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Three papers decide the deal: no part II, no sale
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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...
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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...
- Three papers decide the deal: registration document part I (the “Schein”), part II (the “Brief”, proof that the seller may sell) and the last inspection report. No part II, no sale.
- Dealer or private seller: a dealer owes you at least one year of liability for defects, by law. A private seller may sell “as seen”, but not hide a defect on purpose.
- After the hand-over: re-register the car without delay. The seller reports the sale to the office too. From the day of registration you pay the vehicle tax by direct debit.
The car becomes yours with the contract, but it can only be re-registered in your name with an insurance confirmation code (eVB), so the car insurance comes before the hand-over. A used car in Germany comes with two registration documents and an inspection history, and those three papers tell you more than the advert.
The three papers to check
| Document | What it is | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Registration document part I (Zulassungsbescheinigung Teil I) | The card that travels in the car. Shows plate, keeper, technical data and the month of the next inspection. | Keeper name and address match the seller’s ID. The inspection month has not passed. |
| Registration document part II (Teil II, the old Fahrzeugbrief) | Issued only to someone who proves the right to dispose of the car. Needed for every re-registration. | It exists and the seller hands it over. A missing part II can only be replaced by the registered keeper after a public notice period. Walk away if the seller cannot produce it. |
| Last inspection report (HU-Prüfbericht) | The report of the last periodic inspection, which the keeper must keep until the next one. | Which defects were noted. Berlin’s office asks for it only if the next due date is not readable from part I, but you want to see it anyway. |
| Sources: Fahrzeug-Zulassungsverordnung (sections 13, 14 and 15), Straßenverkehrs-Zulassungs-Ordnung (section 29), City of Berlin. Retrieved 4 November 2026. | ||
A green Umweltplakette on the windshield tells you the car may enter the city centers with environmental zones. Without one, check the emissions key in part I before you buy, because an older diesel may not qualify.
What you can claim when something breaks
German law gives a buyer two years from delivery to claim for defects that were present at hand-over. For used goods, the rules split by seller:
- Dealer selling to a consumer: may shorten the two years to one, but no further, and only if the contract says so in a separate clause that you were expressly told about. Anything in the dealer’s terms that leaves you worse off than the law does not bind you.
- Private seller: may exclude liability for defects in the contract, which is what “gekauft wie gesehen” (sold as seen) does. The exclusion does not cover a defect the seller concealed on purpose or a feature the seller guaranteed. If a seller hid a known defect, the regular limitation period applies instead of the two years.
Put everything that matters in the written contract: mileage, accident history, the inspection date, and any promise about the condition. A promise in writing is a guarantee you can enforce even against a private seller.
The hand-over and the week after
- Before you drive: have the eVB code from your insurer. The car’s old policy ends with the sale, and the keeper’s duty to insure is yours from the hand-over.
- Re-register without delay: at the registration office of your district, or online if the car’s part II was issued after the beginning of 2018. Bring both registration documents, your ID and proof of address, the eVB and a SEPA mandate for the vehicle tax. You can keep the seller’s plate if it is from another district, or take a new one. Fees and the online route: car registration in Germany.
- The seller reports the sale with your name and address and a confirmation that the documents were handed over. Until one of you has done this, the car stays in the seller’s name, and the office can end the registration after a four-week public notice.
- Vehicle tax: customs collects it from the day of registration. The car tax calculator gives the amount: for a car first registered from 2021 it is €2 per 100 cc for petrol and €9.50 for diesel, plus a CO2 component above 95 g/km.
The office checks that the inspection is valid before it re-registers the car. If the sticker has expired, the inspection comes first. A car bought within seven months of its first registration keeps the new-car interval, so its second inspection is due 36 months after the first registration rather than 24.
A used car from abroad
A car bought in another EU country is registered on its foreign papers, which the office withdraws. A German inspection is needed only if one would have fallen due since the last one abroad, and you prove the first registration date. A car from outside the EU needs customs clearance and a German inspection before registration, always.
Bottom line
Buy only when the seller hands over part II and the keeper details match the ID. Dealers suit buyers who want a claim if something breaks. With a private seller, get every promise into the written contract, and have your eVB code ready either way.
Part of driving in Germany. Related: car registration · TÜV inspection · Umweltplakette · car insurance in Germany.
Frequently Asked Questions
Buying and registering a car does not depend on your license. Driving it does: after six months of residence you need a German license. The registration office checks your residence, insurance and the car’s papers, not your license.
Sold as seen. A private seller uses the phrase to exclude liability for defects. The exclusion is valid, except for defects the seller knew about and concealed, and for features the seller promised in the contract. A dealer cannot use it against a consumer at all.
Two years by law, which the dealer may shorten to one year for used cars, and only if that is agreed expressly and separately in the contract. The claim covers defects that existed at hand-over.
Only if the car is still registered and insured for you to drive, and you re-register it without delay afterwards. Driving an unregistered car costs €70 and leaves you without cover. The safer route is to have your own eVB before the hand-over and re-register the same day, online if the papers allow it.
The registration office requires a valid inspection before it re-registers the car. If the sticker has expired, you take the car to the inspection first. The last report must be in the seller’s hands, because keepers have to keep it until the next inspection.
Do not buy until it turns up. Part II is only issued to someone who proves the right to dispose of the car, and a lost one is replaced only to the registered keeper after a public notice period. Without it the car cannot be put in your name.
Sources and legal basis
Sources and legal basis (retrieved on 4 November 2026)
- Fahrzeug-Zulassungsverordnung (vehicle registration regulation), section 13 (part I, to be carried), section 14 (part II, right of disposal, replacement after public notice), section 15 (change of keeper: duties of seller and buyer, four-week notice), section 8 (cars previously registered abroad) and section 49 (proof of insurance).
- Pflichtversicherungsgesetz (compulsory insurance act), section 1: the keeper’s duty to insure.
- Straßenverkehrs-Zulassungs-Ordnung (road traffic licensing regulation), section 29 (inspection report to be kept until the next inspection) and Annex VIII (36-month interval kept after a change of keeper within seven months of first registration).
- Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (civil code), section 438 (two-year limitation from delivery, regular limitation after concealment), section 476 (consumer sales: no shortening below one year for used goods, only by express and separate agreement) and section 444 (exclusions do not cover concealed defects or guarantees).
- City of Berlin, change of keeper: valid inspection required, inspection report only if the due date is not readable from part I, documents, eVB data must match the ID.
- Kraftfahrzeugsteuergesetz (vehicle tax act), section 9: €2 per 100 cc for petrol and €9.50 for diesel plus the CO2 component above 95 g/km for cars first registered from 2021; German Customs, vehicle tax: liability from registration.
- Bußgeldkatalog-Verordnung (fine catalog), Annex, number 175: driving an unregistered car, €70.