Export Plates and Export Documents in Your Own Name

For cars registered with CarTurf. We turn in the current registration at the registration office and get export plates (Ausfuhrkennzeichen) and export documents issued in your own name.

• Export plates with the expiry date shown on the plate
• Export documents in your name: a registration certificate Part I that is limited to export and shows the expiry date
• Liability insurance for the period you choose: 30, 60 or 90 days
• The visit to the registration office, handled by us

What you need: a passport or equivalent ID, a valid driver's licence from any country, and the original registration certificate Part I and plates, mailed to the CarTurf UG partner office in Remagen. Copies are not enough.

Timing: 1–5 business days after we receive the original documents and plates. The car can't be driven between mailing the plates and receiving your export plates, so you usually park it for a few days.

Price: 30 days €300, 60 days €590, 90 days €790, liability insurance included.

Customers contract with CarTurf Global FZCO (Dubai). Our German partner CarTurf UG (haftungsbeschränkt) in Remagen is the registered Halter when we register your car.

The most common case: you are moving to an EU country and your residency is still in progress. Most countries require residency before you can register a car in your own name, so you buy the car and register it through CarTurf in Germany, and drive it while you wait. Once your residence card or resident visa comes through, export plates and export documents in your name let you take the car to your new country and register it there at your own address.

This service fits if:

• your car is registered with CarTurf,
• you have residency or another right to live in the country you are taking the car to, for example a residence card or a resident visa,
• you want to import and register the car there in your own name.

Still looking for a car? You can browse cars for sale in our marketplace.

Not registered with CarTurf yet? Start with registering a car in Europe or the CarTurf Membership, and see pricing. For the difference between export plates, short-term plates and transit plates, read our guide to German export plates.

Export plates are made for one job: taking a car out of Germany for good to a country where you live or have a right to live, so you can import and register it there. German rules (FZV § 45) tie them to a vehicle that is moved permanently to another country.

• The car is off the road for a few days. It can't be driven between mailing the plates and receiving the export plates. Plan to park it while the documents travel to Remagen and the export plates come back to you.
• They expire. Validity follows the insurance period you choose, and the expiry date is on the plate. After that date the car may no longer be driven on public roads.
• Touring on export plates. Driving around temporarily on export plates is possible in theory. In practice, some countries may refuse entry to non-residents, because they assume you are importing the car.
• TÜV inspection. If the car's next main inspection (HU) falls before the export plates expire, the car needs a new inspection first.
• Leaving the EU? The car must also be declared for export at customs.

If you want to keep driving around Europe without a residence, keep your German registration through CarTurf instead. See registering a car in Europe.

Official sources used for this page (checked as of November 2026):

• FZV § 45: export plates (gesetze-im-internet.de)
• German customs: export of vehicles by private persons (zoll.de)