List of license plates of the GDR (1953–1990)

License plate from the Karl-Marx-Stadt district ("T"), some with a German inspection sticker

The list below of the license plates of the GDR contains all the distinctive signs that were ever valid in the GDR , which were issued between 1953 and the end of 1990. They are no longer valid.

history

The new license plates in type XX 99-99 (without the combinations with 00-00) with black letters on a white background were issued from April 20, 1953. The renaming of the vehicles should be completed by July 31, 1953. From September 1, 1953, the old license plates were no longer valid.

A separate ordinance was issued for Berlin (East) on November 19, 1953. The renaming had to be completed by January 31, 1954.

The second letter (after the district letter ) initially had a special meaning. The meanings 1954 and 1956 as well as the deviating meanings in Berlin (East) from 1954 are given here.

Second letter	GDR 1954	GDR 1956	Berlin (East) 1954
..A	-	Car	Car
..B	State-owned car	Car	Car
..C	-	omnibus	omnibus
..D	-	motorcycle	motorcycle
..E	-	Special vehicle	-
..F	-	truck	truck
..G	Private truck	truck	-
..H	-	truck	truck
..K	-	pendant	pendant
..L	-	tractor	tractor
..M	Nationally owned motorcycle	Car	-
..P	State-owned truck	Car	-
..V	Private motorcycle	motorcycle	-
..W	Private car	Commercial vehicle	-

Soon a second district letter had to be introduced in some districts. In the district of Karl-Marx-Stadt , this was already the case in 1956. In 1957 they were ready in the Dresden district . Magdeburg , Halle and Leipzig followed in 1959. In March 1960, the Erfurt district was the last to receive a second district letter, until Potsdam finally followed suit on January 28, 1971.

From around 1960 the previous labeling was abandoned. Instead, the second letter could now be used to identify the respective approval district. However, for this purpose it was essential to know the type of vehicle, as the license plates were often assigned twice.

When this identification system also reached its limits, from October 1, 1974, for vehicles with the exception of motorcycles, license plates with three letters and three digits of the type XXX 9-99 (without the combinations with 0-00) also have black letters introduced on a white background. The second letter indicated the approval district. The license plate dimensions have been increased. The registration of vehicles with license plates in old dimensions was allowed until December 31, 1975.

The GDR license plates were issued after October 3 until December 31, 1990. They had to be exchanged for the new (German) license plates by December 31, 1993. This exchange took place successively. It was officially announced when the respective license plates were to be exchanged.

Distinctive signs

There were two different types of distinctive signs in the GDR:

In the first series with a pair of letters, the first letter referred to the responsible district. The distribution of the second letter and the identification numbers within the respective district is not easy to see. You need license plate lists for this and you also need to know about the type of vehicle (motorcycle, car, truck, etc., including trailer), especially since it was common to assign the same letter-number combination twice.

In the second series with a triplet of letters (three consecutive letters), the first letter again referred to the responsible district. A sub-distribution to the districts and city districts is possible using the second letter. If a city is both a city district and the district town of the district of the same name surrounding it, the same letter pairs have been assigned to both administrative units. A possible division between the district and the urban district is not known.

First letter: district

The first letter of the license plate indicated the district in which the vehicle was registered. The letters were assigned from A to Z in a north-south direction. Some districts had two different possible letters as identification.

A different letter was obviously originally intended for the Cottbus district (F or G).

Letter (s)	district
A.	Rostock district
B.	Schwerin district
C.	Neubrandenburg district
D, P	Potsdam district
E.	Frankfurt (Oder) district
H, M	Magdeburg district
I.	Berlin, capital of the GDR
K, V	Halle district
L, F	District of Erfurt
N	Gera district
O	District of Suhl
R, Y	Dresden district
S, U	Leipzig district
T, X	Karl-Marx-Stadt district
Z	Cottbus district

First series of license plates: two letters

While the first letter was assigned to the respective district, the second letter and the number combination could be used to identify the respective approval district. However, for this purpose it was essential to know the type of vehicle, as the license plates were often assigned twice.

