fee of €11.90 gross.
Bid
Step 2/4
You can bid online on copart.de or in person at a bid kiosk. If your winning bid was placed online, Copart adds the Virtual Bid Fee — €21.42 to €36.89 gross, depending on the sale price.
There is no Virtual Bid Fee if you win at a kiosk.
Pay
Step 3/4
Payment is due immediately. You have 3 business days including the invoice date, after which a late payment fee of €50 applies — worth planning around if the money has to travel from another country. Your bid limit only frees up again once the vehicle is paid for in full.
If a vehicle is not paid for and goes back into an auction, the relist fee is 10% of the sale price, at least €500. The private customer terms also set a processing fee of €75 if a sale does not go ahead.
Collect
Step 4/4
The first 5 business days including the auction day are free of storage charges; after that Copart charges €15 per vehicle per day. The lot retrieval fee (€53.55 gross) applies to every vehicle and covers preparing it for collection.
Processing and sending the vehicle documents costs €29.75 gross.
Worked example: a €3,000 winning bid as a private buyer
Private customer, bid placed online, vehicle collected within the free period — all amounts gross:
Vehicle won for €3,000 (gross)
Vehicle price (winning bid)
€3,000.00
Buyer fee (Member Fee)
€368.90
Virtual Bid Fee
€21.42
Lot retrieval fee
€53.55
Total amount
€3,443.87
The fees come to €443.87 here — about 14.8% of the winning bid, and that figure does not include transport. One detail is worth knowing: the buyer-fee tiers are based on net sale prices. €3,000 gross is €2,521.01 net, which falls in the €2,500–€2,999.99 tier (€310 net = €368.90 gross). Run your own figures through the Copart Germany fee calculator — select “Private (gross)” there.
Bidding service or buying direct?
Some private buyers go through a commercial bidding service (an auction agent) rather than buying in their own name. The agent bids and buys using its own Copart account and handles the paperwork, and charges its own service fees on top of everything listed here. Those fees vary from one provider to the next, so this page gives no figures for them.
Buying direct means holding your own membership and paying the fees above yourself. In return you keep full control over the bid, the payment and the collection, and you can work out the whole amount in advance in the fee calculator.
Vehicle condition and contract terms
Most of the vehicles Copart auctions are damaged or used. What you are bidding on is the description, the photos and the documents shown in the online listing, so go through them carefully before you place a bid.
The sale itself is governed solely by the terms and conditions of Copart Deutschland GmbH; read them in full before your first bid. This page describes the process and the fees on Copart's German invoice. It makes no statement about warranty or any other legal question, and it is not legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
Can I buy at Copart Germany as a private individual, or do I need a business?
You do not need a business or a dealer licence. Copart Deutschland GmbH publishes separate terms for private customers: every price and fee is shown gross, with 19% VAT included, and the Basic annual membership costs €70.21 gross. That membership is what lets you bid; without it you can only visit a Copart yard as a guest, for a guest fee of €11.90 gross.
How much does a Copart membership cost for a private buyer?
The Basic annual membership costs €70.21 gross for private customers. Business customers are quoted net instead: €59 a year for Basic and €199 for Premier.
What does a private buyer pay on top of the winning bid at Copart Germany?
Three fees apply to every purchase, all of them gross: the buyer fee (Member Fee), which is tiered by sale price from €1.19 to €904.40 and becomes 5% of the sale price with no upper limit above €15,000 net (= €17,850 gross); the Virtual Bid Fee of €21.42 to €36.89 if the winning bid was placed online; and the €53.55 lot retrieval fee. Depending on how the purchase goes, a storage fee of €15 per vehicle per day, a late payment fee of €50 or the €29.75 document handling fee may also apply.
Do Copart Germany prices for private buyers include VAT?
Yes. Private customers see gross prices: every amount already includes 19% VAT, and nothing is added at the end. Tier boundaries work differently, though: both the buyer fee and the Virtual Bid Fee are set by the net sale price. The 5% threshold, for instance, is a sale price of €15,000 net, which is €17,850 gross.
When do I have to pay for a vehicle I won at Copart Germany?
Payment is due immediately after the sale. You have 3 business days including the date of the invoice, after which Copart charges a late payment fee of €50. The deadline runs from the invoice date, so allow for the time an international transfer needs. Your bid limit only frees up again once the vehicle has been paid for in full.
How long can a vehicle stay at the Copart yard before storage fees start?
The first 5 business days, counting the auction day itself, are free. From the 6th business day Copart Germany charges €15 per vehicle per day. The lot retrieval fee of €53.55 is separate from storage and applies to every vehicle, whenever you collect it.
What is the €75 processing fee for?
Under the private customer terms, Copart Deutschland GmbH charges €75 when a sale does not go ahead — when a bid does not turn into a contract of sale. It is not the same thing as the relist fee, which is 10% of the sale price with a minimum of €500 and applies when a vehicle has been sold but not paid for and goes back into an auction.
Do these fees include import or registration costs in my own country?
No. Everything on this page is what Copart Deutschland GmbH charges on its German invoice. Whatever may be due once the vehicle leaves the yard — duties, taxes, registration, transport — depends on where you take it and on the rules that apply there, and this page makes no statement about any of it.