What′s that Car? Licence Plates in Austria
Licence plates on cars in Austria generally consist of an abbreviation of the district where they are registered (one letter for provincial capitals, two letters for others), the coat of arms of the province where they are registered and a combination of numbers and letters (assigned) or letters and numbers (created according to the car owner′s wishes for a fee, paid at the district′s administration). A typical plate in Austria would look like this:
"XY (district), coat of arms (province), 123 AB".
Exceptions to these rules are special plates for certain vehicles - such as some that belong to the army, diplomats and international organisations or the federal police. Therefore, the most telling part about the owner of the vehicle are the first two letters.
In the following, you find a list with the abbreviations of all codes by province that are currently available, as well as the abbreviations of the special licence plates. Note that sometimes you might bump into ancient cars with black plates - to these, the current system does not apply.
Burgenland
E - Eisenstadt
EU - Eisenstadt
ND - Neusiedl am See
MA - Mattersburg
OP - Oberpullendorf
OW - Oberwart
GS - Güssing
JE - Jennersdorf
See also: "Districts & Communities of the Burgenland"
Carinthia (Kärnten)
K - Klagenfurt
VI - Villach
VL - Villach
WO - Wolfsberg
SP - Spittal an der Drau
FE - Feldkirchen
HE - Hermagor
SV - St. Veit an der Glan
KL - Klagenfurt
VK - Völkermarkt
See also: "Districts & Communities of Carinthia"
Lower Austria (Niederösterreich)
P - St. Pölten
AM - Amstetten
BN - Baden
BL - Bruck an der Leitha
GF - Gänserndorf
GD - Gmünd
HL - Hollabrunn
HO - Horn
KO - Korneuburg
KR - Krems an der Donau
LF - Lilienfeld
ME - Melk
MI - Mistelbach
MD - Mödling
NK - Neunkirchen
PL - St. Pölten
SB - Scheibbs
TU - Tulln
WT - Waidhofen an der Thaya
WB - Wiener Neustadt
WU - Wien-Umgebung
ZT - Zwettl
WN - Bundes-Poldion Wr. Neustadt
KS - Krems an der Donau
WY - Waidhofen an der Ybbs
SW - Schwechat
See also: "Districts & Communities of Lower Austria"
Salzburg
S - Salzburg
SL - Salzburg-Umgebung
HA - Hallein
JO - St. Johann
ZE - Zell am See
TA - Tamsweg
See also: "Districts & Communities of Salzburg"
Styria (Steiermark)
G - Graz
GU - Graz-Umgebung
BM - Bruck an der Mur
DL - Deutschlandsberg
FB - Feldbach
FF - Fürstenfeld
HB - Hartberg
JU - Judenburg
KF - Knittelfeld
LB - Leibnitz
LN - Leoben
LI - Liezen
MU - Murau
MZ - Mürzzuschlag
RA - Radkersburg
VO - Voitsberg
WZ - Weiz
GB - Gröbming
BA - Bad Aussee
LE - Leoben
See also: "Districts & Communities of Styria"
Tyrol (Tirol)
I - Innsbruck
IL - Innsbruck
IM - Imst
KB - Kitzbühel
KU - Kufstein
LA - Landeck
RE - Reutte
SZ - Schwaz
LZ - Lienz
See also: "Districts & Communities of Tyrol"
Upper Austria (Oberösterreich)
L - Linz
BR - Braunau am Inn
EF - Eferding
FR - Freistadt
GM - Gmunden
GR - Grieskirchen
KI - Kirchdorf an der Krems
LL - Linz-Land
PE - Perg
RI - Ried im Innkreis
RO - Rohrbach im Mühlkreis
SD - Schärding
SE - Steyr-Land
UU - Urfahr-Umgebung
VB - Vöcklabruck
WL - Wels Land
SR - Steyr
WE - Wels
See also: "Districts & Communities of Upper Austria"
Vienna (Wien)
W - Wien
See also: "Districts of Vienna"
Vorarlberg
B - Bregenz
FK - Feldkirch
BZ - Bludenz
DO - Dornbirn
See also: "Districts & Communities of Vorarlberg"
Special Plates
A - "Austria" - President or members of the federal government
BB - "Bundesbahnen" - National Railways
BD - Busses of the National Railways or Postal Service
BG - "Bundesgendarmerie" - Police; outdated
BH - "Bundesheer" - Military
BP - "Bundespolizei" - Police
JW - "Justizwache" - Prison Guards and Jurisdiction
PT - "Post- und Telegrafenverwaltung" - National postal and telecommunication service
WD - "Wiener Diplomat" - diplomats and international organisations
ZW - "Zollwache" - Customs Offices
back to "background"
Further Reading
Politics & Administration of Austria
Wikipedia on Politics in Austria
Austrian Motorist Club (conservative)
Austrian Motorist Club (social democrats)