For example, the following number groups of license plates were assigned with two letters in the Weisswasser district :

motorcycles	Car	buses	truck	tensile machine	Special vehicle	Single-axle trailer	Multi-axle trailer
	ZA 25-51 to ZA 30-00					ZA 25-51 to ZA 30-00
	ZA 56-01 to ZA 61-00					ZA 56-01 to ZA 61-00
		ZC 10-01 to ZC 20-00	ZC 10-01 to ZC 20-00	ZC 10-01 to ZC 20-00	ZC 10-01 to ZC 20-00	ZC 10-01 to ZC 20-00	ZC 10-01 to ZC 20-00
ZC 30-01 to ZC 45-00			ZC 30-01 to ZC 45-00	ZC 30-01 to ZC 45-00	ZC 30-01 to ZC 45-00	ZC 30-01 to ZC 45-00	ZC 30-01 to ZC 45-00
ZF 35-01 to ZF 50-00			ZF 35-01 to ZF 50-00	ZF 35-01 to ZF 50-00	ZF 35-01 to ZF 50-00	ZF 35-01 to ZF 50-00	ZF 35-01 to ZF 50-00
	ZJ 50-01 to ZJ 70-00					ZJ 50-01 to ZJ 70-00
ZK 73-81 to ZK 86-00			ZK 73-81 to ZK 86-00	ZK 73-81 to ZK 86-00	ZK 73-81 to ZK 86-00	ZK 73-81 to ZK 86-00	ZK 73-81 to ZK 86-00
	ZK 75-01 to ZK 85-00
	ZL 40-01 to ZL 60-00					ZL 40-01 to ZL 60-00
ZO 10-16 to ZO 17-50			ZO 10-16 to ZO 17-50	ZO 10-16 to ZO 17-50	ZO 10-16 to ZO 17-50	ZO 10-16 to ZO 17-50	ZO 10-16 to ZO 17-50
ZO 80-01 to ZO 85-00			ZO 80-01 to ZO 85-00	ZO 80-01 to ZO 85-00	ZO 80-01 to ZO 85-00	ZO 80-01 to ZO 85-00	ZO 80-01 to ZO 85-00
		ZR 10-46 to ZR 17-30	ZR 10-46 to ZR 17-30	ZR 10-46 to ZR 17-30	ZR 10-46 to ZR 17-30	ZR 10-46 to ZR 17-30	ZR 10-46 to ZR 17-30
		ZS 45-16 to ZS 50-00	ZS 45-16 to ZS 50-00	ZS 45-16 to ZS 50-00	ZS 45-16 to ZS 50-00	ZS 45-16 to ZS 50-00	ZS 45-16 to ZS 50-00
ZU 20-01 to ZU 30-00			ZU 20-01 to ZU 30-00	ZU 20-01 to ZU 30-00	ZU 20-01 to ZU 30-00	ZU 20-01 to ZU 30-00	ZU 20-01 to ZU 30-00
	ZV 60-01 to ZV 80-00					ZV 60-01 to ZV 80-00
ZX 50-01 to ZX 99-99

First series of license plates: motorcycles

There was a special feature for the approval of the motorcycles. While license plates with three letters were assigned to other motor vehicles and trailers as a rule from 1974, and no later than 1976 at the latest, only two-letter license plates were issued for motorcycles until 1990.

The last motorcycle series of the individual registration offices that were issued up to the end of 1990, as far as they can be determined, now follow for each district. This was the case for the districts listed below.

Gera district

District or city district	letters and numbers
Eisenberg district	NX 00-01 to NX 30-00 and NZ 01-01 to NZ 05-00
Gera and the Gera-Land district	NZ 05-01 to NZ 30-00
Greiz district	NX 30-01 to NX 60-00 and NZ 30-01 to NZ 40-00
Jena and the Jena-Land district	NX 60-00 to NX 99-99 and NZ 40-01 to NZ 55-00
Lobenstein district	NY 00-01 to NY 20-00 and NZ 55-01 to NZ 60-00
Pößneck district	NY 20-01 to NY 50-00 and NZ 60-01 to NZ 68-00
Rudolstadt district	NY 50-01 to NY 80-00 and NZ 75-01 to NZ 85-00
Saalfeld district	NY 80-01 to NY 99-99 and NZ 68-01 to NZ 75-00
Schleiz district	NZ 85-01 to NZ 90-00
Stadtroda district	NZ 90-01 to NZ 95-00
Zeulenroda district	NZ 95-01 to NZ 99-99

