How to read a German vehicle registration certificate, box by box
Fahrzeugschein24 is built for the German vehicle registration certificate Part I — the Zulassungsbescheinigung Teil I, commonly called the Fahrzeugschein — and the older Fahrzeugschein is read the same way. Upload a photo or a scan, wait one to two seconds, take the finished record: every value with a confidence figure and the place it was found on the document.
Letter codes from A to V.9
| Field code | Entry on the document |
|---|---|
| A | Registration number (plate) |
| B | Date of first registration |
| C.1.1 – C.1.3 | Surname, given name and address of the keeper |
| D.1 | Make |
| D.2 | Type, variant, version |
| D.3 | Commercial description |
| E | Vehicle identification number (VIN) |
| F.1 / F.2 | Technically permissible and permissible maximum mass |
| G | Mass of the vehicle in running order |
| J | Vehicle category |
| K | EC type-approval number |
| L | Number of axles |
| O.1 / O.2 | Towable mass, braked and unbraked |
| P.1 / P.2 / P.3 | Displacement, rated power, fuel |
| Q | Power-to-weight ratio |
| R | Colour |
| S.1 / S.2 | Seating and standing places |
| T | Maximum design speed |
| U.1 – U.3 | Stationary noise, engine speed at measurement, drive-by noise |
| V.7 / V.9 | CO2 figure and emission class |
The German numbered boxes, where HSN and TSN sit
| Number | Entry on the document |
|---|---|
| 2.1 | Manufacturer key number (HSN) |
| 2.2 | Type key number with variant and version indicator (TSN) |
| 3 | Check digit for the vehicle identification number |
| 5.1 / 5.2 | Vehicle and body type |
| 10 | Four-digit code for the energy source |
| 14 / 14.1 | Tax-relevant environmental figures |
| 15.1 – 15.3 | Tyres on axles 1 to 3 |
| Further numbered boxes | Returned as they are printed on the line |
One document in, the entries out
In: one photo of a German registration certificate Part I
Out (excerpt):
A Registration number M SN 1234 E
B Date of first registration 14.03.2019
D.1 Make VOLKSWAGEN
E Vehicle identification number WVWZZZ1JZXW000001
P.3 Fuel ELEKTRO
2.1 Manufacturer key number 0603
2.2 Type key number BJV
3 Check digit 6What that is worth day to day
One route for both documents
Part I and the older Fahrzeugschein come back in the same shape, new car or twenty-year-old part-exchange. Your process needs one route, not two.
The check digit is read, not calculated
The digit in box 3 is read from the document and held against the vehicle identification number rather than derived from it. A mismatch reaches you before the record does.
Plates in their official spelling
The registration number comes back in spaced form, for example M SN 1234 E — the same spelling in every record, which is what matching against an existing database needs.
A note instead of a silent fix
When two lines disagree, such as the energy source and the fuel in clear text, both values stay as they were read and you get a note. Blank boxes stay blank.
Every image is screened as well
From the Business plan on, every uploaded image is screened for traces of later editing — a pointer for your own check, not an official confirmation of authenticity. More on fraud detection.
Questions about the German registration certificate
Is Zulassungsbescheinigung Teil I the same thing as the Fahrzeugschein?
Yes. Part I is the official name of the document colloquially called the Fahrzeugschein, the one kept in the vehicle. Fahrzeugschein24 reads it and the older Fahrzeugschein; Part II, the former Fahrzeugbrief, is not covered.
How many entries do I get from one certificate?
Up to 65 per document. How many it actually is depends on the paper in front of you: what is not printed there comes back empty and is never filled in.
Can I upload a scanned certificate as a PDF?
Yes. The first page is the one processed, so in a multi-page scan put Part I at the front. JPEG, PNG, HEIC, TIFF, BMP and WebP work too, up to 20 MB.
How do I know whether a value can be relied on?
Every value shows how certain the reading was and where on the document it was found. Switch on the matching image crop in your account and you can check that one value against the picture.
What does reading a certificate cost?
The free plan includes 15 extractions a month, no credit card. Above that: Starter 19 EUR, Business 149 EUR, Scale 599 EUR, Enterprise 1,999 EUR net per month, each cancellable monthly, with fraud screening included from Business on — a pointer for your own review, not an official confirmation of authenticity. Full comparison on the pricing page.
What happens to the uploaded image?
On the paid plans it is used for processing only and is not stored; on the Free plan we store it and use it to improve recognition. On every plan, what is kept is the extracted data and the log data for your account. Processing takes place in Germany and the EU, and the Art. 28 GDPR data processing agreement is available up front.
Try Part I on a document of your own
Create an account, upload a certificate of your own and see which boxes come back: 15 extractions a month, no credit card.
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