When registering a vehicle, you can decide whether to receive the registration certificate as a paper document or in a practical card format.

If you opt for the card format, this will cost an additional €28.10. The card will be sent to you by post after you have submitted your application. Until it arrives, the registration office will provide you with a provisional paper registration certificate.

You can also replace an existing paper registration certificate for a card at a registration office. The cost is the same as for a first issue.

Anyone can have a personalised licence plate provided the desired combination is not already in use. It is always composed of the following elements:

• The letters of the registration authority (the principal residence or company headquarters).
• The state crest
• Depending on the licence plate 3-6 freely selectable characters that must start with a letter and end with a number.

Once a check has been carried out to ascertain whether the desired licence number is still available, the licence number will be reserved/requested with the responsible registration authority.

The costs for a personalised licence plate are comprised as follows:

• €200.00 – fee payable to the Austrian Road Safety Association (VSF)
• €14.00 – administration fee
• €14.30 – application fee
• €23.00 – production

What else needs to be taken into account?

• A personalised licence plate is valid for 15 years from the date of reservation/application and can be extended from 6 months before this period elapses, otherwise it will automatically become invalid.
• Reservations that are not claimed expire after 5 years.
• A personalised licence plate cannot be transferred.
• If you do not extend the old personalised licence plate before its validity expires and do not wish to apply for another personalised licence plate, you must replace the personalised licence plate with a standard licence plate.
• If you do not intend to keep your personalised licence plate, only the fees for the new standard licence plate will be incurred.

In Austria, an interchangeable licence plate can be issued for up to three vehicles, provided the following conditions are met:

• Each vehicle must be separately registered and a registration certificate issued for each vehicle.
• The vehicles must belong to the same category (car, motorcycle, etc.).
• It must be possible to use the licence plate for all vehicles (in terms of format).
• The licence plate may only be used on one of the registered vehicles at any time. Vehicles without a licence plate must not be parked on public roads.

Costs
Registering an additional vehicle under an existing license plate will incur additional costs. The amount of these costs is individual, so please inquire at your registration office. The motor liability insurance is only to be paid for one vehicle and is calculated based on the vehicle with the highest horsepower.

When an interchangeable licence plate is officially assigned, the premium is calculated based on the vehicle with the highest premium. If several vehicles that are subject to engine-related insurance tax are registered under an interchangeable licence plate, the engine-related insurance tax must only be paid for the vehicle that fall into the highest tax bracket.

Documents required for registering an interchangeable licence plate:

• Official photo identification or power of attorney
• Vehicle documents
• Registration certificate for all vehicles
• Purchase or leasing contract
• Certificate of insurance

Have you moved house or changed your name? This may also be relevant to your vehicle registration:

Authority abbreviation remains the same
If the authority abbreviation in the licence plate (e.g. "W") remains the same after you have moved, no action is required regarding the vehicle registration. This therefore also applies if you have moved within Vienna (e.g. from the 3rd to the 10th district). The change to the registration record is made in the background by the registration office. The registration certificate with the old data remains valid.

Authority abbreviation changes, authority remains the same
If the authority abbreviation in the licence plate changes after you have moved but the same (registration) authority is still responsible, this change must be registered.

Required documents:

• Licence plate
• Vehicle documents
• Registration certificate

Authority abbreviation and authority change
If the authority abbreviation in the licence plate changes after you have moved and a different authority is responsible in your new principal residence, the vehicle must be de-registered and re-registered