Halle district

District or city district	Letter pairs
Artern district	VE 35-01 to VE 99-99
Aschersleben district	VF 00-01 to VF 99-99
Bernburg district	VG 00-01 to VG 50-00
Bitterfeld district	VG 50-01 to VG 99-99
Dessau	VJ 00-01 to VJ 99-99 and VH 00-01 to VH 30-00 1
Eisleben district	VL 00-01 to VL 50-00 and VH 30-01 to VH 60-00 1
Graefenhainichen district	VL 50-01 to VL 99-99
Halle (Saale)	VM 00-01 to VM 99-99 and VH 60-01 to VH 99-99 1
District of Hettstedt	VO 00-01 to VO 50-00
Hohenmölsen district	VO 50-01 to VO 99-99
District of Koethen	VR 00-01 to VR 50-00 and VK 00-01 to VK 30-00 1
Merseburg district	VS 00-01 to VS 99-99 and VK 30-01 to VK 70-00 1
Naumburg district	VR 50-01 to VR 99-99
Nebra district	VT 00-01 to VT 50-00
Quedlinburg district	VU 00-01 to VU 99-99 and VK 70-01 to VK 99-99 1
Querfurt district	VT 50-01 to VT 99-99 and VN 00-01 to VN 15-00
District of Rosslau	VV 00-01 to VV 99-99
Sangerhausen district	VW 00-01 to VW 99-99 and VN 80-01 to VN 99-99 1
Weißenfels district	VX 00-01 to VX 99-99
Wittenberg district	VY 00-01 to VY 99-99 and VN 15-01 to VN 45-00 1
Kreis Zeitz	VZ 00-00 to VZ 99-99 and VN 45-01 to VN 80-00 1

footnote

¹ The series with the letter pairs VH , VK and VN were assigned to the approval districts that did not get along with the previously allocated series.

Cottbus district

The series with ZW 00-01 to ZW 50-00 was not issued.

District or city district	letters and numbers
Bad Liebenwerda district	ZX 00-01 to ZX 50-00
Calau district	ZR 00-01 to ZR 99-99
Cottbus and the Cottbus-Land district	ZV 00-01 to ZV 99-99
Finsterwalde district	ZT 50-01 to ZT 99-99
Forest district	ZW 50-01 to ZW 99-99 and ZU 45-01 to ZU 60-00 1
District of Guben	ZP 63-81 to ZP 73-80 2
Herzberg district	ZT 00-01 to ZT 50-00 and ZU 60-01 to ZU 60-99 1
District of Hoyerswerda	ZZ 00-01 to ZZ 99-99 and ZU 30-01 to ZU 45-00 1
Jessen district	ZP 98-01 to ZP 99-99 2
Luckau district	ZN 60-01 to ZN 80-00 2
Lübben district	ZS 00-01 to ZS 50-00 and ZU 00-01 to ZU 10-00 1
Senftenberg district	ZY 00-01 to ZY 99-99
Spremberg district	ZS 50-01 to ZS 99-99 and ZU 10-01 to ZU 20-00 1
Weißwasser district	ZX 50-01 to ZX 99-99 and ZU 20-01 to ZU 30-00 1

Footnotes

¹ The series with the letter pair ZU was assigned to the approval districts that did not get along with the series that were previously allocated.
² These were the last regular motorcycle series in these registration areas. Obviously, further assignments from the lower part of the alphabet were not required.

First series of license plates: highest identification numbers

district	motorcycles	Other vehicles and trailers
Rostock district	AZ 99-99	AZ 99-99
Schwerin district	BY 99-99	BZ 75-00
Neubrandenburg district	CZ 99-99	CZ 99-99
Potsdam district	DY 99-99	PZ 99-99
Frankfurt (Oder) district	EU 99-99	EZ 99-99
Magdeburg district	HY 99-99	MZ 99-99
Halle district	VZ 99-99	VZ 99-99
District of Erfurt	FB 09-50	FZ 99-99
Gera district	NZ 99-99	NZ 99-99
District of Suhl	OZ 99-99	OZ 60-00
Dresden district	YX 99-99	YZ 99-99
Leipzig district	UG 99-99	UZ 99-99
Karl-Marx-Stadt district	XZ 99-99	XZ 99-99
Cottbus district	ZZ 99-99	ZZ 99-99

First series of license plates: unallocated pairs of letters

Were not allocated

• all combinations with Q (diplomatic license plate)
• CC, CD, CY (diplomatic license plate)
• HJ , KZ , SA , SS (abbreviations from the time of National Socialism )

First number plate series: special feature

The letter combination UC was reserved for vehicles sold through Genex .

Second series of license plates: three letters

These license plates could be used for all vehicles and trailers with the exception of motorcycles. The first two letters that act as distinguishing signs are given.

Rostock district

District or city district	Letter pair (s)
Bad Doberan district	AA
Greifswald and Greifswald-Land district	AB, AC
Grevesmühlen district	AD
Grimmen district	AE
Ribnitz-Damgarten district	AF, AG
Rostock and the Rostock-Land district	AH, AI, AJ, AK, AL, AM
Rügen district	AN, AO
Stralsund and the Stralsund-Land district	AP, AR
Wismar and the Wismar-Land district	AS, AT
Wolgast district	AU, AV

Schwerin district

District or city district	Letter pair (s)
District of Bützow	BA
District of Gadebusch	BB
District of Güstrow	BC, BD
District of Hagenow	BE, BF
Ludwigslust district	BG, BH
District of Lübz	BI, BJ
Parchim district	BK, BL
Perleberg district	BM, BN, BO
Schwerin and the Schwerin-Land district	BP, BR, BS, BT
Sternberg district	BU

