Transparency

Insurance code first, then the Zulassungsstelle

A car driven by a resident of Germany must be registered to a keeper at the local registration office. The office needs proof of insurance, a seven-character eVB code from a German insurer, plus your ID and proof of address, the car's registration documents and a SEPA mandate for the vehicle tax. The counter fee is €30 under the federal schedule and €12.80 online. Berlin and Munich charge from €30, or €20.50 to €22.22 online. Plates are bought separately.
Written by
Janine El-Saghir
Reviewed by
Erkan Boga

Registering a car in Germany: at a glance
  • Where: the registration office (Kfz-Zulassungsstelle) of the district where your main residence is registered, in person with an appointment, or online with a German ID card, EU citizen card or electronic residence permit.
  • What you bring: ID and proof of address, the insurance code, the two registration documents of the car, the certificate of conformity for a new car, a valid inspection for a used one, and a SEPA mandate for the vehicle tax.
  • What it costs: €30 at the counter and €12.80 online under the federal fee schedule. Berlin and Munich charge from €30 at the counter and €20.50 to €22.22 online. Plates are bought separately from private shops.

Step one is the insurance code: the registration office will not register a car without the seven-character confirmation (eVB) from a German insurer, so the policy comes before the appointment. How to choose one: car insurance in Germany. Every car driven on German roads by someone who lives here has to be registered to a keeper (Halter) at a German registration office. The keeper is the person who uses the car and pays for it, not necessarily the owner. The office checks three things before it hands out plates: that the car is insured, that it is technically approved and inspected, and that the vehicle tax can be collected.

Which case is yours

The five registration cases and what each one adds to the standard documents
Case What is special
New car The dealer hands you the registration document part II (Zulassungsbescheinigung Teil II, the old Fahrzeugbrief) and the EU certificate of conformity (COC). No inspection yet.
Used car bought in Germany A change of keeper (Umschreibung). You bring both registration documents from the seller and the car’s valid inspection. If the seller lives in another district you can keep the old plate or take a new one. Details on buying a used car in Germany.
Moving house within Germany Report the new address without delay. Moving to another district: keep the plate or take a new one. For an address change alone, part II is not needed. Munich lets you do it at the citizens’ office together with your Anmeldung.
Car brought from another EU country Registered on the foreign papers, which the office withdraws. A German inspection is only needed if one would have fallen due since the last one abroad.
Car brought from outside the EU Customs clearance proof and a German inspection before registration, always.
Sources: Fahrzeug-Zulassungsverordnung (sections 6, 8 and 15) and the City of Berlin and City of Munich service pages. Retrieved 4 November 2026.

A car that is still registered abroad may be driven in Germany for up to one year from the day it crossed the border, as long as it has no regular base here. After that, or as soon as it is based in Germany, it has to be registered.

Documents

  • Identity and address: your German ID card, or your passport with the registration certificate (Meldebescheinigung) from your Anmeldung. A second home in the district is not enough. Someone else can go for you with a written power of attorney and both ID documents.
  • Insurance: the eVB code. Your insurer sends the confirmation to the office electronically. The name on your ID and on the policy must match.
  • Vehicle documents: registration document part II for every case, part I for a used car, the COC for a new car, and the last inspection report if the due date is not readable from part I.
  • Vehicle tax: a SEPA direct-debit mandate with your IBAN. Customs collects the tax from the day of registration. The car tax calculator gives the annual amount from engine size and CO2 value.

Registering online

Registration, re-registration, change of keeper, deregistration and temporary plates can all be done online through your state’s portal. You identify yourself with a German ID card, an EU citizen card or an electronic residence permit with the online function switched on and its PIN, read by a smartphone app or a card reader. A BundID account with an ELSTER certificate is the alternative. The office checks tax and fee arrears and the inspection automatically.

The car’s papers set the limit: a change of keeper or a first registration online needs a part II issued after the beginning of 2018 with a hidden security code, and a deregistration a part I issued after the beginning of 2015. You scratch the codes free, upload them, pay by card or PayPal, and download the provisional registration proof within 30 minutes. With that printout you may drive for ten days. The sealed stickers and the documents arrive by post, in Berlin within seven days.

Fees

Registration fees under the federal fee schedule and at two large offices
Case Federal schedule Berlin Munich
New or first registration, at the counter €30.00 from €30.60 from €30
New or first registration, online €12.80 €22.22 from €20.50
Change of keeper, same district, plate kept €24.20 (€10.40 online) from €19.60 (€12.20 online)
Change of keeper, same district, new plate €26.20 (€12.40 online)
Move from another district €23.60 with the old plate, €27.10 with a new one from €17.50
Deregistration €15.90 (€2.10 online)
Personalized plate €10.20 on top, €2.60 to reserve €12.80
Sources: Gebührenordnung für Maßnahmen im Straßenverkehr (fee numbers 221 to 230) and the City of Berlin and City of Munich service pages. Retrieved 4 November 2026. City totals include local items and can be higher in individual cases. The plates themselves are bought from private shops near the office and cost extra.

