Vehicles in Vienna — The Attaché Desk

For information only. This guide is an editorial orientation resource. It does not constitute legal, tax, or administrative advice, and does not recommend or encourage any specific course of action. Regulations, procedures and entitlements change; always verify current requirements with your mission or organisation, the relevant Austrian authorities, and qualified advisers before taking any decision.

Overview

Austria’s diplomatic vehicle registration system is administered jointly by the BMEIA Protocol Department and the Vienna municipal vehicle authority. The plates, the exemptions, and the deregistration procedure all have specific features that differ from France, Switzerland and Belgium. The most common points of confusion involve the two-year holding period before VAT-free resale, and the requirement to deregister in person at the Vienna transport department rather than by mail or agent. Both are set out below.

Do you need a car in Vienna?

Vienna has an excellent public transport network. The U-Bahn (metro), trams (Straßenbahn) and buses cover virtually the entire city efficiently. For postings in the central districts and near the main institutional cluster of the 1st to 9th districts, a car is often more hindrance than asset. Parking is zone-regulated and paid across most residential and central areas.

The case for a car strengthens for families based in the outer districts (13th, 18th, 19th) or near the UN campus in the 22nd, for families with children at schools that require driving, and for staff whose work involves regular travel beyond Vienna to other Austrian cities or to neighbouring countries.

Plate format

Austrian diplomatic plates have a white background with black lettering, in the European format. For vehicles registered in Vienna, the format is:

W D – [5 digits]

Where “W” indicates Vienna (Wien) as the province of registration, “D” stands for diplomatic corps (Diplomat), and the five digits encode the sending country or organisation: the first two numerals identify the embassy or organisation (for example, the IAEA, OSCE and CTBTO each have their own code), and the remaining digits distinguish individual vehicles. The plates are sometimes referred to as “WD plates.”

This format differs visually from French CD plates (green background, orange/white lettering) and Swiss CD plates (blue or green background).

The registration procedure

The process involves two bodies acting in sequence.

1. BMEIA Protocol Department confirms and stamps the application. The BMEIA verifies that the applicant holds the relevant diplomatic identity card and that the request is within the applicable entitlement for that accreditation category.

2. MA46 (Magistratsabteilung 46, Landesfahrzeugprüfstelle), Vienna, 7. Haidequerstraße 5, is the municipal authority that issues the registration and the plates. An appointment at MA46 is required and must be booked online. Allow several weeks for the appointment slot to become available. This is a known constraint in the system and not a sign that the application is in difficulty.

Your mission or organisation’s administrative office will initiate the process and advise on the documents required. Commonly requested documents include: the diplomatic identity card, the vehicle purchase invoice, the certificate of conformity, and proof of Austrian liability insurance.

VAT exemption and the two-year rule

Diplomatically-accredited staff in Austria are entitled to purchase a vehicle free of VAT and of the Austrian Normverbrauchsabgabe (NoVA), the standard vehicle consumption tax. This exemption applies at the point of purchase from an Austrian dealer; it does not apply retroactively to a vehicle purchased before arrival.

The exemption carries a holding condition: the vehicle must be held for two years before it can be sold in Austria without the deferred VAT and NoVA becoming payable. If you leave Austria before the two-year period has elapsed, the BMEIA can issue an exception, allowing early sale without VAT on a case-by-case basis. This exception is routinely granted on end of mission; confirm the procedure with your administrative office when your departure becomes known.

If the two-year period has elapsed, or an exception has been obtained, the vehicle can be sold free of VAT. If neither condition is met and the vehicle is sold regardless, VAT and NoVA become payable on the current value of the vehicle.

Deregistration at end of mission

Deregistration of WD plates is handled exclusively at the Vienna Transport Department (Magistratsabteilung 46). It cannot be done by post and, in practice, cannot be reliably handled through an agent due to the risk of documentation being lost or delayed. Do the deregistration in person.

Two practical consequences follow:

Insurance cancels on the day of deregistration. The vehicle is uninsured from that day. If the vehicle is to be driven after deregistration (for example for export or hand-over to a buyer), arrange interim insurance cover in advance.
Deregister before you leave Vienna, not after. Attempting to coordinate a deregistration from abroad creates the complications that the administrative guidance explicitly warns against.

Common points of confusion

The appointment at MA46 can take several weeks. Build this lead time into your planning, especially if you have a specific registration date target (for example, tied to the start of a school term or the arrival of a vehicle from abroad).
The BMEIA must stamp the application before MA46 will process it. The two steps cannot be done in parallel; confirm the sequence with your mission’s administrative office.
A vehicle sold to another diplomat is not subject to VAT, even within the two-year period, provided the buyer holds the same exemption entitlement. This is a common route for vehicles being transferred between posting families.

Official sources

Last reviewed 1 July 2026.