Neubrandenburg district

District or city district	Letter pair (s)
Altentreptow district	CA
Circle Anklam	CB
District Demmin	CC, CD
Malchin County	CE
Neubrandenburg and the district of Neubrandenburg-Land	CF, CG, CH
Neustrelitz district	CI, CJ
Pasewalk district	CK
Prenzlau district	CL
District of Röbel / Müritz	CM
Strasburg district	CN
Templin district	CO
Teterow district	CP
Ueckermünde district	CR, CS
Circle goods	CT, CV

Potsdam district

The Potsdam district did not need its second identification letter P for these license plates with one exception: All vehicles whose license plates began with a P came from the Oranienburg district and had the N or O as the second letter .

District or city district	Letter pair (s)
Belzig district	THERE
Brandenburg and the Brandenburg-Land district	DB, DC
Gransee district	DE
Jüterbog district	DF
Koenigs Wusterhausen district	DG, DH
Kyritz district	DI
Luckenwalde district	DJ
Nauen district	DK, DL
Neuruppin district	DM
Oranienburg district	DN, DO, PN, PO
Potsdam and Potsdam-Land district	DP, DR, DS, DT
Pritzwalk district	YOU
Rathenow district	DV, DW
Wittstock district	DX
District of Zossen	DY, DZ

Frankfurt district

District or city district	Letter pair (s)
Angermünde district	EA
Bad Freienwalde district	EB
Beeskow district	EC
Bernau district	ED, EE
Eberswalde district	EF, EG, EL
Eisenhüttenstadt and the Eisenhüttenstadt-Land district	EH, EI
Frankfurt (Oder)	EJ, EK, EL
Fürstenwalde district	EM, EN, EO
Seelow district	EP
District of Strausberg	ER, IT, ET
Schwedt / Oder	EU

Magdeburg district

District or city district	Letter pair (s)
Circle castle	HA, MA
Gardelegen district	HB, MB
Genthin County	HC, MC
Halberstadt district	HD, HE, MD
District of Haldensleben	HF, MF
District of Havelberg	HG, MG
District Kalbe (Milde)	HH
Circle blocks	HI, MI
Magdeburg	HJ, HK, HS, MK
Oschersleben district	HL, ML
Osterburg district	HMMM
Salzwedel district	HN, HH 1
Schönebeck district	HO, HP, MO
Staßfurt district	HR, MR
Stendal district	HT, MU, HV 2
Tangerhütte district	HV
Wanzleben district	HW, MW
Wernigerode district	HX, MX
Wolmirstedt district	HY, MY
Circle Zerbst	HZ, MZ

Footnotes

¹ First, the district of Salzwedel received the letter combination HN , from 1988 also HH from the dissolved district of Kalbe (Milde) .
² Initially, the district of Stendal received the letter combinations HT and MU , from 1988 also HV from the dissolved district of Tangerhütte .

Berlin (East)

city	Letter pairs
Berlin (East)	IA, IB, IC, ... IY, IZ (without IQ)

Halle district

District or city district	Letter pairs
Artern district	KA, VA
Aschersleben district	KB, VB
Bernburg district	KC, VC
Bitterfeld district	KD, KE, VD, VE
Dessau	KF, VF
Eisleben district	KG, VG
Graefenhainichen district	KH, VH
Halle (Saale)	KI, KJ, KK 1 , VI, VJ, VK 1
District of Hettstedt	KL, VL
Hohenmölsen district	KM, VM
District of Koethen	KN, VN
Merseburg district	KO, KP, VO, VP
Naumburg district	KR, VR
Nebra district	KS, VS
Quedlinburg district	KT, VT
Querfurt district	KU, VU
District of Rosslau	KV, VV
Sangerhausen district	KW, VW
Weißenfels district	KX, VX
Wittenberg district	KY, VY
Kreis Zeitz	KZ, VZ

footnote

¹ Initially, the city of Halle (Saale) received the letter combinations KI , KJ , VI and VJ , and in 1990 also KK and VK from the incorporated city of Halle-Neustadt .

District of Erfurt

The district of Erfurt did not need its second identification letter F for these license plates.

