Short-term license plate
Short-term license plates are only valid for a maximum of 5 days. In addition, they may only be used on one car and, unlike in the past, the vehicle registration document is no longer issued for you to fill in yourself, but is filled in with all the information by the registration office.
Important: Contrary to popular belief, the short-term license plate may only be used for test and transfer drives. All other journeys are not permitted.
- Application: The short-term license plate can be applied for at your local registration office. You must present these documents:
- ID card or passport
- eVB number
- Proof of a valid general inspection
- Registration certificate Part I (certificate) and/or Part II (letter). This is different at each registration office.
- At most registration offices, it is sufficient to submit a copy of the documents. However, this is not the case everywhere, so it is best to check the respective website beforehand.
- If you would like to apply for the short-term license plates for someone else, you will also need a power of attorney.
- Costs: You pay around 20 - 30 euros for the plates, the fees are around 15 euros. You also have to pay your insurance company for the eVB number, usually around 50 euros.
Export license plate
Also known as customs license plates, you only need these plates if you want to export a vehicle out of Germany. You can buy the license plates for a period of 9 days to 12 months.
- Application: The short-term license plate can be applied for at your local registration office. You must present these documents:
- Identity card or passport
- Insurance confirmation for export license plates
- Proof of a valid general inspection
- Registration certificate Part I (certificate) and Part II (letter).
- If you would like to apply for the short-term license plates for someone else, you will also need a power of attorney.
- The documents must all be presented in the original. You must also present the vehicle at the registration office, they will check the chassis number.
- Costs: You pay approx. 20 - 30 euros for the plates, the fees are approx. 15 euros. You also have to pay the vehicle tax for the period for which the license plates are to be valid, you can calculate this here: https://www.bundesfinanzministerium.de/Web/DE/Service/Apps_Rechner/KfzRechner/KfzSteuerrechner.htm. The most expensive is the insurance for export license plates, which is between 70 and 3,000 euros depending on the period.
Dealer license plate
As the name suggests, dealer license plates or red license plates are reserved for vehicle dealers or garages.
Dealers normally provide you with these license plates for test drives. Dealers can also use them to transfer cars themselves. Any other use is not permitted.
We ourselves often receive requests from customers asking whether our license plates can be used for private transfers - I can only advise against this. Dealer license plates are often misused, so they are frequently checked by the police. A reputable dealer will not make his license plates available for private use.
