Austrian car number plates are license plates found on Austrian cars.

Appearance

The license plates are made of metal, on the left there is a blue bar like in other EU countries; the text is in black letters on white ground. On cars two plates have to be present.

Numbering system

The text format on the plates is "xx state number letters" or "xx state letters number";

• xx - one or two letters denoting main residence of car holder. State capitals have one letter, all other districts have two letters.
• state - insigina depicting the state the district is in; diplomatic cars have a dash (–)
• number/letters - incrementing

there are several numbering schemes:

• Normal numbering starts with "1 AAA", proceeds with "2 AAA" etc.; after "9 AAA" the letters roll over to "1 BAA".
• Plates registered by car insurance companies normally start with <3 digit number> <2 lettter> (eg 456 AB)
• Cars in Vienna spot up to 5 digit numbers + 2 letters (eg 12345 AB)
  • moreover the letters are standardized for special types of cars:
    • BE - Bestattung (funeral services)
    • TX - Taxi (cabs)
• Army, diplomats, police etc. just have a number (starting with 1, incrementing)

Custom plates

For a fee it is possible to customize license plates; the format on those is "xx state custom_letters custom_number". These plates can easily be distinguished from standard plates because here the letters come before the number.

Location prefixes (incomplete list)

• State capitals
  • W - Vienna
  • S - Salzburg
  • P - St. Pölten
  • E - Eisenstadt
  • G - Graz
  • I - Innsbruck
  • L - Linz
  • K - Klagenfurt
  • B - Bregenz

• Municipalities
  • AM - Amstetten
  • BA - Bad Aussee
  • BM - Bruck an der Mur
  • BN - Baden bei Wien
  • EU - Eisenstadt-Umgebung
  • GM - Gmunden
  • GU - Graz-Umgebung
  • JU - Judenburg
  • LI - Liezen
  • LL - Linz-Land
  • MD - Mödling
  • SP - Spittal an der Drau
  • SL - Salzburg-Land
  • TU - Tulln
  • WU - Wien-Umgebung
  • WU - Weiz

• Other
  • WD - Diplomats
  • BG - Gendarmerie (local police)
  • BP - Bundespolizei (state police)
  • BH - Bundesheer (army)
  • PT - Mail carriers