District or city district	Letter pair (s)
Apolda district	LA
Arnstadt district	LB, LC
Eisenach district	LD, LE, LF
Erfurt and the district of Erfurt-Land	LG, LH, LI, LJ, LK
Gotha district	LL, LM, LN
Heiligenstadt district	LO
Langensalza district	LP
Mühlhausen district	LR, LS
Nordhausen district	LT, LU
Sömmerda district	LV
Sondershausen district	LW
Weimar and the Weimar-Land district	LX, LY
Worbis district	LZ

Gera district

District or city district	Letter pair (s)
Eisenberg district	N / A
Gera and the Gera-Land district	NB, NC, ND, NE, NV 1 , NW
Greiz district	NF
Jena and the Jena-Land district	NG, NH, NI
Lobenstein district	NJ
Pößneck district	NL
Rudolstadt district	NM
Saalfeld district	NN, NO
Schleiz district	NP, NO
Stadtroda district	NS
Zeulenroda district	NT, NU

footnote

¹ The letter combination NVA was not assigned.

District of Suhl

District or city district	Letter pairs
Bad Salzungen district	OA, OB, OC
Hildburghausen district	OD, OE, OF
District of Ilmenau	OG, OH, OI
Meiningen district	OJ, OK, OL
Neuhaus district	OM, ON
Schmalkalden district	OO, OP, OR
Sonneberg district	OS, OT, OU
Suhl and the district of Suhl-Land	OV, OW, OX

Dresden district

District or city district	Letter pair (s)
Bautzen district	RA, RB, YA
District of Bischofswerda	RC, YC
District of Dippoldiswalde	RD
Dresden and Dresden-Land district	RE, RF, RG, RH, YB, YE, YF, YG, YH, YI, YK, YR, YZ
Freital district	RI, RJ
Görlitz and the district of Görlitz-Land	RK, RL
Grossenhain district	RM
Kamenz district	RN
Löbau district	RO, YO
Meissen district	RP, RR, YP
Niesky district	RS
Pirna district	RT, RU, YT
Riesa district	RV, RW, YV
Sebnitz district	RX
Zittau district	RY, RZ, YY

Leipzig district

District or city district	Letter pair (s)
Altenburg district	SA, SB
Borna district	SC, SD
Delitzsch district	SE
Chub district	SF, SG
District of Eilenburg	SH
Geithain district	SI
Grimma district	SJ
Leipzig and the Leipzig-Land district	SK, SL, SM, SN, SO, SP, SR, SS, ST, SU, SV
Oschatz district	SW
District of Schmölln	SX
Torgau district	SY
Wurzen district	SZ

No license plates with three-letter combinations starting with U were assigned.

Karl-Marx-Stadt district

From January 1, 1990, the district was again called Chemnitz District .

District or city district	Letter pair (s)
Annaberg district	TA, XA
Aue district	TB, XB
Auerbach district	TC
Brand-Erbisdorf district	TD, XD
Chemnitz and Chemnitz-Land	TJ, TK, TL, TM, XJ, XK, XL, XM
District of Flöha	TE, XE
Freiberg district	TF, XF
Glauchau district	TG, XG
Hainichen district	TH
Hohenstein-Ernstthal district	TI, XI
Karl-Marx-Stadt and Karl-Marx-Stadt-Land district	TJ, TK, TL, TM, XJ, XK, XL, XM
Klingenthal district	TN, XN
Marienberg district	TO, XO
Oelsnitz district	TP, XP
Plauen and the Plauen-Land district	TR, XR
Reichenbach district	TS, XS
Rochlitz district	TT
Schwarzenberg district	TU
Stollberg district	TV, XV
Werdau district	TW, XW
Zschopau district	TX
Zwickau and the Zwickau-Land district	TY, TZ, XY

Cottbus district

District or city district	Letter pair (s)
Bad Liebenwerda district	ZA
Calau district	E.g.
Cottbus and the Cottbus-Land district	ZC, ZD, ZE
Finsterwalde district	ZF
Forest district	ZG
District of Guben	ZH
Herzberg district	ZI
District of Hoyerswerda	ZJ, ZK, ZT
Jessen district	ZL
Luckau district	ZM
Lübben district	ZN
Senftenberg district	ZO, ZP
Spremberg district	ZR
Weißwasser district	ZS

Second series of license plates: vehicles of foreign citizens

From around 1975, the vehicles of foreign citizens who were temporarily in the GDR were given license plates with three letters and three digits. This also applied to motorcycles.

