A vehicle licence (also called a

vehicle registration certificate A vehicle registration certificate is an official document providing proof of registration of a vehicle. It is used primarily by governments as a means of ensuring that all road vehicles are on the national vehicle register, but is also used as ...

in some jurisdictions) is issued by a motor registration authority in a jurisdiction in respect of a particular motor vehicle. A current licence is required for a motor vehicle to be legally permitted to be used or kept on a public road in the jurisdiction. Usually a licence is valid for one year and an annual licence fee is payable before a new one is issued. A vehicle licence may be a paper document to be kept in the vehicle at all times. This may be in the form of an adhesive sticker to be affixed or displayed on the windshield of the vehicle or on the

registration plate A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate (British English), license plate (American English), or licence plate (Canadian English), is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identificatio ...

. In some countries, such as the UK, the paper document has been replaced by an electronic record. Authorities can confirm a valid licence via a computer check on the vehicles number plate. The rules of vehicle licensing are in addition to those of

vehicle registration Motor vehicle registration is the registration of a motor vehicle with a government authority, either compulsory or otherwise. The purpose of motor vehicle registration is to establish a link between a vehicle and an owner or user of the vehicle. Th ...

, roadworthiness certification and insurance and other requirements. Many jurisdictions have ceased issuing or requiring display of registration certificates and have instead adopted number plate recognition systems.

General

In some countries, such as

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

, the owner annually used to get a sticker to place on the

, if the vehicle is permitted for driving.

United States and Canada

In the United States and Canada, an annual or biennial sticker is usually applied to the plate, with a few exceptions. For example, the

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle (Washington, D.C.), Logan Circle, Jefferson Memoria ...

and a few U.S. states use windscreen stickers, and some U.S. and Canadian jurisdictions issue permanent fleet licence plates. Also, some U.S. states, such as

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

, require that a motorist obtain a vehicle licence from the city,

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

, or town government in addition to registering the vehicle with the appropriate agency of the state government, or, in some cases, the

federal government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-gover ...

. Some of these jurisdictions have done away with the sticker, leaving registration status available only from a centralized database which authorities reference (by hand, or via automated number plate recognition).

Australia

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, historically a current registration sticker was required to be displayed on the windscreen of all vehicles, but all states and territories have now ceased issuing such stickers for light vehicles and adopted number plate recognition systems.

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to t ...

has not required the display of a sticker since January 2010 and

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest o ...

and

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

also do not require a sticker to be displayed.

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

ceased issuing registration stickers for light vehicles on 1 January 2013;

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

ceased on 1 January 2014;

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...

and the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding township#Aust ...

ceased on 1 July 2014; and

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

ceased on 1 October 2014.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom,

vehicle excise duty Vehicle Excise Duty (VED; also known as "vehicle tax", "car tax", and more controversially as " road tax", and formerly as a "tax disc") is an annual tax that is levied as an excise duty and which must be paid for most types of powered vehicles whi ...

was introduced in 1888, and between 1920 and 1 October 2014 the vehicle licence, colloquially known as a "tax disc", came in the form of a paper disc 75 millimetres (3 inches) in diameter to be displayed on the inside of a vehicle's front windscreen, and was evidence that the necessary vehicle excise duty had been paid for the vehicle. From 1 October 2014 the physical paper ''disc'' was no longer issued, with enforcement of the taxation now being done through the

automatic number plate recognition Automatic number-plate recognition (ANPR; see also other names below) is a technology that uses optical character recognition on images to read vehicle registration plates to create vehicle location data. It can use existing closed-circuit tel ...

(ANPR) system. ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'' reported in November 2017 that road tax evasion had tripled as a result of tax discs no longer being produced.

Germany

In Germany, a driver is required to carry a vehicle licence (called the "Fahrzeugschein") containing vehicle owner data, technical specifications and car modifications. Additionally, each car has two registration plate stickers, one to confirm the car has been properly registered, and one to indicate it has passed its

vehicle inspection Vehicle inspection is a procedure mandated by national or subnational governments in many countries, in which a vehicle is inspected to ensure that it conforms to regulations governing safety, emissions, or both. Inspection can be required at va ...

(''Hauptuntersuchung'' or ''HU'') and the date by which the next inspection is due. While the vehicle licence and the registration sticker are permanent, the vehicle inspection sticker is renewed after each inspection.

Guernsey

Guernsey Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...

road tax and the display of a tax disc was abolished in 2008 when fuel tax was increased by 14p per litre. Vehicles now display an insurance certificate.

Ireland

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

, a tax disc must also be displayed, which is of the same format as that in the UK. However, in addition, a square insurance "disc" must also be displayed to show that the vehicle has the legally required third party insurance. Private cars over 4 years old require a similar format "disc" from the

National Car Test The National Car Test (Irish: ''An tSeirbhís Náisiúnta Tástála Carranna''; abbreviated NCT) is a roadworthiness test, which all cars in Ireland must undergo. Following a tender process, the Road Safety Authority awarded the National Car Te ...

service to show roadworthiness.

Malta

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

, tax discs are very similar in appearance to their UK counterparts, and are also required to be visible on the left-hand side of the windscreen. The disc proves that the vehicle has valid insurance, and that it has passed its Vehicle Roadworthiness Test (VRT).

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, a ''revenue licence'' must be displayed on the vehicle, and is evidence that the necessary

has been paid for the specific

vehicle A vehicle (from la, vehiculum) is a machine that transports people or cargo. Vehicles include wagons, bicycles, motor vehicles (motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, mobility scooters for disabled people), railed vehicles (trains, trams), ...

. It is normally placed on the left side of the windscreen if it is a four-wheeled vehicle. A revenue licence is issued for a period of one year and must be renewed annually, during which an emissions test must be performed.

References

{{reflist
Car tax rules
UK government webpage

External links

Tax your vehicle
from GOV.UK government website Licenses Vehicle taxes