With the first warm days, they are back on the road: convertibles, motorcycles, classic cars, and motor homes. Vehicles that do not roll all year round, including more than 400,000 classic cars alone, according to the German Association of the Automotive Industry. To save owners money and time, there are special license plates for them. An overview.
Seasonal license plate: If you only want to drive your vehicle for a certain time of the year, you should grab it. There is no need for constant registration and deregistration and the associated costs; owners only have to go to the registration office once. There is also potential for savings in taxes. The insurance: the premiums are only due for the registration period.
However, the registration period is limited to two to eleven months, as indicated by the number combination at the end of the license plate. Nearly 44 percent of vehicles with seasonal license plates thus rolled for seven months of the year at the beginning of 2017, according to the Statista database.
Attention: Outside the registration period the vehicle may neither roll nor park in public traffic. There is a risk of fines, towing and, in the event of an accident, loss of insurance cover. So without a parking space in the garage or on private land, it does not work.
H license plate: The classic car license plate offers many advantages to owners of historic vehicles: they pay a flat rate of 191.73 euros in taxes per year, low insurance premiums and are allowed to roll in all environmental zones. Provided that the classic is at least 30 years old and blessed with a classic car certificate.
07 license plate: One for all. The red license plate may be used for several classic cars in alternation, which are on the road without registration and operating license. However, their use is limited.
With the 07 plate, only journeys to classic car events, rallies, test and transfer journeys or to the workshop are permitted. Vehicle tax is based on the most powerful classic car.
H-season license plate: The combination of seasonal and H license plates makes sense for all those historic vehicles that are only moved for a few months a year. For them, the tax is then only calculated proportionally.
For example, instead of paying the 191.73 euros tax per year, owners then pay only 95 euros for six months of use. The period of use is indicated behind the H on the license plate.
Interchangeable license plates: The name says it all – with one license plate, two vehicles of one class roll alternately and all year round. The vehicle-related part of the plate is fixed, the common second part is exchanged.
Motorhomes and classic cars that were otherwise registered with a seasonal license plate are the main beneficiaries of the changeable plate. Disadvantages: For both vehicles, the taxman requires the full tax rate, and only the vehicle with the complete license plate may be moved and parked in public.