Before the main inspection, the question arises, and at the latest, during a traffic stop, many become frantic: Where is the vehicle registration document? In the wallet, in the glove compartment, behind the sunvisor? In your daughter’s handbag? Or at home in the drawer? For the original, there is still a legal requirement to carry it as a legally relevant document; even simple forgetting is punishable.

The document, officially designated as “Zulassungsbescheinigung Teil I” (Vehicle Registration Certificate Part I), is, in a sense, the ID card of the vehicle, serves as proof of ownership when on the road, and contains important technical information, such as the weight, but also subsequent permitted deviations, such as retrofitted rims that do not match the original equipment. The former is relevant for driving on certain roads, the latter for using the vehicle itself.

Currently still valid nationwide

To spare drivers the “often tedious search for the document,” as the Ministry of Transport states, it can now be carried as a duplicate in an application on the smartphone. Minister of Transport Patrick Schnieder (CDU), Digital Minister Karsten Wildberger (CDU), and President of the Federal Motor Transport Authority (Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt), Richard Damm, today launched the i-Kfz app, as had been decided by the traffic light coalition at the beginning of 2025. The vehicle registration document no longer needs to be carried in paper form in Germany if it can be presented via i-Kfz. For trips abroad, the paper vehicle registration document must still be carried for now, but a European solution is already in the works. The Federal Motor Transport Authority and the Federal Printing Office (Bundesdruckerei) developed the app on behalf of the Ministry of Transport.

The certificate can be shared almost arbitrarily

Beyond simplified carrying, the app offers multiple additional benefits: A digitally verified copy of the certificate can be provided to all people authorized by the initial private owner, eliminating the need to hand over the physical document. From the beginning of 2026, legal entities, such as fleet operators, will also be able to do this.

You can set a time period and choose between two types of sharing. For on-site sharing, the app generates a QR code that the other person must scan with their app to download the copy of the vehicle registration document. For online sharing, the app creates a link to share with the other person. Shared copies become invalid at the latest when the owner deletes their copy, for example, when selling a vehicle. Users of i-Kfz are also automatically reminded of main inspection appointments and other vehicle-relevant events.

As part of the intended digitalization of public authority services, the inclusion of the driving license is also under development. Its digital version is expected to be transferable to an application by the end of 2026. The Ministry of Transport states: “Both documents (vehicle registration certificate and driving license) are to be available in one app in the future.”

I-Kfz is available free of charge via the Play Store or the App Store, depending on the platform. However, it can only be used with the eID function on the ID card.

(fpi)

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This article was originally published in German. It was translated with technical assistance and editorially reviewed before publication.