Track licence plate history and change a plate
This article explains how the Fahrzeugakte (vehicle file) keeps a complete licence-plate timeline and how to record a plate change, including seasonal and interchangeable plates. Each change closes the old plate interval and opens a new one, so you always know which plate a vehicle carried on any given date.
How the plate timeline works
The Licence plates tab shows every plate the vehicle has carried, newest first, with the period each was valid (From / To), its type, and who changed it. Recording a change does three things automatically:
- Closes the currently open interval by setting its valid-to date to the effective date.
- Opens a new open-ended interval for the new plate.
- Updates the vehicle's current licence plate to the new value.
If the vehicle has no plate history yet, the system seeds a first entry from the vehicle's existing plate (starting from its creation date) so the timeline stays complete.
Change a plate
Recording a plate change requires the Vehicles.Manage permission (FleetManager, SystemAdmin, or a custom role granted it). Viewing the history only needs Vehicles.View.
- Open the vehicle and select the Licence plates tab.
- Choose Change plate.
- Enter the new licence plate.
- Set the Effective date. If you leave it blank, today's date is used. This is the date the old interval closes and the new one begins.
- Optionally record the Odometer reading at the time of change and any Notes.
- Save. Your user account is recorded automatically as the person who made the change.
Plate types
| Type | When to use it | Extra fields |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | An ordinary plate (the default) | None |
| Seasonal | A Saisonkennzeichen valid only part of the year | Season start month and season end month |
| Interchangeable | A Wechselkennzeichen shared with another vehicle | Partner vehicle ID (the other vehicle sharing the plate) |
Tip: For a seasonal plate, enter the start and end months (for example 4 and 10 for April to October). For an interchangeable plate, enter the ID of the partner vehicle so both records reference the same shared plate.
Correct a mistaken entry
If you added a plate-history entry in error, you can delete that single entry from the Licence plates tab. Deleting an entry only removes that row from the timeline; it does not change the vehicle's current plate.
Warning: To move a plate onto a different vehicle, do not delete history and retype it. Use the plate takeover feature instead, which updates both vehicles' timelines atomically. See the related article.
Related
- Transfer a licence plate between vehicles
- Register a vehicle and enter its registration data
- Plan a vehicle replacement
- Export the Fahrzeugakte as a PDF
