Talk:Vehicle registration plates of Germany

message: I've just removed the external links section, as the site appears to have been subsumed into some other website and, thus, the links no longer work — they just go to the new site's homepage. The original links were:
* a searchable list of location codes, in German
* a similar list with some additional information
* examples of special governmental plates
— OwenBlacker 21:13, Dec 4, 2004 (UTC)
:The latter two links above are no longer valid. -ThorstenS 06:45, 5 May 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  External links 

message: There is a line that says that Diacritics are used in car plates. I think this is kind of obvious/not needed information, because The German language is using the diacritics on letters as complete new letter(Umlaut) It would be weird if a place that is written with an umlaut, that the umlaut is not reflected in the car plate.82.83.107.251 (talk) 16:43, 5 May 2010 (UTC)
replies: text: I take your point. On the other hand, it's not unknown in Germany for the letters Ä, Ö, and Ü to be written as AE, OE, UE on occasion (especially where older technology -- such as early information display equipment at airports, for example) did not allow the display of umlauted letters: e.g. KOELN for KÖLN, MUENCHEN for MÜNCHEN. I think the observation about diacritics is therefore one that was worth making in the article, and deserves to stay. --Picapica (talk) 15:52, 26 July 2012 (UTC)
thread_title: on diacritics

message: Have seen oval plates displayed on some older German cars in the US. Was this a special plate series for export vehicles picked up at the factory? knoodelhed 10:13, 19 Dec 2004 (UTC)
replies: text: Correct! The oval plate was an export plate in use until the 1980s??.IsarSteve 13:40, 20 Dec 2004 (UTC)
thread_title:  Oval plates 

message: Private vehicles belonging to American Service personnel based in Germany now carry german style number plates starting AD, AF, HK or IF 
Do the letters have any sort of meaning/code ??
IsarSteve 12:25, 1 May 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: I think I have on the internet the following: AD=Army Dept., AF=Armed Forces, IF=Intern(ational/al) Forces, HK=????. Also the abbreviations are used to destinguish of the use of the car, such as private or offical. But maybe I am totally wrong. -ThorstenS 13:02, 1 May 2005 (UTC)

text: I'm sorry, but you are... The abbr. were chosen accidentally, they have no meaning at all. AD and AF were just the first compositions consisting of two letters not used by german authorities. For security reasons and for a more "german lookalike' they were changed to IF and HK later. In the future, there won't exist special numbers for US-personnel in Germany anymore. US military staff will get the same number plates, beginning with the code of the district, like german car owners, so that soldier's cars can't be identified as so. strafrechtler 17:44 11.05.2006 EST
In the German article I have moved the section about the American plates to a separate article since the plates are not issued by German authorities. (The do not even bear any German signs like "D" or the European stars). Maybe there should be an article created such as "US car plates abroad" or so here in the English Wikipedia. Any hints? -ThorstenS 11:16, 15 Jun 2005 (UTC)

text: I have moved the section regarding US plates to Car number plates (US Army in Germany). Also I added some information. -Toshi 11:12, 19 Jun 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  American plates 

message: I've noticed that the article is written in British English consistently except for "license plate" and was started by an editor from England. I'll change the title to "German car number plates" and copy-edit the article accordingly.
SpNeo 08:04, 4 May 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Car number plates 

message: Hasn't anyone compiled a list of all the Kennzeichen letter combinations? I used to have one or two when I lived there, even listing a few of the obsolete ones! --JohnDBuell | Talk 02:45, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: In the German Wikipedia you find the two lists. One for the currently issued plates and the other one with the obselete but still valid codes. -Toshi 09:58, 2 October 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: I'm still thinking about adding a list (or several, as the historic codes might be shown as well. Or are they worth a separate page? Jochen64 (talk) 16:17, 2 January 2021 (UTC)
thread_title:  No list? 

message: Anyone got some infos on old German plates i.e. before the current system was set up? I have seen some older cars with plates with an IA- prefix etc.
Thanks
Peter
:In the German Wikipedia there is a list of historic codes. "IA" was used between 1906 and 1945 on a police vehicle in Berlin or during the time of the GDR (1945-1990) a private car registered in East-Berlin. -Toshi 17:08, 3 October 2005 (UTC)
replies: text:  East Berlin did not have IA. The GDR system was based on one letter codes, assigned according to their administritive units called Bezirke. In this framework East Berlin was a "Bezirk" and accordingly assigned I. The second letter was arbitrary. So while the combination IA existed, so did IB, IC ... The similarity of some of the codes with the pre-war code may have been intended, but not actually ingrained in the system. Anorak2 (talk) 08:10, 5 February 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Old plates 

