The Straßenverkehrsamt: who handles what
Straßenverkehrsamt, Kfz-Zulassungsstelle, Führerscheinstelle, Bürgerbüro: behind the many names are two jobs and one simple rule on who is responsible.
Straßenverkehrsamt, the road traffic office, is the usual name for the office of a rural district or an independent city that houses two separate authorities: the registration office for vehicles (Zulassungsbehörde) and the licensing office for driving licences (Fahrerlaubnisbehörde). The Federal Motor Transport Authority’s directories, October 2026, list 415 registration districts with 697 service points and 590 licensing authorities. For both jobs, the office for your main residence is responsible. The registration office registers, re-registers and deregisters vehicles and issues number plates; under the road traffic fee schedule (GebOSt), last amended by Art. 6 of the Ordinance of 12 August 2026, a registration costs €30.00 at the counter. The licence office issues licences, exchanges old ones for €26.50 and issues the international driving permit. Depending on the state, the office is also called Bürgeramt, Landratsamt, Kreisverwaltung or Landesbetrieb Verkehr; the tasks are the same everywhere, because they follow federal law.
Re-registering: keep the plate or get a new one?
Keep the plate
€23.60
| New plate (without plates) | €27.10 |
| Difference | €3.50 |
| Keep, with small items | €24.80 – €24.80 |
Keeping the plate means no new plates to buy.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
Two authorities, one building
Vehicle registration is governed by the vehicle registration ordinance (FZV), driving licences by the driving licence ordinance (FeV). Both assign the work to the lower administrative authorities, meaning rural districts and independent cities, and in some states large towns within a district as well. That is why there are almost as many road traffic offices as districts. The table below shows how the offices are spread across the states.
| State | Registration districts | Registration offices | Licence offices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bavaria | 96 | 153 | 113 |
| Baden-Württemberg | 44 | 93 | 77 |
| North Rhine-Westphalia | 54 | 88 | 76 |
| Lower Saxony | 47 | 68 | 54 |
| Rhineland-Palatinate | 40 | 68 | 44 |
| Hesse | 27 | 63 | 32 |
| Saxony | 13 | 28 | 19 |
| Thuringia | 22 | 27 | 26 |
| Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania | 13 | 24 | 21 |
| Brandenburg | 18 | 22 | 21 |
| Schleswig-Holstein | 15 | 21 | 18 |
| Saxony-Anhalt | 14 | 20 | 17 |
| Saarland | 8 | 12 | 61 |
| Hamburg | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| Bremen | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| BE | 1 | 2 | 0 |
A state with more registration offices than districts has branch offices: many large rural districts run several sites. For licence offices, the directory counts every authority with its own address; some districts have handed the task to large towns, others split it.
What the registration office does
The registration office puts vehicles on the road and takes them off again. That covers first registration, transfer after a sale, re-registration after a move, change of address, deregistration and special plates such as seasonal, classic-car, short-term and export plates. Every amount follows the same nationwide fee schedule.
| Procedure | GebOSt no. | Fee in person |
|---|---|---|
| Registering a vehicle | 221.1 | €30.00 |
| Re-registration keeping the plate | 221.9 | €23.60 |
| New keeper, plate kept | 221.8 | €24.20 |
| Change of address | 225 | €10.20 |
| Deregistration | 224.1 | €15.90 |
| Short-term plate | 221.4 | €10.20 |
| Export plate | 221.3 | €31.40 |
How much do I save online?
Online saving
€16.90
| Fee in person | €30.00 |
| Fee online | €13.10 |
| Saving in per cent | 56 % |
What the licence office does
The licensing authority grants licences after the test, adds categories, renews time-limited categories such as those for lorries and buses, and exchanges old licences for the EU card licence. The mandatory exchange under section 24a of the driving licence ordinance runs in stages until 19 January 2033; the exchange page works out the date for your document. The office also issues the international driving permit.
| Service | Fee |
|---|---|
| Exchange for a card licence (with register entry) | €26.50 |
| First grant of a driving licence | €35.70 |
| International driving permit | €11.20 – €15.30 |
New card licences are valid for 15 years; after that only the document is renewed, without a test. The right to drive itself has no end date.
What the office is called in your state
The name is up to the district or city. In Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg the office usually sits in the Landratsamt, in Rhineland-Palatinate in the Kreisverwaltung, in North Rhine-Westphalia in the district or city Straßenverkehrsamt. In Berlin it is the vehicle registration authority of the State Office for Citizens’ and Regulatory Affairs, in Hamburg the Landesbetrieb Verkehr, in Munich the Kreisverwaltungsreferat. Some cities also offer registration in citizens’ offices, which spreads the load across more counters. If you only know the town, the search by town, postcode or plate code finds the responsible office.
Responsibility in three sentences
For vehicles of private keepers, the office for the main residence is responsible. For company vehicles, the office at the seat or the branch that uses the vehicle. For the licence, again the main residence, even if the old licence was issued elsewhere. If you move, section 15 of the vehicle registration ordinance requires you to re-register the car without delay; the licence does not need changing, because the card carries no address.
Common misunderstandings
The road traffic office does not levy vehicle tax; the customs office sets it, and the registration office only takes the direct-debit mandate. It does not sell number plates; private plate makers do, often in the same building. It does not fine speeders; the fines offices of the states and municipalities do. And it is not where penalty points are kept; the Federal Motor Transport Authority manages them. Keeping this straight takes you to the right counter first time and needs only one appointment.