What is the economic sector in the registration application? This page sums up § 33(2) of the German Road Traffic Act (StVG), § 6(1) of the Vehicle Registration Ordinance (FZV) and the KBA list SV 5 (January 2025) for the trade.
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
What is the economic sector in vehicle registration?
The local and central vehicle registers store occupational data on self-employed persons who are allocated a registration number: for natural persons the occupation or trade (economic sector), for legal persons and associations the trade (economic sector) where applicable.
The central vehicle register stores this information in coded form as a key number.
Who has to state an occupation or trade?
| Keeper | Information in the application |
|---|---|
| Self-employed natural person | occupation or trade (economic sector) |
| Legal person or association | the trade (economic sector) where applicable |
| Employed person | no occupation; code 888 |
Under § 6(1) FZV, self-employed keepers must state this information and prove it on request.
How is the SV 5 code structured?
The KBA code has three characters: the first is the section letter A to V (except U), the second and third are digits for the national breakdown.
| Code | Economic sector according to SV 5 |
|---|---|
| G01 | Trade in motor vehicles, parts and accessories |
| T12 | Maintenance and repair of motor vehicles |
| O12 | Rental of motor vehicles without a driver |
| O13 | Car sharing, where it is the main business |
| H01 | Freight transport by road |
| 888 | employed keepers |
Which code applies to several activities?
- The main business counts, where applicable according to the commercial register entry.
- Collective terms such as "retail company" need an addition showing where the vehicle is used.
- If the main business is unclear, the area in which the vehicle is presumably used by its type counts; otherwise the activity named first in the company name.
- If the occupation and the visible use obviously do not match, the vehicle type or class decides.
What is the occupational data stored for?
It serves the tasks under § 32(1) nos. 4 and 5 StVG: measures under the Federal Services Act, the Transport Safeguarding Act and the Transport Services Act, and civil protection measures of the federal states.
What does this mean for dealerships and registration services?
When a vehicle is registered to a company or a trader, the key number is part of the keeper data in the application.
In the Zevra dealer portal, the economic sector for company keepers is selected in the case from the KBA list. Registration costs from 10 € per case, deregistration 2 € net, plus official fees.
- 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
- Retrieval from the vehicle register: search keys, occasions and transmission block
- 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
- End of lease: return, purchase and re-registration under the Vehicle Registration Ordinance
- Car dealerships
- Registration services
- Fleet operators
- Pricing
Sources: Straßenverkehrsgesetz (StVG) § 33 – Inhalt der Fahrzeugregister · Straßenverkehrsgesetz (StVG) § 32 – Zweckbestimmung der Fahrzeugregister · Fahrzeug-Zulassungsverordnung (FZV) § 6 – Antrag auf Zulassung · Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt: Verzeichnis für die Zuordnung der Fahrzeughalter nach der Systematik der Wirtschaftszweige (SV 5), Stand Januar 2025 · Sources · FZV sections § 6