Registration number
Last update
Summary:
To be driven on public roads in Luxembourg, any vehicle subject to registration must be fitted with number plates. To obtain these number plates, you must first apply for a registration number.
Target audience: any person or business wishing to register a vehicle.
Costs: the fee for reserving a registration number can range from EUR 0 to 200.
Vehicles that are subject to registration must be fitted with number plates before they can be driven on the public highway.
To obtain these plates, you must first apply for a registration number.
Under the Luxembourg system, there are 2 types of registration number:
- numbers from the current series;
- personalised numbers.
Your personalised registration number will remain registered in your name, as the vehicle owner, for a period of one year following any temporary de-registration of your vehicle.
Who is concerned
Any person or business wishing to register a vehicle in their own name.
Any professional in the automotive sector, i.e.:
- businesses trading in road vehicles;
- car rental companies;
- vehicle registration service providers;
- transport companies.
Vehicles concerned
You must apply for a registration number when you register a vehicle that falls into one of the following categories:
- cars;
- vans;
- tricycles;
- quadricycles;
- light quadricycles;
- trailers;
- caravans;
- mobile homes;
- mobile machinery which, by design, does not exceed a speed of 6 km/h and weighs more than 600 kg;
- buses and coaches;
- lorries;
- tractor units and articulated lorries;
- motor-homes and camping-cars;
- mopeds.
Prerequisites
Required registration
You must first apply for a new registration number before putting the vehicle on the road in the following cases:
- registration of a new vehicle;
- purchase/registration of a vehicle registered in another country;
- purchase of a vehicle already registered in Luxembourg under a personalised registration number belonging to the former owner;
- purchase of a vehicle registered under a number with the old format (2 letters and 3 digits or 1 letter and 4 digits);
- re-registration of a vehicle.
Costs
Reserving a registration number:
- from the current series is free;
- that is personalised is subject to the payment of an EUR 200 fee.
If you wish to reuse a personalised registration number that you already own, you will need to pay an EUR 24 fee.
If your number plates have been stolen, you can apply for a free replacement registration certificate in case of a change of registration number, provided you submit a report of the theft.
You will, however, need to cover the cost of purchasing new number plates.
How to proceed
Application for a registration number by a professional in the automotive sector
If you are a professional in the automotive sector, you must apply for a standard number or a personalised number using the 'application for the allocation of a registration number' PDF form (Demande d’attribution d’un numéro d’immatriculation), which should be completed and returned by email to nplaques@snca.lu.
You must complete this application using the details of the person in whose name the vehicle is to be registered.
Application for a registration number by any other person or business that is not a professional in the automotive sector
You must file your application for a personalised registration number or a registration number from the current series:
- via the MyGuichet.lu online procedure or the MyGuichet.lu mobile app, using LuxTrust authentication; or
- using the 'Demande d’attribution d’un numéro d’immatriculation' PDF form, which must be completed and returned by email to nplaques@snca.lu.
Registration number from the current series
The registration number assigned to you is the first number available in the current series.
Numbers in the current series are composed as follows:
- 2 letters and 2 digits for mopeds or light quadricycles; or
- 2 letters and 4 digits for all other vehicles.
Personalised registration number
There are 4 distinct series of personalised registration numbers:
- 2 letters and 2 digits for mopeds or light quadricycles;
- for all other vehicles:
- a 5-digit number; or
- 2 letters and 4 digits; or
- a 4-digit number.
The MyGuichet.lu assistants allow you to check availability.
Re-using a personalised registration number on another vehicle
You can keep your personalised number plate and transfer it to another vehicle, provided you temporarily de-register your current vehicle.
The number remains assigned to you for 12 months after the vehicle was de-registered.
At the end of this period and if no vehicle has not been registered:
- the number is no longer assigned to you; and
- is available again for other registration requests.
Number plates for vintage vehicles and other number plate formats
The appearance of number plates (French, Pdf, 153 Kb) may vary, depending on the date of initial entry into service of the vehicle.
If it is technically impossible to mount a European-format number plate on a vehicle, you may use a plate with a different format.
In such cases, you can apply to the SNCA to find out the specific conditions:
- by email; and
- with photographic evidence.
Manufacturing the number plate
Once you have reserved a registration number, you will receive the ministerial authorisation for the allocation of that number by post.
Once the registration number has been assigned, you must contact an accredited number plate manufacturer in Luxembourg to have the plate made.
If a number plate is damaged or deteriorated, it is recommended that it be replaced.
Transferring a personalised registration number
You are not permitted to transfer your personalised number to another person.
In the event of the death of the holder of a personalised number plate, it is possible to retain it on the inherited vehicle provided that the vehicle is registered in the name of:
- the heir; or
- the parent; or
- a first-degree relative of the deceased.
Theft of a number plate
As the registered holder, owner or keeper of a vehicle, you must report the theft of number plates to the police. They will then draw up a declaration of theft or a complaint report, which you will need for the next procedures.
You must then apply for a new registration number as soon as possible to replace the current one.
It is prohibited to drive a vehicle without a number plate.
To change the number on the certificate, you must send or bring the following documents to the National Society of Automotive Traffic (SNCA):
- the completed and signed application for a registration certificate (see 'Online services and forms');
- a valid insurance certificate, established by an insurance company accredited in Luxembourg and bearing the new registration number;
- the declaration of theft established by the police;
- parts 1 and 2 (grey and yellow respectively) of the old registration certificate;
- a valid roadworthiness inspection certificate, if the vehicle is covered by one;
- a copy of the identity document of the holder, owner or keeper of the vehicle.
The person submitting the registration documents to the SNCA must bring their identity card.
If the documents are submitted by a third party, that person must have:
- a written power of attorney (see 'Online services and forms');
- all documents bearing the name of the vehicle’s registered holder, owner or keeper, and not that of the authorised representative.
The old number will be considered unassigned for 10 years from the presumed date of the theft. Nevertheless, it will still be reserved for the owner or keeper of the vehicle in question.
Online services and forms
Who to contact
National Society of Automotive Traffic (SNCA) Assignment of vehicle registration numbers
- Address:
- 11, route de Luxembourg L-5230 Sandweiler Luxembourg
- Phone:
- (+352) 26 62 64 00
- Email address:
- nplaques@snca.lu
Related procedures and links
Procedures
Links
Further information
Legal references
-
Directive 92/53/CEE du Conseil du 18 juin 1992
modifiant la directive 70/156/CEE concernant le rapprochement des législations des États membres relatives à la réception des véhicules à moteur et de leurs remorques
-
Council Regulation (EC) No 2411/98 of 3 November 1998
on the recognition in intra-Community traffic of the distinguishing sign of the Member State in which motor vehicles and their trailers are registered
-
Règlement grand-ducal modifié du 26 janvier 2016
relatif à la réception et l'immatriculation des véhicules routiers
-
Règlement ministériel du 5 mai 2014
déterminant l'état des plaques d'immatriculation, des plaques rouges et des signes distinctifs particuliers ainsi que les supports de ces plaques et signes
