Personalised number plates in Germany: rules and costs
Initials, a birth year, a lucky number: a personalised plate (Wunschkennzeichen) is the one part of registration where you get a say. The rules are simpler than many portals make out.
A personalised number plate (Wunschkennzeichen) is a registration number you choose yourself after your district’s code. Under section 9 of the vehicle registration ordinance (FZV), a German plate consists of the district code of one to three letters and a registration number which, under Annex 1, has one or two letters without umlauts and a number of up to four digits. The combination must not offend public decency, so many offices block letter sequences linked to National Socialism. The surcharge is the same nationwide: the road traffic fee schedule (GebOSt), last amended by Art. 6 of the Ordinance of 12 August 2026, charges €10.20 for allocating a personalised number and a further €2.60 under number 230 for reserving it in advance. A new registration with a reserved personalised number therefore costs €42.80 at the counter instead of €30.00. You can only choose the district code itself if your district has more than one; your home address still decides the office.
What does my personalised number cost?
Extra for the personalised number
€12.80
| Fee with personalised number | €42.80 |
| Fee without | €30.00 |
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
What a personalised plate costs
The surcharge does not depend on the occasion; it is added to any registration where a new number is allocated. The table works through the four most common cases. Plates are not included; with a personalised number they cost no more than without.
| Occasion | No personalised number | Chosen at the counter | Reserved in advance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Register a new car | €30.00 | €40.20 | €42.80 |
| Register a used car (was deregistered) | €30.00 | €40.20 | €42.80 |
| Re-register after a move, new plate | €27.10 | €37.30 | €39.90 |
| New keeper, new plate (same district) | €26.20 | €36.40 | €39.00 |
Re-registering while keeping your plate, and a transfer in which the plate stays, carry no surcharge because no new number is allocated. The same surcharge applies online, which the calculator below also shows.
What a German plate is made of
A plate has two parts. First comes the district code, set by the Federal Ministry for Transport at the request of the states; it has one to three letters. Then follows the registration number: under Annex 1 of the ordinance, one or two letters and a number of one to four digits, with no leading zero. Umlauts are excluded. You can only choose the registration number, not the district code, unless your district has several.
| District code | Number | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| One letter | 19 | A, B, C, D, E, F |
| Two letters | 320 | AA, AB, AC, AE, AH, AK |
| Three letters | 430 | ABG, ABI, AIB, AIC, ALF, ALS |
A short code leaves more room. Someone living in a district with a one-letter code can combine two letters and four digits, whereas a three-letter code hits the length of the plate sooner. On paper each code has 7,019,298 registration numbers; only your office’s portal shows which are free. Which district stands behind which code is shown by the plate code search.
Blocked and sought-after combinations
The ordinance bans combinations that offend public decency and leaves the interpretation to the offices. Common blocks cover abbreviations of Nazi organisations and number codes used by the far right, often in combination with particular district codes. Many offices also hold back short numbers, for example for official vehicles. Initials with a birth year and combinations that form a word together with the district code are popular. The shorter and rounder the number, the likelier it is taken.
What does my personalised number cost?
Extra for the personalised number
€12.80
| Fee with personalised number | €42.80 |
| Fee without | €30.00 |
Personalised numbers and special plates
A personalised number works with almost every type of plate. On an H plate for classic cars or an E plate for electric cars, the letter goes at the end and takes up space. A seasonal plate adds the month field on the right, which also needs room. An interchangeable plate for two vehicles shares every character except the last digit, so if you want one, choose a number whose final digit is free twice. Short-term and export plates cannot be personalised.
How to go about it
First, establish which office is responsible; the search by town or postcode names it. Second, check in that office’s portal whether your combination is free and reserve it; the page on reserving a personalised plate explains exactly how. Third, have the plates made in advance with the reservation confirmation. Fourth, quote the reservation number at your appointment or in the online application. Without a reservation you can ask at the counter whether a number is free; you then pay only the personalised surcharge but risk the number being gone.
Three misconceptions
A personalised number is not yours; it is allocated to the vehicle, and if the car is deregistered without reserving the number, it becomes free again once the holding period ends. There is no yearly charge; the surcharge is paid only at allocation. And private services that reserve personalised plates for a fee have no better access than you: they use the same office portal and add their own service charge. The fee calculator shows what the whole registration costs with every item.