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 A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It includes not just major roads, but also other public roads and rights of way. In the United States, it is also used as an equivalent term to controlled-access highway, or ...

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. In some countries, such as the UK, the paper document has been replaced by an electronic record.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. ...

, 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 located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, the owner annually used to get a sticker to place on the registration plate, 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 Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

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 U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, 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 purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

, 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 called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

. 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 country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, 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 (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

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. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

and

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

also do not require a sticker to be displayed.

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

ceased issuing registration stickers for light vehicles on 1 January 2013; Victoria ceased on 1 January 2014;

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

and the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory until 1938, is an internal States and territories of Australia, territory of Australia. Canberra, the capital city of Australia, is situated within the territory, an ...

ceased on 1 July 2014; and

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

ceased on 1 October 2014.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, vehicle excise duty 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 The windshield (American English and Canadian English) or windscreen (Commonwealth English) of an aircraft, car, bus, motorbike, truck, train, boat or streetcar is the front window, which provides visibility while protecting occupants from t ...

, 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 ...

(ANPR) system. ''

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

'' 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 Standard Inspection Procedure, procedure mandated by national or subnational governments in many countries, in which a vehicle is inspected to ensure that it conforms to regulations governing Car safety, safety, Automobi ...

(''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''; ) is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited isl ...

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 (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, 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 language, Irish: ''An tSeirbhís Náisiúnta Tástála Carranna''; abbreviated NCT) is a vehicle inspection, roadworthiness test, which all cars in Republic of Ireland, Ireland must undergo. Following a tender proces ...

service to show roadworthiness.

Malta

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

, 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, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

, a ''revenue licence'' must be displayed on the vehicle, and is evidence that the necessary vehicle excise duty has been paid for the specific

vehicle A vehicle () is a machine designed for self-propulsion, usually to transport people, cargo, or both. The term "vehicle" typically refers to land vehicles such as human-powered land vehicle, human-powered vehicles (e.g. bicycles, tricycles, velo ...

. 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