message: I am looking for some information about the registration of vehicles in Germany.  Specifically, I am looking for German and English translations of the statutes / ordinances / whatever regulating registrations of vehicles there are.
Please feel free to contact me at the following email address: michael_b_sachs@hotmail.com
Thanks for your help.
Michael
:The regarding law for this is the "Straßenverkehrszulassungsordnung"  (standards about vehicles to be registered, such as what colour does the brake light has and how bright it must be) , partly the "Straßenverkehrsordnung" . I do not know an Englisch version for this laws. Another regulation are the "Anweisungen" (instructions) how to follow the laws. But they are not public as far as I know. They are intended for the work of the officials (like car registration inspectors). If you can tell me your questions I could help more specifics. Or you can write to the Ministry of Transport  (under "Kontakt"). -Toshi 13:00, 27 January 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Registration of Vehicles in Germany

message: I'm guessing that the color of the sticker reflects the year in which the sticker expires?   Also, could a photo or diagram of a sticker not expiring in December be uploaded?  This would make it clearer how the black mark is used (particularly if the photo is placed next to a photo of a sticker expiring in Dec).  --Badger151 19:04, 4 October 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Correct the colour shows the expiry year, see list at the end of the article. Regarding an impression of a different expiry month you can download the current photo, rotate it by software and upload it again (preferable WikiCommons). The registration offices in Germany just do like that, they turn the sticker on the plate rather than having for each month a differnt one (in case you ask whether the year is shown always on upright position) -Toshi 13:50, 5 October 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Emmission test sticker 

message: "As they only started using the modern system in 1990 after German reunification, many of the possible shorter combinations had already been used up in western Germany. Thus, big east German cities like Dresden have two letter codes (DD) instead of one (D)"
I think this sentence has to be questioned. As far as I know, all East German districts had been considered when inventing the new number plate system after World War II (already anticipating a possible re-unification). Waldgeist 22:01, 21 May 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: Well the biggest city only in GDR was Leipzig, but L was taken by a smaller municipality. They had to give it up, in favour of Leipzig. Most other cities in GDR were not so big, compared to West Germany. Compare Magdeburg/München,  Dresden/Düsseldorf etc-- BIL (talk) 12:45, 7 February 2008 (UTC)
replies: text:  L was originally reserved for Leipzig but reused in the mid-80s. After 1990 Leipzig fought to get its L "back". This case is an exception which proves the rule that East German codes were assigned in the 1950s, including some one-letter coes: C, G, J, L, P, Z Anorak2 (talk) 06:01, 10 February 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  East German number plates 

message: there's one picture of a license plate that appears to be current, but it's not! the "Official registered vehicle for disaster relief" example is the old pre-1994 plate, not the new plate!
also there's one license plate size missing, the one for small motorcycles and farm vehicles, those are  smaller, almost like the US license plates, in fact US-Army personnel is issued those plates if they can't fit the regular german sized plates. imports from abroad are also issued those plates if the space is not sufficient for regular plates!  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.33.112.93 (talk) 08:12, 5 February 2008 (UTC)
replies: text: I disagree, the majority of the plates are still issued today. The old one's which are no longer issued but remain valid are: KA-RR 232, ERH 8500 and WÜ-06131. The oval Zollkennzeichen (408 Z-8330) is the only plate on the page which is not issued in this style anymore and has been replaced by the FE style plate (Sample: MKK 458 C) -Toshi (talk) 16:01, 6 February 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Old photos of plates! 

message: Interesting article at SpiekerBlog (en): Complete forgery detailing Germany's new licence plate typeface: "The official typeface for our license plates is now called FE-Mittelschrift, with FE meaning it is Fälschungs-Erschwert, i.e. difficult to forge. ..." Just a pointer, in case there's any usable information for this article, or somewhere else related. :) -- Quiddity (talk) 08:08, 14 March 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  FE-Mittelschrift typeface 

message: In the section "Format" it is stated, that all registration plates within the EU displays the blue square to the left; this is not the case in Denmark, so the information is incorrect.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.238.27.168 (talk) 09:59, 7 January 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Blue EU-flag is NOT seen on all plates in the EU 

message: Mention should be made of one exception, BÜS = Büsingen, this is not a Kreis (in this article translated as district, but more equivalent to a "county"), it is a mere "Gemeinde" (Parish). This is licence plate famed as having the fewest vehicles registered (812, according to the German version of this article, the one with the most vehicles is B = Berlin). Büsingen gets this honour because it is an exclave and a tax-free area. The different number plates distinguishes the vehicles from those of the rest of the Kreis (KN = Konstanz) because if a Büsingen vehicle is sold elsewhere in Germany tax must be paid. TiffaF (talk) 16:21, 20 May 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: Done ;) Jochen64 (talk) 16:17, 2 January 2021 (UTC)
thread_title:  BÜS = Büsingen 

