of the lower month. This results in lower car taxes, as well as lower insurance premiums. Interchangeable plates: Two vehicles of the same class (two cars, two motorbikes or light vehicles, two trailers) may be registered with an alternating licence plate. In this case, only the last digit varies – e.g. B-KJ 414|5 and B-KJ 414|6 – and is printed on an extra plate which remains on either vehicle, whereas the main part of the plate has to be attached to the vehicle in use. The main part carries the registration seal and a small letter W for , the individual part carries the technical inspection seal and below, in very small letters, the associated main number. Both vehicles have to pay full tax, yet the insurance premium may be discounted. Temporary registrations: Used vehicles which are not currently registered to any person or company - or have been deregistered by their current owner, temporarily or permanently - can be driven on public roads using short-term plates, valid for five days only. These are known as “temporary number plates” or “yellow number plates” (due to the yellow strip). The first letter(s) indicate the issuing authority, as in regular German registrations. The numeric code starts with the numbers 04, e.g. DD-04321, and the plate has a yellow strip on the right showing when they are valid. The date is listed numerically, on three lines, reading day, month, year, with two digits each. The vehicle need not have a valid technical inspection, however it must be technically fit to be operated in public. Typically they are used to drive to/from a technical inspection, or to move storage location of the vehicle. Insurance premiums are quite high, appr. €100 for the above-mentioned 5 days. Most insurance companies credit this premium if the car is registered as a normal car with the same insurance company after these 5 days. These temporary plates are only valid within Germany, and cannot be used to export the vehicle to a foreign country nor for transit. They can only be obtained by a resident of Germany. Export plates are used for exporting vehicles abroad. The owner does not have to be a German resident to register the car, but must provide identification such as a passport or ID card. The date on the red strip on the right hand side shows the expiration date of the plate, as