Vehicle registration plates of Austria

Austrian car number plates are mandatory vehicle registration plates displaying the registration mark (German: Kennzeichen) of motor vehicles in Austria. They are used to verify street legality, proof of a valid liability insurance and to identify and recognise the vehicle.

The license plates are made of metal; the imprinted text is in black letters and digits on a white background. Since November 1, 2002 the common design comprises a blue section on the left with the EU circle of stars and the country code ('A') like other vehicle registration plates of the European Union. On the top and bottom, there are red-white-red tribands, the national colors of Austria. Two plates have to be present on each car (front and rear). Dealer plates show white letters on a green background, temporary plates show white letters on a cyan background, and foreign trailers show white letters on a red background. For motorbikes and cars with smaller areas for plates, smaller license plates are available with two lines of text. Moped plates are in different appearance and shape, they show white letters on a red background.

The alphanumeric format for registration plates is "XX ∇=provincial emblem number&letter(s)" or "XX ∇=provincial emblem personalised letters&number";

There are several lettering schemes:

In Austria, it is possible to obtain a customized registration plate by payment of 245 (=227+18) Euros. The alphanumeric format is XX ∇ ABC 1, which makes them easily distinguishable from standard plates (e.g. I ∇ TOMMY 1)

From 1906 until 1919, the plates always composed one letter followed by Roman numerals and three numbers (e.g. "BXV 639"). Temporary admission plates always followed by prefix. The prefixes are G= Bosnia and Herzegovina, U= Hungary, Z= All other countries.

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