Vehicle registration plates of Germany
Vehicle registration plates are mandatory alphanumeric plates used to display the registration mark of a vehicle registered in Germany. They have existed in the country since 1906, with the current system in use since 1956. German registration plates are alphanumeric plates in a standardised format, issued officially by the district authorities.
All motorised vehicles participating in road traffic on public space, whether moving or stationary, have to bear the plates allotted to them, displayed at the appropriate spaces at the front and rear. Additionally, the official seals on the plates show their validity which can also be proven by the documentation coming with them. Motorcycles and trailers carry only a rear plate.
A significant feature of German vehicle registration plates is the area code, which can be used to tell the district of registration. It has developed into a widespread habit in Germany, even a children's game when travelling, to guess "where that vehicle is from".
Format and legal requirements
Legal
The legal requirements for these licence plates are laid down in a federal law titled Verordnung über die Zulassung von Fahrzeugen zum Straßenverkehr, or in the shortened version Fahrzeug-Zulassungs-Verordnung, FZV which replaced part of an older law named Straßenverkehrszulassungsordnung, StVZO in 2011. The law distinguishes between Kennzeichen meaning a specific combination of letters and digits, and Kennzeichenschilder which are the physical licence plates. In everyday language, these terms are often replaced indifferently by Nummernschild and rarely is the difference emphasized by restricted use of either Nummer or Schild.Physical characteristics
German number plates are rectangular, with standard dimensions for cars, trucks, buses and their trailers. Plates bearing few characters may have reduced length but must retain the size and shape of the characters. Plates in two lines for the said types of vehicles measure. Motorcycles also have plates in two lines but with specific dimensions: Plates for "large motorcycles" issued until 2011 combine a size of with characters of the same size as used for car plates, while those issued since 2011 have characters of reduced size and measure either or. Plates for "light motorcycles" combine a size of with characters of reduced size. This smallest size of plates is also used for agricultural tractors with a maximum speed of and their trailers and may also be issued as an exception for certain import cars, when a plate of regular size cannot be applied at the available space.The characters on the licence plate, as well as the narrow rim framing it, are black on a white background. In standard size they are high, and wide for letters or wide for digits. The smaller plates bear characters of height and width, respectively. In the current system, introduced in 1956, they consist of an area code of one, two or three letters, followed by an identifier sequence of one or two letters and one to four digits. The total quantity of characters on the plate must not exceed eight. Identifiers consisting of one letter with one- or two-digit numbers are often reserved for motorcycle use since there is less space for plates on these vehicles, especially before the reduction of plate size to 180 × 200 mm and 220 × 200 mm in 2011.
Typeface
Modern German plates use a typeface called FE-Schrift. It is designed so that the letter P cannot be altered to look exactly like an R, and vice versa; nor can the F or the L be forged to equal an E, etc. Another feature is the equal width of all characters, different from the old DIN 1451 script which had been in use since the introduction of the current system in 1956. FE-Schrift can be read by OCR software for automatic number plate recognition more easily than DIN 1451.The present style was introduced in 1994 and became mandatory in 2000, so the number of licence plates issued in the old style has become very rare. As with many plates for countries within the European Union, a blue strip on the left shows a shortened country code in white text and the Flag of Europe.
Material
Traditionally, German licence plates are made of aluminium sheeting, with embossed characters rising above background level. Over the years, however, various other materials have been used, albeit to a small extent only. Since 2013, a new style of plates made of plastic is allowed. They are said to be less sensitive to mechanical damage and to cause less CO2 emission in their production, but are more expensive.Number plates are retroflective, but must not be mirroring, concealed or soiled, nor may they be covered by glass, foil or similar layers. Occasionally, drivers who adorn their licence plate with a badge of their favourite football club are fined and ordered to restore the original state.
