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What is the meaning of the German number plate format?
The present German number plate format, used since 1994, uses black print on a white background and first provides information about the country where the car is registered, in the form of a D (for Deutschland) on the blue strip on the left, like many European Union number plates. After that, there are between one and three letters which show the city or region where the car is registered. DD stands for Dresden, D for Düsseldorf and MST for Mecklenburg-Strelitz, for example. These units usually coincide with the German districts, in few cases an urban district and the surrounding district share the same letter code. Hanseatic cities may have an…
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A Brief Description of German License Plates
German car number plates show the place where the car carrying them is registered. Whenever a person changes their main place of residence in Germany, or buys a new car, they are required to buy new number plates. Number plates can be bought which are valid all year round or between 2 to 11 months within any 12 months. This allows people to change between summer and winter cars, such as a convertible and a sedan/saloon without having the time and money wasted for de- and re-registering. Emission test (front plate) and vehicle safety test (rear plate) stickers are also attached to the plate. The expiry date can be figured…


