# Germany license plate: Military bundeswehr

> The Germany military bundeswehr license plate: format Y-999999, for example Y-938403, 1956 to today, car, van, truck, bus, motorcycle, and trailer.

Page: https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/germany/military-bundeswehr · Markdown version of the HTML page, which is canonical. Site map: https://vehiclesdb.com/llms.txt · Terms of use: https://vehiclesdb.com/legal/terms

Part of [Germany license plates](https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/germany) (13 registration series).

![Germany license plate, Military bundeswehr (1956 to today)](https://vehiclesdb.com/plates/de/de-military-bundeswehr/germany-license-plate-military-bundeswehr.svg)

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Format | `Y-999999` (9 any digit) |
| Years | 1956 → today |
| Class | military |
| Issued for | car, van, truck, bus, motorcycle, trailer |
| Plate size | 520 × 110 mm |
| Colours | background #FFFFFF; characters #000000 |
| Checking a registration | The format above follows the issuing rules: a registration that fits it is one this series could have issued. |
| Series id | `de-military-bundeswehr` (https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plates/germany/military-bundeswehr) |

Y means the Bundeswehr precisely because it means nothing else: when the army needed a code in the 1950s, X and Y were the letters no German district would ever claim. Y took the troops, X later went to NATO's headquarters — one letter each, no geography at all.

Sources:

- [Anlage 2 Nr. 1: 'Y Dienstfahrzeuge der Bundeswehr (Zentrale Militärkraftfahrtstelle – ZMK, Hardter Straße 9, 41179 Mönchengladbach/Rheindahlen)' and 'X Dienstfahrzeuge der auf Grund des Nordatlantikvertrages errichteten internationalen militärischen Hauptquartiere'](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/fzv_2023/anlage_2.html)
- [Anlage 4 Abschnitt 3: Bundeswehr plate forms (Leichtkrafträder/Kleinkrafträder, other Krafträder, other vehicles single- and two-line) plus RAL 9005/9001, the Bundesfarben, the digit-1 spacing rule and the last-three-digits group gap](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/fzv_2023/anlage_4.html)
- [§ 12 Abs. 2 last sentence: Bundeswehr and NATO-HQ plates are exempt from DIN 74069 and the DIN test mark](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/fzv_2023/__12.html)
- [V. vom 14.3.1956, BGBl. I S. 199 — Anlage IV A: 'Y Dienstfahrzeuge der deutschen Streitkräfte (Auskunft: Bundesministerium für Verteidigung)'; § 23 Abs. 2: digits only, 'bei Fahrzeugen der deutschen Streitkräfte sechs' Stellen — the six-digit military allowance is 1956-original. In force 1.7.1956. PERIOD START (for Y).](https://media.offenegesetze.de/bgbl1/1956/bgbl1_1956_15.pdf)
- [FZV vom 25.4.2006 — Anlage 3: 'X Dienstfahrzeuge der auf Grund des Nordatlantikvertrages errichteten internationalen militärischen Hauptquartiere, die ihren regelmäßigen Standort im Inland haben' — X's earliest secured appearance; in force 1.3.2007.](https://media.offenegesetze.de/bgbl1/2006/bgbl1_2006_21.pdf)

## About this plate

BUNDESWEHR (Y) AND NATO HEADQUARTERS (X). Y IS 1956-ORIGINAL, Anlage IV A of the 14.3.1956 instrument, verbatim in the source line, together with the military six-digit allowance that today applies to all Anlage 2 vehicles. Y is famously a single letter serving the entire armed forces, which is why it looks like a district code and is not one.

## Use it

- Plate image (SVG): https://vehiclesdb.com/plates/de/de-military-bundeswehr.svg
- Make it with your own text: https://vehiclesdb.com/license-plate-generator/germany?series=de-military-bundeswehr
- API: `GET https://vehiclesdb.com/api/v1/plates/de` returns this series as the entry with `"id": "de-military-bundeswehr"` (https://vehiclesdb.com/api)

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