it indicates for how long the vehicle insurance and tax are paid. After this date, the vehicle must have left Germany, and is automatically deregistered from the German vehicle registration system. Use of the vehicle within Germany is permitted until the export date. History German Empire and Weimar Republic The first German licence plates that had a lettering plan were issued from 1906 onwards. The various states and realms which made up the German Empire used different prefixes, such as Roman numerals ( representing Prussia, Bavaria, Württemberg, etc.) or plain letters ( for Hansestadt Hamburg, e.g.). Larger states added further identifiers for their provinces or regions. Saxony did not use any statewide numeral and only used Roman numerals for its provinces. During World War I the German Army was assigned the combination MK for , military vehicle of the German Army. After the war, during the Weimar Republic, the German Army used RW for . Other than this, there were no significant changes after the overthrow of the German monarchy. Third Reich era During the Nazi regime (1933–1945), the system of licence plates was basically continued. New combinations were issued for nationwide institutions or organisations, such as DR (Deutsche Reichsbahn) for the railway authority, WH , WL , WM and WT for the military, or POL for the police. While the Nazi state expanded and waged war, their bureaucrats applied their systems, including licence plates, to occupied countries or territories. Thus, plates of similar style were introduced in Austria, on Czech and Polish territory, in Alsace and Lorraine, and beyond. Postwar Germany After 1945, however, the victorious allied forces abolished the system of German licence plates and instead assigned new lettering combinations in their respective occupation zones. Although each nation implemented their own ideas initially, a system for all four zones was introduced by 1949. At first, the different zones were distinguishable by the first letter prefix A, B, F or S standing for the American, British, French or Soviet occupation zone, respectively. A second letter below indicated the area or country in question, such as stood for American zone/Bavaria. This area code was followed by a two-digit number signifying the district and another number counting within that area. Often the numbers would become scarce after some years and another zone prefix without the first letter was introduced additionally. The city of Berlin had a special status and, consequentially, special