Rostock district

District or city district	Triple of letters
Bad Doberan district	AAZ
Greifswald and Greifswald-Land district	ABZ
Grevesmühlen district	ADZ
Grimmen district	AEZ
Ribnitz-Damgarten district	AFZ, AGZ
Rostock and the Rostock-Land district	AHZ, AKZ, AMZ
Rügen district	ANZ
Stralsund and the Stralsund-Land district	APZ
Wismar and the Wismar-Land district	ASZ
Wolgast district	AUZ

Schwerin district

District or city district	Triple of letters
District of Bützow	BAZ
District of Gadebusch	BBZ
District of Güstrow	BCZ
District of Hagenow	BEZ
Ludwigslust district	BGZ
District of Lübz	BIZ
Parchim district	BKZ
Perleberg district	BMZ
Schwerin and the Schwerin-Land district	BPZ
Sternberg district	BUZ

Neubrandenburg district

District or city district	Triple of letters
Altentreptow district	CAZ
Circle Anklam	CBZ
District Demmin	CCZ
Malchin County	CEZ
Neubrandenburg and the district of Neubrandenburg-Land	CFZ
Neustrelitz district	CIZ
Pasewalk district	CKZ
Prenzlau district	CLZ
District of Röbel / Müritz	CMZ
Strasburg district	CNZ
Templin district	COZ
Teterow district	CPZ
Ueckermünde district	CSZ
Circle goods	CTZ

Potsdam district

District or city district	Triple of letters
Belzig district	DAZ
Brandenburg and the Brandenburg-Land district	DBZ
Gransee district	DEC
Jüterbog district	DFZ
Koenigs Wusterhausen district	DGZ
Kyritz district	DIZ
Luckenwalde district	DJZ
Nauen district	DKZ
Neuruppin district	DMZ
Oranienburg district	DNZ
Potsdam and Potsdam-Land district	DPZ
Pritzwalk district	DUZ
Rathenow district	DVZ
Wittstock district	DXZ
District of Zossen	DYZ

Frankfurt district

District or city district	Triple of letters
Angermünde district	EAZ
Bad Freienwalde district	EBZ
Beeskow district	ECZ
Bernau district	EDZ, EEZ
Eberswalde district	EFZ, EGZ
Eisenhüttenstadt and the Eisenhüttenstadt-Land district	EHZ
Frankfurt (Oder)	EJZ
Fürstenwalde district	EMZ
Seelow district	EPZ
District of Strausberg	ETZ
Schwedt / Oder	EUA, EUZ

Magdeburg district

District or city district	Triple of letters
Circle castle	HAZ
Gardelegen district	HBZ
Genthin County	HCZ
Halberstadt district	HDZ
District of Haldensleben	HFZ
District of Havelberg	HGZ
District Kalbe (Milde)	HHZ
Circle blocks	HIZ
Magdeburg	HJZ, HKZ
Oschersleben district	HLZ
Osterburg district	HMZ
Salzwedel district	HNZ
Schönebeck district	HOZ
Staßfurt district	HRZ
Stendal district	HTZ
Tangerhütte district	Peak hours
Wanzleben district	HWZ
Wernigerode district	HXZ
Wolmirstedt district	HYZ
Circle Zerbst	HZZ

Berlin (East)

city	Triple of letters
Berlin (East)	IZZ

Halle district

District or city district	Triple of letters
Artern district	KAZ
Aschersleben district	KBZ
Bernburg district	KCZ
Bitterfeld district	KDZ
Dessau	Car
Eisleben district	KGZ
Graefenhainichen district	KHZ
Halle (Saale)	KIZ
District of Hettstedt	KLZ
Hohenmölsen district	KMZ
District of Koethen	KNZ
Merseburg district	KOZ
Naumburg district	KRZ
Nebra district	KSZ
Quedlinburg district	KTZ
Querfurt district	KUZ
District of Rosslau	KVZ
Sangerhausen district	KWZ
Weißenfels district	KXZ
Wittenberg district	KYZ
Kreis Zeitz	KZZ

District of Erfurt

District or city district	Triple of letters
Apolda district	LAZ
Arnstadt district	LBZ
Eisenach district	LDZ
Erfurt and the district of Erfurt-Land	LGZ
Gotha district	LLZ
Heiligenstadt district	LOZ
Langensalza district	LPZ
Mühlhausen district	LRZ
Nordhausen district	LTZ
Sömmerda district	LVZ
Sondershausen district	LWZ
Weimar and the Weimar-Land district	LXZ
Worbis district	LZZ

Gera district

District or city district	Triple of letters
Eisenberg district	NAZ
Gera and the Gera-Land district	NEZ
Greiz district	Commercial vehicles
Jena and the Jena-Land district	NIZ
Lobenstein district	NJZ
Pößneck district	NLZ
Rudolstadt district	NMZ
Saalfeld district	NOZ
Schleiz district	NRZ
Stadtroda district	NSZ
Zeulenroda district	NUZ

District of Suhl

District or city district	Triple of letters
Bad Salzungen district	OAZ
Hildburghausen district	OEZ, ODH
District of Ilmenau	OGZ
Meiningen district	OKZ
Neuhaus district	OMZ
Schmalkalden district	OOZ
Sonneberg district	OSZ
Suhl and the district of Suhl-Land	OVZ

