Austria license plate (A) in 2026 ✅

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Current Austria License Plate System

Current Austria license plates, in use since 1990, use the standard European size of 520x110 mm. The format consists of one or two letters identifying the region, followed by the coat of arms of the district to which the region belongs, and a series of characters that must always contain at least one letter and one number, including on personalized license plates. Since November 1, 2002, only license plates with a Euroband on the left side have been issued. Vehicles with Austrian license plates without a Euroband did not have to be re-registered, although adding the Euroband is optional. The Euroband on the left displays Austria's international code, the letter A. This letter comes from the country's name in English, Austria, rather than the German name Österreich.

Both the top and bottom of current Austria license plates feature two red lines that closely resemble the Austrian national flag. In addition to the district coat of arms, the name of the district is displayed in text below it. Below you can find the types of standard Austria license plates (that is, non-special plates) used since the previous system.

Current Special Austria License Plates

Austria currently uses a number of special license plates. These special plates generally begin with letters that do not identify the region, or use a part or the entire plate in a color other than white. The first type of special license plate is one that begins with two letters identifying an official vehicle. Below you can find a table of the special Austria license plate types for official vehicles.

Depending on the region, special license plate series are reserved for certain special types of vehicles. For example, in Vienna, taxis have their own license plate series ending in the letters TX. Rental vehicles end in the letters MW... Personalized license plates are permitted and cost approximately €228. They begin with the regional code and coat of arms, and from 3 to 6 characters can be personalized, with at least one letter followed by a number (e.g. V2, AAAA1, BC5...). Since April 2017, electric vehicles have used license plates identical to the standard system but with green characters. License plates for other types of services on electric vehicles also use green characters.

Current Special Austria License Plate Types

Type	Image	Information Codes below
Motorcycle
Electric		Green characters
Personalized		W-Vienna
Taxi		W-xxxx-TX
Test		S-Salzburg
Vehicles registered by foreigners		G-Graz 15 indicates that it expires in 2015
Export license plate		GU-Graz-Umgebung These license plates are used temporarily until the vehicle receives its permanent license plate in the destination country
Bicycle carrier		RI-Ried im Innkreis
Moped		W-Vienna
Electric Moped		W-Vienna
Military		BH-Federal Army
Federal Bus Service 1990-1997		BD
Prison Service Justizwache		JW
Customs FV-Finanzverwaltung Since 2005, previously ZV		FW
Fire Service Since 2020 FW-Feuerwehr		FW
Postal Service From 1996 to 2020		PT

Austrian Diplomatic Corps License Plate

Austrian diplomatic corps license plates can be of four types. In the first group of two letters, the first indicates the city where the embassy, consulate or office is located, while the second letter may indicate D-Diplomatic or K-Consular. Embassies are located in Vienna (W), so the code WD is used. The first one or two digits identify the country to which the vehicle belongs, with Spain, for example, being 22 (See the complete list of codes below). Diplomatic vehicles may also carry the code CD or CC depending on the diplomatic rank.

Types of Austrian Diplomatic Corps License Plates

Letters	Organization	Image
WD	Diplomatic Corps View codes
WK	Consular Corps in Vienna View codes
SK	Official Consuls in Salzburg View codes
GK	Official Consuls in Styria View codes

Official License Plates for Presidents or Heads of State

For several years, Austria has used special official license plates when a president or head of state visits the country. These official license plates have a black background and display the flag of the country represented by the head of state or president in the center. The car will usually also carry national flags at the front.

All Regional Codes on Austria License Plates

If you need to know all the codes used on Austrian car license plates, they are listed below. The complete list contains 105 Austria license plate codes. It also includes codes that have stopped being issued in recent years on standard and special Austrian license plates. You can find all codes in alphabetical order in the following table.

Austrian License Plates with FF Code

The FF license plate code belonged to the municipality of Fürstenfeld in Styria, Austria. Although it was replaced by the HF code following an administrative merger in 2013, many residents would like to restore the historic FF code, which currently has no official representation on Austrian license plates.

Special License Plate Subtypes in Vienna

Both in the Vienna region (W) and in other states (Länder), there are several special license plate subtypes. Special Austria license plate subtypes, particularly in the capital Vienna, consist of one or more letters at the end of the plate identifying the type of plate. For example, in Vienna (W), taxi license plates end with the letters TX. However, this particular system also occurs in other regions (states or Länder) of Austria.

Letters	Region Land	Austria License Plate
BB	Österreichische Bundesbahne Austrian Federal Railways
BE	Municipal funeral vehicle
BH	District Commission
EW	Municipal electricity works
FW	Fire Service
GE	Communally owned vehicles
GT	Rental truck (>600 kg)
GW	Municipal gas works
KT, KP	Rental vehicle (<600 kg)
LA	Construction vehicles
LO	Public buses
LT	Rental taxi
LV	Local government
MA	Administration
MW	Rental
P	Temporary
R	Trailer
RD	Ambulance
S	Small motorcycle
TX	Taxi Since 2024 with a third variable letter in the first position
UE	Transferable
V	Motorcycle
VB	Municipal Traffic Authority
Z	Moped

Change to Vienna Taxi License Plates in 2024

In summer 2024, it was announced that new Vienna taxi license plates would use a new letter. This change consisted of adding a serial letter before the letters TX on the right side. In this way, taxis are always recognizable by having the letters TX on the right side of their license plates. These new license plates began with the ATX and BTX series. (See news.)

Previous System (1947-1989)

From 1947 to 1989, Austrian license plates had a white-on-black design. The format consisted of one or two letters identifying the region, followed by up to five digits. (See the complete list of codes). Army and navy vehicles began with the letters BH or W.

Old Austria License Plate Codes (1947-1989)

Within the old system, there were different types of license plates. For navy vehicles, the code used was W with numbers from 150,000 to 199,999. The army used the letters BH.

Austria Diplomatic Codes

Example of a car with the international recognition code of Austria

Below you can find a car with the oval code and international recognition of Austria which is A.