After the registration

Carry registration document part I in the car. It shows the plate, the keeper and the month of the next inspection, and an officer may ask for it. Part II stays at home. The inspection sticker on the rear plate shows the same month. How the inspection works: the TÜV inspection. If you plan to drive into a city center, the green sticker comes next: the Umweltplakette.

When you sell the car, you and the buyer both have to tell the office without delay. Your notice names the buyer and confirms that the documents were handed over, so the car stops being yours in the office’s records. When you take a car off the road, you bring part I and the plates for de-stamping. The plate can be reserved for up to twelve months, and the car can stay deregistered for up to seven years.

Bottom line

Get the insurance code first, then choose your route. Online suits you if your ID has the online function switched on and the car’s papers carry the security code. Everyone else books the counter, with the documents for their case in hand.

Part of driving in Germany. Related: car insurance in Germany · buying a used car · TÜV inspection · Umweltplakette.

Frequently Asked Questions

The office responsible is the one for your registered main residence, so you need an Anmeldung first. A keeper without a residence in Germany can be asked to name a person in Germany who receives official mail on their behalf.

It is the seven-character electronic confirmation that a German insurer issues once you have taken out third-party liability cover. The insurer also sends it to the registration office electronically. Without it the office does not register the car, so the policy comes before the appointment.

Up to one year from the day it crossed the border, as long as the car has no regular base in Germany. If you live here and the car is parked here, it has a base here and must be registered. For EU workers and self-employed people the office can allow up to three years.

From outside the EU, always, before registration. From another EU country only if an inspection would have fallen due since the last one, and if you can prove the date of first registration. The foreign papers are withdrawn and the car gets German documents.

Yes. Since the plate reform you can keep a plate from another district. You still have to report the new address to the office without delay, in Munich at the citizens’ office together with your Anmeldung. Part II of the registration document is not needed for an address change.

Both seller and buyer have to notify the office without delay. If nothing happens, the office can end the registration after a four-week public notice, and the omission costs €15. Driving a car that is not registered at all costs €70.

Sources and legal basis

Sources and legal basis (retrieved on 4 November 2026)

  1. Pflichtversicherungsgesetz (compulsory insurance act), section 1: the keeper must hold third-party liability insurance.
  2. Fahrzeug-Zulassungsverordnung (vehicle registration regulation), section 49: proof of insurance sent electronically by the insurer (the eVB); section 6: application, registration document part II, certificate of conformity, customs proof for non-EU imports, recipient agent for keepers without residence; section 8: cars previously registered abroad, inspection, withdrawal of foreign papers; section 13: part I to be carried; section 15: address change, move to another district, change of keeper, seller’s notice; section 16: deregistration, plate reservation for twelve months; section 20 and section 27: online identification and online first registration; section 46: foreign-registered cars, up to one year, up to three years for EU free-movement cases.
  3. Federal Ministry of Transport, online vehicle registration (i-Kfz) (19 December 2025): cases, identification, document dates 2015 and 2018, provisional proof for ten days, automatic checks.
  4. City of Berlin, registering a new vehicle (documents, fees from €30.60 and €22.22 online, plates not a service of the office), change of keeper (fees from €19.60 and €12.20 online, valid inspection, matching eVB data, document dates, delivery within seven days) and re-registration after a move (fee from €17.50, old plate can be kept).
  5. City of Munich, registering a new vehicle: online and counter fees, documents, plates from private shops, address change at the citizens’ office, deregistration for up to seven years.
  6. Gebührenordnung für Maßnahmen im Straßenverkehr (fee schedule), Annex: fee numbers 221.1 to 221.10, 224 and 230, and the surcharge for personalized plates.
  7. German Customs, vehicle tax: tax liability starts with registration, collected by direct debit.
  8. Bußgeldkatalog-Verordnung (fine catalog), Annex, numbers 175 and 180: driving an unregistered car, failure to notify changes.
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About the authors
Janine El-Saghir Janine El Saghir is an editor at How-to-Germany.com, where she specializes in the practical aspects of daily life and integration for expatriates. With years of...
Erkan Boga Erkan Boga is the founder and CEO of qmedia GmbH, the publishing house behind How-to-Germany.com. He established the platform with the clear vision of creating... Read more