Dresden district

District or city district	Triple of letters
Bautzen district	RAZ
District of Bischofswerda	RCZ
District of Dippoldiswalde	RDZ
Dresden and Dresden-Land district	REZ, RFZ, RGZ, RHZ
Freital district	RIZ
Görlitz and the district of Görlitz-Land	RKZ
Grossenhain district	RMZ
Kamenz district	RNZ
Löbau district	RON
Meissen district	RPZ
Niesky district	RSZ
Pirna district	RTZ
Riesa district	RVZ
Sebnitz district	RXZ
Zittau district	RYZ, RZZ

Leipzig district

District or city district	Triple of letters
Altenburg district	SAZ
Borna district	SCZ
Delitzsch district	SEZ, SDZ
Chub district	SFZ
District of Eilenburg	SHZ
Geithain district	SIZ
Grimma district	SJZ
Leipzig and the Leipzig-Land district	SKZ
Oschatz district	SWZ
District of Schmölln	SXZ
Torgau district	SYZ
Wurzen district	SZZ

Karl-Marx-Stadt district

From January 1, 1990, the district was again called Chemnitz District .

District or city district	Triple of letters
Annaberg district	TAZ
Aue district	TBZ
Auerbach district	TCZ
Brand-Erbisdorf district	TDZ
Chemnitz and Chemnitz-Land	TJZ
District of Flöha	TEZ
Freiberg district	TFZ
Glauchau district	TGZ
Hainichen district	THZ
Hohenstein-Ernstthal district	TIZ
Karl-Marx-Stadt and Karl-Marx-Stadt-Land district	TJZ
Klingenthal district	TNZ
Marienberg district	TOZ
Oelsnitz district	TPZ
Plauen and the Plauen-Land district	TRZ
Reichenbach district	TSZ
Rochlitz district	TTZ
Schwarzenberg district	TUZ
Stollberg district	TVZ
Werdau district	TWZ
Zschopau district	TXZ
Zwickau and the Zwickau-Land district	TZZ

Cottbus district

District or city district	Triple of letters
Bad Liebenwerda district	ZAZ
Calau district	ZBZ
Cottbus and the Cottbus-Land district	ZCZ
Finsterwalde district	ZFZ
Forest district	ZGZ
District of Guben	ZHZ
Herzberg district	ZIZ
District of Hoyerswerda	ZJZ
Jessen district	ZLZ
Luckau district	ZMZ
Lübben district	ZNZ
Senftenberg district	ZOZ
Spremberg district	ZRZ
Weißwasser district	ZSZ

People's Police

License plate of the People's Police in the Potsdam district

The identification numbers of the People's Police bore the letters V and P on top of each other , a two-digit key number for the district and a four-digit number behind the line.

The key numbers were:

• 00: Berlin (East)
• 01: Rostock district
• 02: Schwerin district
• 03: Neubrandenburg district
• 04: Potsdam district
• 05: District Frankfurt (Oder)
• 06: Cottbus district
• 07: Magdeburg district
• 08: Halle (Saale) district
• 09: Erfurt district
• 10: Gera district
• 11: Suhl district
• 12: Dresden district
• 13: Leipzig district
• 14: Karl-Marx-Stadt district (Chemnitz)

After the fall of the Wall there were also license plates that only bore the letter P.

Barracked People's Police

From June 27, 1955, license plates of the vehicles of the barracked People's Police no longer had the traditional VP plates, but new ones based on the pattern X-9-99-99. B, D, F, I and R have been used as letters, and maybe others as well.

The type of vehicle was specified with the number after the letter:

• 1: motorcycles
• 2: car
• 3: cars
• 4: Trucks (also towing vehicles and special vehicles)
• 5: Trucks (also towing vehicles and special vehicles)
• 6: Trucks (also towing vehicles and special vehicles)
• 7: Tractors, half-track and chain vehicles
• 8: Buses and medical vehicles
• 9: Trailer (also special trailer)

National Peoples Army

NVA license plate, single line

two-line license plate for motorcycles

The National People's Army was established on March 1, 1956. Their vehicles received the distinctive sign VA . The letters were initially on top of each other. It was followed by a number, a hyphen and a four-digit number.

The type of vehicle was specified with the number after the letter:

• 1: motorcycles
• 2: car
• 3: cars
• 4: Trucks (also towing vehicles and special vehicles)
• 5: Trucks (also towing vehicles and special vehicles)
• 6: Trucks (also towing vehicles and special vehicles)
• 7: Tractors, half-track and chain vehicles
• 8: Buses and medical vehicles
• 9: Trailer (also special trailer)

From around 1960, the distinguishing mark was followed by two digits, a hyphen and a four-digit number. Single-line license plates had the letters VA one above the other, and two -line license plates next to each other.

