Twenty Cities in Baden-Württemberg Apply for Unique Vehicle License Plate Codes

Twenty cities in the German state of Baden-Württemberg have formally expressed interest in obtaining their own vehicle license plate codes, following a decision by the Bundesrat in early March 2026 to request that the federal government ease the rules governing new plate issuance. The cities include Fellbach, which would receive the code FE, Herrenberg with HBG, and Hockenheim with HOC, alongside 17 others spanning the southwestern state. The push is backed by a joint declaration from 20 mayors, who described new plates as a low-threshold opportunity to strengthen citizens' bonds with their hometowns and support active city marketing. Ralf Bochert, head of the Initiative for License Plate Liberalization at Heilbronn University, said the Bundesrat decision had opened the door for all German medium-sized cities with populations of 20,000 or more to apply for their own identifiers. The Bundesrat passed the resolution motion requesting the federal government to amend the Vehicle Licensing Ordinance to remove the existing restrictions on new plate combinations.

Decades-old district rules blocked smaller cities until now Under current regulations, new license plate codes are only permitted for cities that were district seats before the administrative reforms of the 1970s and subsequently lost their plates, or when entirely new administrative districts are created. That framework has left dozens of medium-sized cities without their own identifiers for more than half a century. A 2012 reform gave districts and district-free cities somewhat greater flexibility, primarily enabling the reintroduction of old codes that had disappeared due to regional reorganizations. In the Bodenseekreis, for example, the codes ÜB for Überlingen and TT for Tettnang have been in use alongside the existing FN code for Friedrichshafen for several years. The Bundesrat resolution, initiated by the state of Hesse and supported by Baden-Württemberg, would eliminate the requirement that new plates be tied to the creation of new administrative districts entirely. Germany's license plate system has historically been tied to administrative geography, with codes assigned to districts and district-free cities. The major district reforms of the 1970s consolidated many smaller administrative units, causing numerous cities to lose their individual plate codes. The 2012 amendment to the Vehicle Licensing Ordinance allowed some historical codes to be reintroduced, with examples such as LEON for Leonberg and BK for Backnang returning to roads in Baden-Württemberg.

State minister backs reform, federal ministry signals skepticism Baden-Württemberg's Transport Minister Winfried Hermann, a member of the Greens who has held the post since 2011, voiced support for the cities' ambitions and criticized the existing rules as outdated. „Because the old regulation based on districts is no longer contemporary and no longer administratively necessary.” — Winfried Hermann via ZEIT ONLINE The Federal Ministry of Transport, however, offered a more cautious response to the Bundesrat's request. A spokeswoman for the ministry stated that there is no technical reason for the requested change and that the public perception of a municipality or the identity-forming character of license plates are not relevant considerations under regulatory law. The ministry nonetheless said it would examine the proposal and the possibilities for implementation constructively. The contrast between state-level enthusiasm and federal-level hesitation means the outcome of the initiative remains uncertain, with no timeline given for a federal decision.

Approval process could stretch over several months Even if the federal government ultimately agrees to amend the ordinance, the path to new plates for any individual city involves multiple steps and could take considerable time. Each city's municipal council must first pass a formal decision in favor of applying for a new code. The city then submits an application to the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Transport in Stuttgart, which forwards the requests to the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport in Berlin. Federal approval must follow, after which the new code must be published in the Federal Gazette before any plates can actually be issued. The full list of cities that have expressed interest spans a wide range of Baden-Württemberg's geography and includes Radolfzell, Rheinfelden, Rottenburg, Schorndorf, Singen, Stutensee, Weinheim, Albstadt, Ettlingen, Filderstadt, Kirchheim unter Teck, Laupheim, Leinfelden-Echterdingen, Metzingen, Nagold, Ostfildern, and Waghäusel, in addition to Fellbach, Herrenberg, and Hockenheim. 20 (cities) — Baden-Württemberg cities seeking new license plate codes