Vehicle registration plates of Germany

German vehicle registration plates (Kraftfahrzeug-Kennzeichen or, more colloquially, Nummernschilder) indicate the place where the vehicle bearing them was once registered. Whenever German owners of a motor vehicle change their main place of residence within Germany or buy a car from a person living in a different city or district they have to have the vehicle documentation changed accordingly. In the process owners may opt for new licence plates that reflect their place of residence or simply retain the old identifier and plates. The states of Hesse, Schleswig-Holstein, Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and North Rhine-Westphalia were the first ones to create laws so that owners were no longer obliged to change licence plates if they were changing residence within the respective state. A nationwide law has since been passed by the federal government and went into effect on 1 January 2015. From this time on, it is generally not possible any more to tell the owner's place of residence just from looking at the plates.

The option to be assigned temporary plates allows owners a financial saving where they need to register vehicles (e.g. motorcycles) which they intend to use on public roads only during one particular part of the year. While temporary plates can only be used for the time printed on them and new ones have to be assigned and bought if the vehicle is supposed to be on public roads later on there is no need to renew regular plates periodically. German motor vehicle tax is paid independently of the licence plates by annual direct debit from a bank account.

As of 2007, new number plates normally cost around €30, while the cost of de-registering a vehicle and re-registering it with new plates is between €10 and €40. The licence plates themselves are not made by the registration office but by independent for-profit stores that are usually located in the same building as the registration office or close by. Upon successful registration the applicant is merely given a slip of paper with the assigned number that can be presented at any store that makes plates. Sometimes there are several stores in the vicinity of the registration office with prices for plates dropping the further the store is away from the registration office. Once the plates are made, which is a matter of minutes, the owner must return to the registration office with them, pay the costs for registration and then the required registration seal and safety test stickers are applied to the plates making them legal for use in traffic.

If ownership of a vehicle is permanently transferred to a new owner who lives in the same city/region then the registration number may remain unchanged. Administration fees are, however, still payable in respect of the necessary changes to the vehicle's official documentation. Many people however will change the licence plates even if it is not necessary in order to personalise them.

Licence Plates

 * B: Berlin


 * F: Frankfurt


 * HA: Hamburg


 * HM: Hannover


 * M: Munich