Who may retrieve keeper data, and how is that controlled? This page sums up § 66 to § 71 of the German Vehicle Registration Ordinance of 2023.
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 search keys are used for retrieval?
- number plate,
- vehicle identification number,
- number of the registration certificate,
- number of a foreign registration certificate,
- name of the keeper with date and place of birth, with address if necessary.
For an enquiry using part of a number plate, the matching plates are kept ready. Added to that are vehicle class, make, trade name, type, for passenger cars the colour, and the date of first registration.
Which data is excluded from retrieval?
The security codes of the registration certificate part I and part II and of the registration stickers are not among the data kept ready for this enquiry.
Which occasions must the retrieving body state?
| Key number | Occasion of the retrieval |
|---|---|
| 1 | registration of vehicles |
| 2 | road traffic monitoring, for example missing or improper papers |
| 3 | failure to obey a police order to stop, or hit-and-run |
| 4 | vehicles found or parked so as to obstruct traffic |
| 5 | suspicion of theft or misuse |
| 6 | border control |
| 7 | averting danger |
| 8 | prosecution of criminal offences or traffic offences |
| 9 | search, border search, checkpoint |
| 0 | other occasions |
For key numbers 8, 9 and 0 a file reference or log number is transmitted as well, where this data can be stated.
How is retrieval protected against misuse?
- Every retrieval needs an ID of the authorised user and a password.
- A user can be a natural person or an office.
- An office must ensure that the natural person making the retrieval can be identified.
- If ID or password is transmitted incorrectly more than twice in a row, no further retrievals are possible.
How does a transmission block work?
A transmission block towards third parties may only be ordered by the supreme state authority responsible for the registration authority, or by a body designated by it or competent under state law. The registration authority notes it in the local vehicle register without delay, the Federal Motor Transport Authority in the Central Vehicle Register.
A request relating to blocked data is forwarded to the blocking authority. If the block is lifted, the note is deleted.
May foreign bodies retrieve data?
For retrieval by foreign bodies, data may be kept ready using the number plate or the vehicle identification number. The rules on safeguarding and on stating the occasion apply accordingly.
What does this mean for dealers?
The rules govern automated retrieval under the Road Traffic Act by bodies authorised to retrieve.
With Zevra the route for dealers stays the same: the case is entered in the dealer portal. Registration costs from €10 per case, deregistration €2 net, plus official fees.
- German vehicle registers: which vehicle and keeper data is stored
- German vehicle register: when data is deleted after deregistration
- Car sold: what seller and buyer must report to the authority
- Registration offences: what section 77 FZV lists
- KBA notifications to registration authorities: new plate, theft and duplicates
- 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
- Car sold: what seller and buyer must report to the authority
- Change of address after a move: re-registering a vehicle online
- Keeper's change of name: having the vehicle documents changed
- Reporting vehicle changes: what must be reported without delay
- Registering rental cars and taxis: reporting the use and meeting deadlines
- HU intervals: when is the general inspection due for which vehicle?
- Compulsory deregistration: when the authority takes a vehicle off the road
- Registration offences: what section 77 FZV lists
- Foreign vehicle in Germany: how long it may drive without German registration
- German vehicle registers: which vehicle and keeper data is stored
- German vehicle register: when data is deleted after deregistration
- General inspection in the vehicle register: which data are stored
- Vehicle data to insurer and tax office: what the registration authority transmits
- KBA notifications to registration authorities: new plate, theft and duplicates
- Exemption permit under § 76: competence, limits and duty to carry it
- Car dealerships
- Registration services
- Fleet operators
- Pricing
Sources: Fahrzeug-Zulassungsverordnung (FZV) § 66 – Abruf im automatisierten Verfahren · Fahrzeug-Zulassungsverordnung (FZV) § 68 – Sicherung des Abrufverfahrens gegen Missbrauch · Fahrzeug-Zulassungsverordnung (FZV) § 69 – Aufzeichnung der Abrufe im automatisierten Verfahren · Fahrzeug-Zulassungsverordnung (FZV) § 71 – Übermittlungssperren · Sources · FZV sections § 66 · FZV sections § 68 · FZV sections § 69 · FZV sections § 71