On January 1, 1976 the license plates were changed. The letters VA were now always next to each other. There was a division. The second digit was now decisive for the classification.

• 91, 92: trailers and special trailers
• 93: Motorcycles
• 94, 95: cars
• 90, 96, 97, 98, 99: trucks, small trucks, special trucks

The 9 stands for any digit with the exception of the 0 .

Border troops and border guards

After the establishment of the border troops on September 15, 1961, their vehicles were probably given license plates from November 15, 1961, with the letters GT as identification . This was followed - separated by a line - a two- and a four-digit number.

After March 14, 1990 (elections to the People's Chamber) the distinctive symbol GS was chosen for the border troops renamed as Border Guard . The number plate structure was otherwise not changed.

Society for sport and technology

Identification of the GST

The Society for Sport and Technology was founded on August 7, 1952. As requested, own number plates were introduced in 1953. These were yellow with black writing. They only contained the district letter and four digits in the arrangement X 99-99, whereby an allocation to the district was possible based on the first two digits (see: GDR territorial basic key ).

Diplomatic Corps

Vehicle with diplomatic license plates at Checkpoint Charlie 1982, 57 = Federal Republic of Germany

On January 31, 1968, distinctive signs for diplomatic vehicles were first introduced in the GDR. These goods

• CC for the Consular Corps
• CD for the Diplomatic Corps and
• CY for members of the mission

On January 1, 1974 the system was changed. The number plates now bore markings for the year of issue in white letters on a red background with the following distinguishing marks

• CC for the Consular Corps
• CD for the Diplomatic Corps and
• CY for the company and private vehicles of the administrative and technical staff of the diplomatic and consular missions

In the case of the following distinguishing marks, the year of issue was marked in white on a blue background.

• QA for official and personal vehicles of foreign correspondents
• QB and QX for official and personal vehicles of employees of foreign trade branches, industrial representations and commercial offices
• QC for official and personal vehicles of employees of travel agencies, airlines, cultural and information centers
• QD for official and personal vehicles of employees of other institutions and companies

The identifier QX was introduced on September 16, 1975.

Customs and export customs plates

Customs plate

Foreign vehicles that were temporarily used in the GDR had to have their own GDR license plate from October 1, 1966 during this time. The other license plate had to be unscrewed.

The license plates had two numbers separated by a line, the first one with one and the second with four digits. The first number referred to the responsible customs district. Signs with the 9 as the first number were only issued from 1967 or 1968.

number	Customs district	for the districts
1	Berlin (East)	Berlin (East)
2	Rostock	Rostock and Schwerin
3	Magdeburg	Magdeburg
4th	Potsdam	Potsdam and Neubrandenburg
5	Erfurt	Erfurt, Gera and Suhl
6th	Frankfurt (Oder)	Frankfurt (Oder) and Cottbus
7th	Dresden	Dresden and Karl-Marx-Stadt (Chemnitz)
8th	Leipzig	Leipzig and Halle (Saale)

The number 9 was intended for transit between Berlin (West) and the Federal Republic of Germany.

Export customs plate

Export customs plates existed from June 1, 1976.

The export license plates for vehicles of the diplomatic series CC, CD and CY were white with red letters. On it were four digits followed by the letter C .

The export license plate for vehicles of the special series QA, QB, QC, QD and QX were white with green letters. On it were four digits followed by the letter Q .

Antique car

There were old-timer license plates from 1968. They could only be applied for at the General German Motorsport Association of the GDR (ADMV). The basic color of the small signs was black with a white border and white writing. The ADMV logo was in the middle. GDR was written below . At the top was a four-digit number or - if more than 999 signs were required, a number-letter combination according to type 9X99. The first digit indicated the vehicle class:

• 1: Motorcycles up to 05 HP, built until 1930
• 2: Motorcycles up to 12 hp, built until 1930
• 3: Motorcycles over 12 hp, built until 1930
• 4: Motor vehicles up to 20 hp, built until 1930
• 5: Motor vehicles over 20 hp, built up to 1930
• 6: Commercial vehicles
• 7: Motorcycles built between 1931 and 1960
• 8: Motor vehicles built between 1931 and 1960

literature

• Andreas Herzfeld: The history of the German license plates, 4th edition , German society for flag customer e. V. 2010, ISBN 978-3-935131-11-7 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Press report 2002. (PDF; 615 kB) Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt , December 7, 2001, p. 17 , accessed on March 8, 2015 . 
2. ↑ Codes of the countries of origin from Andreas Herzfeld

Web links

Commons : Images for license plates of the GDR  - collection of images

• Pages on license plate history in Germany by Andreas Herzfeld