Apply to De-register a Vehicle
Service description
If you wish to deregister your vehicle, you must apply to have it taken out of service. This applies to:
- registered vehicles
- Vehicles that do not require registration
- Trailer
The vehicle must have been assigned a license plate beforehand.
Once you have deregistered the vehicle, you may no longer drive it on public roads or park it on public property.
You may submit the application in person or through your representative to the appropriate licensing authority.
Once you have deregistered the vehicle, you are no longer required to pay insurance or taxes on it. The registration authority will notify your auto insurance company and the customs office that the vehicle has been deregistered.
Vehicles that have a license plate and are taken out of service do not automatically retain their license plate. The license plate is subsequently reissued by the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) and may be assigned to another owner or vehicle.
If you want to use the license plates again, you should have them reserved.
Prerequisites
You can take your vehicle out of service,
- If you plan to sell it,
- if you are not using it temporarily or
- if you have it scrapped.
What fees apply?
Special information for the Fulda districtOn-site deregistration: €15.90 + €1.20 KBA = €17.10
De-registration via IKFZ: €2.10 + €1.20 KBA = €3.30
Reservation: €2.60
What deadlines do I have to observe?
This deadline applies if you reserve your license plate to use it again later.
Validity period: 12 months
Legal basis
- Section 16, paragraph 2, sentence 1, option 2 of the Vehicle Registration Ordinance (FZV)
- § 17 Regulation on the Registration of Vehicles for Road Traffic (Vehicle Registration Regulation—FZV)
- § 24 Regulation on the Registration of Vehicles for Road Traffic (Vehicle Registration Regulation—FZV)
- § 25 Regulation on the Registration of Vehicles for Road Traffic (Vehicle Registration Regulation—FZV)
- Fee Number 221: Schedule to the Schedule of Fees for Road Traffic Measures (GebOSt)
What else should I know?
If you have the vehicle taken out of service, the insurance policy does not automatically terminate. Instead, it transitions to a premium-free dormant policy for the following 18 months, during which you will continue to have coverage for auto liability and partial comprehensive insurance, if you have purchased these options. However, you may not use the vehicle on public roads during this period.
If the vehicle is re-registered within the 18-month period, full insurance coverage resumes. To re-register the vehicle, you must request a certificate of insurance from your insurance company. If the vehicle is not re-registered within the 18-month period, the insurance policy will automatically expire at the end of the 18 months without you having to cancel it.
Anyone disposing of a vehicle must hand it over only to an authorized collection point, an authorized return facility, or an authorized dismantling facility. Upon handing over the vehicle, the last owner receives a certificate of recycling to present to a vehicle registration authority.
Vehicle manufacturers are required to take back all end-of-life vehicles of their brand from the last owner. To this end, they establish, either individually or jointly, on their own or through contractors, take-back options through authorized take-back centers or authorized dismantling facilities. Operators of dismantling facilities may only transfer scrap vehicle bodies to an approved shredding facility.
Operators of collection and return points, in turn, are required to transfer end-of-life vehicles only to an authorized dismantling facility.