message: Why hasn't the city of Bremerhaven an own district code? --88.77.250.127 (talk) 15:32, 12 August 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: Bremerhaven belongs to the state of Bremen which has the code HB assigned
--92.224.61.243 (talk) 21:56, 22 December 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Bremerhaven 

message: I see some German lorries on UK roads with green lettering instead of the normal black. Is there some reason for this, and if so, shouldn't it be in the article? (My apologies if it already is - couldn't find it.) Peridon (talk) 18:40, 1 September 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: You'll find the explanation under 1.4 Special Codes in relation to vehicles exempt from taxes.  Michael Poplawski (talk) 23:38, 17 September 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: Ta. Peridon (talk) 21:28, 19 September 2009 (UTC)
thread_title: Green lettering

message: International organisations have their own special plates, all registered to Bonn (BN) regardless of where its owner lives.  It is then followed by 3 digits, then a hyphen, then 3 more digits (syntax: BN 111-111).  The first 3 represent the organisation (e.g. 172 for European Aviation Safety Agency, which operates from Cologne), while the latter 3 represent the number within that series.  Yet this is not mentioned at all in the article. --Svippong 17:06, 11 July 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: Done Jochen64 (talk) 16:17, 2 January 2021 (UTC)
thread_title:  No mention of Bonn plates? 

message: I think we need an article, or at least a brief section in this article, giving some details of the system of plates in the GDR, as presently it is not discussed here. If anyone is knowledgeable about this, I hope they will contribute something. Credulity (talk) 08:59, 30 July 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  East Germany 

message: When did Germany begin using the regional decals? What decals would have been used on the following plates in 1990?
OS-AM 504
HH-DE 978  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.99.15.202 (talk) 17:09, 16 June 2014 (UTC)
thread_title:  Region Decals 

message: I Y stood for Posen, but later for Düsseldorf (Regierungsbezirk). Harry8 (talk) 12:42, 8 November 2015 (UTC)
thread_title:  I Y 

message: Though I don't want to trespass on anybody's preferences, I would like to work this article over. There are a few inconsistencies, some long and even confusing chapters (partly due to the lack of sub-headings) … and I'm sure the article could gain a lot by re-arranging. I've already got a few ideas.
Any objections?
Jochen64 (talk) 03:12, 8 April 2020 (UTC)
replies: text: From smeone trying to digest this article for the first time: Please, please go ahead and implement your ideas. It's obvious several people have invested a lot of effort to compile all of this - but I honestly think most of the information is much too detailed. Even if there was a consensus on retaining all of the information, just some structural changes and copyedit could improve this article a lot. Rindsgulasch (talk) 00:10, 23 August 2020 (UTC)
replies: text: Thanks for your encouragement. I got it started finally, copied the whole source to my sandbox and am going over it, by and by, re-arranging, shortening, reconfigurating … Comments and hints will be appreciated, prior to relaunch. Jochen64 (talk) 23:53, 29 October 2020 (UTC)
thread_title: Complete makeover?

message: After more work than expected first, I am delighted to tell that I finished what I intended. I hope I haven't been stepping on anybody's toes by deleting or rewriting what they wrote earlier ... but this is Wikipedia, anyway, go ahead!
Yet there still remain more things to be done. Will be looking over the weblinks, trying to improve. Also there is the question whether or not a list of area codes should be added. Looking forward to further improving.
Jochen64 (talk) 16:17, 2 January 2021 (UTC)
thread_title: Completed

message: Although the above question does not seem to have been answered, I have now at least added respective lists for the German Empire (1906–45) and East Germany (DDR, 1949–90). There is more to come, if you don't mind. —Jochen64 (talk) 04:57, 25 March 2024 (UTC)
thread_title: Lists of historical area codes

message: The yellow temporary plates can be used even for export now. That is one no longer needs the more expensive red export plates. The yellow plates can be also acquired by citizens of EU. But it would be nice to know it for sure, this info is from a Czech web.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Jankratochvil (talk • contribs) 10:40, 15 January 2022 (UTC)
thread_title:  Temporary Plates 

message: I need a fax to send insurance forms for registration 2601:100:817E:1870:25DB:E341:F61A:848D (talk) 15:36, 13 February 2022 (UTC)
replies: text: I'm afraid that even after two years this contribution still baffles me. If you want to register a vehicle, turn to the district authority () of your residence. This isn't Wikipedia business, is it? (If it wasn't bad form, I'd be in favour of deleting this conundrum anyway…) Ideas, anybody? —Jochen64 (talk) 03:08, 10 January 2024 (UTC)
thread_title:  Sending insurance forms