Conversions and retrofits often change data held in the vehicle register. This page sorts, by the Vehicle Registration Ordinance, what the keeper must report.
Zevra is the B2B platform for digital vehicle registration for car dealers, registration services and fleets: cases are entered in the dealer portal and filed nationwide by power of attorney with qualified electronic signature – from €10 per registration, no base fee, no minimum volume.
Last updated: · Zevra editorial team · Reviewed by M. Gabal, owner
Which changes must be reported without delay?
Section 15 of the Vehicle Registration Ordinance lists 11 cases. The keeper reports them to the competent registration authority without delay.
| No. | Change |
|---|---|
| 1 | Details of the keeper, the authorised recipient and the regular location |
| 2 | Vehicle class |
| 3 | Engine capacity, rated power, fuel type or energy source |
| 4 | Increase of the design top speed |
| 5 | Reduction of the top speed if relevant to the driving licence or registration |
| 6 | Permissible axle loads, total mass, drawbar load or towing capacity |
| 7 | Increase of vehicle dimensions, except passenger cars and motorcycles |
| 8 | Number of seats or standing places in buses |
| 9 | Exhaust or noise values if they affect vehicle tax or traffic restrictions |
| 10 | Changes that require an exemption permit |
| 11 | Changes whose entry is required by a note under the Road Traffic Licensing Regulations |
Which papers must be presented?
The registration certificate Part I and the trailer list must be presented. For changes under numbers 1 to 3, the registration certificate Part II is added.
If only the address changes, Part II need not be presented.
What applies to all other changes?
Changes to other vehicle or keeper data are reported by the keeper as soon as they are in contact with the competent registration authority.
If the keeper is not also the owner, the duty also applies to the owner. It exists until one of those obliged has reported the change.
What happens if the keeper does not report?
The registration authority may prohibit the operation of the vehicle on public roads until the duty is fulfilled. The keeper may then neither order nor permit its operation.
In addition, anyone who does not make the report, or makes it incorrectly, incompletely or not in time, commits an administrative offence.
Can a changed vehicle be registered online?
No. Registration or its amendment can only be applied for electronically if no changes to the vehicle data within the meaning of section 15 (1) have been made compared with the data recorded so far. For a first registration, the comparison is with the data of the certificate of conformity.
The online procedure is likewise excluded if a keeper-related exemption permit has been granted for the vehicle.
What does this mean for dealerships and registration services?
Before creating a case, a comparison pays off: do engine, masses and top speed still match the registration certificate?
- If the data match, the case runs digitally.
- If data have changed, the way leads to the registration authority first.
- After the entry, the digital way is open again for later cases.
What does Zevra handle – and what not?
Zevra is the B2B platform for digital vehicle registration. Dealerships and registration service providers submit registration, transfer, re-registration and deregistration digitally. Registration costs from €10 per case, deregistration €2 net, plus official fees.
Zevra is not an authority. Zevra does not handle the entry of technical changes in the registration certificate.
- Temporary registration proof: valid for 10 days
- Documents posted by the authority: within 6 days
- Digital deregistration: documents from 01.01.2015
- Digital registration: documents from 01.01.2018
- Registration with Zevra: €10 net
- Deregistration with Zevra: €2 net · base fee: €0
Deadlines and cut-off dates according to: Bundesministerium für Verkehr
Read more
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- Re-registration online: put deregistered vehicles back into service digitally
- Day registration online: first registration for one calendar day – digitally from the dealership
- Vehicle deregistration online: take vehicles out of service digitally – for dealers and fleets
- Change of address after a move: re-registering a vehicle online
- Vehicle registration by the dealer – also in another federal state
- Registration for used-car dealers: which vehicles work online?
- Registering a leased vehicle: who is the keeper – and where does the registration certificate part II stay?
- Registering a company car: which documents does each legal form need?
- Registering motorcycles and trailers online: what is the same for dealers – and what differs
- Registering motorhomes and caravans online: what dealers need to know
- Registering an electric car in Germany: tax exemption and E plate
- Importing an EU vehicle and registering it in Germany: what dealers need to know
- Registration without a valid HU: what is possible when the inspection has expired
- Keeper's change of name: having the vehicle documents changed
- Registering rental cars and taxis: reporting the use and meeting deadlines
- Certificate of destruction (Verwertungsnachweis): scrapping and deregistering a car
- Registering a tractor: which farm machinery needs no registration
- Car sold: what seller and buyer must report to the authority
- Compulsory deregistration: when the authority takes a vehicle off the road
- Registration offences: what section 77 FZV lists
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- Fleet operators
- Car workshops
- Pricing
Sources: Fahrzeug-Zulassungsverordnung (FZV) § 15 – Mitteilungspflichten bei Änderungen · Fahrzeug-Zulassungsverordnung (FZV) § 26 – Gemeinsame Regelungen für die Zulassung und für Änderungen · Fahrzeug-Zulassungsverordnung (FZV) § 77 – Ordnungswidrigkeiten · Sources