Constituent elements
Area code
The first part or Unterscheidungszeichen consists of one, two or three letters representing the district where the car was registered, such as B for Berlin or HSK for Hochsauerlandkreis. These letters basically refer to the German districts, yet after some changes in the law they are no longer unambiguous. When the current system was introduced, each district was assigned exactly one abbreviation. Whenever a district was merged with another or changed its name, their area code would be redefined. Whereas existing registrations would remain valid, any vehicle registered henceforth could only be issued the current code. In some cases an urban district and the surrounding non-urban district share the same letter code. Usually, these are distinguished by different letter/digit patterns. The assignment of each code and combination is registered with the Zentrales Fahrzeugregister.Since 2013, however, area codes long abolished were re-introduced, revoking the rule of unambiguity. In consequence, many districts now use more than one code, and certain codes, on the other hand, are not assigned to one district only. Likewise, several cities that share their code with the surrounding rural districts have started using any available codes for both districts without any distinction; the city of Regensburg, for example, and the surrounding rural district of Regensburg used different systems with their code R only until 2007.
Germany includes diacritical marks in the letters of some codes, that is the letters Ä, Ö, and Ü, but not ẞ. For a long time, German codes kept to the rule that a code with an umlaut would prohibit another code with the respective blank vowel, e.g. there could not be a district code FU as the code FÜ was already in use for Fürth. This rule was disregarded in 1996, when BÖ was introduced for Bördekreis in spite of BO existing for Bochum. However Bördekreis got BK in 2007, probably because of confusions abroad, for fines etc.
Development of the area code
When the area codes were introduced, they were intended mainly as a means for police officers to identify speeders and other traffic offenders. However, they soon developed into everyday abbreviations of people's home areas and were cherished or despised. Sometimes, the codes of neighbouring districts were given mocking or spiteful meanings. When districts merged and only one of their codes could be continued, fierce battles might ensue about which one.The Büsingen exclave
Since 1968, a peculiar rule has applied to the municipality of Büsingen am Hochrhein which is a German exclave completely surrounded by Swiss territory. Although Büsingen belongs to the German district of Konstanz, it is part of the Swiss customs area. For this reason, a vehicle registered to a citizen of Büsingen does not bear KN for Konstanz but BÜS, signifying to Swiss customs officers that this is in fact a domestic vehicle. There are about 700 cars with this area code, which makes Büsingen the smallest and least-populated registration precinct in Germany.List of area codes
Stickers
Registration plates become valid with the official seal of registration. This is a sticker of diameter, following the area code and bearing, in colours, the seal of the respective German States of Germany with the name of the state and the issuing district authority added in print. Older stickers were monochrome, black on silver or white, and smaller, depicting the seal of either the Bundesland or the city district. Vehicles used by federal institutions, such as Federal Police, carry the German Coat of arms of Germany instead of a Bundesland seal.The rear plate bears, above the official seal, the vehicle safety test sticker. This test is obligatory three years after the first registration, and every two years after that. The expiration date can be seen at one glance, as the sticker is attached with the month of expiration pointing upwards. The black mark framing the sectors on either side of 12 thus makes it easy for the police to read the expiration month from a distance. Like the hand on a clock, the marking shows the position of a number on the face of a clock. The year when the next safety test is due is printed in the centre of the sticker and also indicated by the colour of the sticker which is repeated every six years.
Whereas the technical inspection was introduced in 1951, it was not before 1961 that a decal on the rear plate indicated when it was due. The inspection generally had to be performed every two years, only later brand new cars were granted an extra year before their first technical inspection. Consequently, there were not so many different colours needed, and the pattern was different then.
Between 1985 and 2010, a similar yet hexagonal sticker was applied to the front plate, certifying the emission test which had to be performed separately since March 1985. With a change of laws effective in 2010, the emission test was incorporated into the safety test, so the emission sticker became obsolete.
All these stickers are specially treated to be easily transferred onto the licence plates, but hard to be removed without damaging the plate itself, making them relatively counterfeit-proof.
The only licence plates which do not need to carry either seal are repeaters. These are obligatory when the original rear plate is covered, in part or whole, by cargo or attached parts, such as bicycle carriers.