ÖAMTC calls for an end to high registration fees for drivers!

ÖAMTC calls for an end to high registration fees for drivers!

The ÖAMTC has urgently called for the registration fee for vehicles to be abolished instead of increasing it by almost 50 percent. Matthias Wolf, a lawyer at the ÖAMTC, describes the current regulation as outdated and criticizes the fact that vehicle owners have to appear in person at the registration office. The process could be significantly simplified by the availability of data in the central population register. This would not only reduce the administrative burden, but also reduce the financial hurdles for citizens when changing their place of residence.

According to Gailtal Journal, the ÖAMTC's criticism shows that more than half of the over 200 euros that are due during the registration process go to the official fee. At the same time, from the ÖAMTC's perspective, there is no adequate compensation from local authorities for these fees. People who frequently change their place of residence for work reasons, such as seasonal workers, are particularly affected, as they have to pay the entire registration fee again if they move to another district.

Digital solutions for vehicle registration

In view of these challenges, the ÖAMTC welcomes the introduction of the digital registration certificate in Austria, which is intended to enable easier traffic control using QR codes. Matthis Wolf emphasizes that it would also make sense to automate the address change by comparing it with the central population register. Such a reform could further reduce the existing bureaucratic burden and provide drivers with noticeable relief.

The ÖAMTC's idea of ​​abolishing the obligation to change license plates when changing residence to other districts is seen as a contemporary concept. This could be supported by an electronic toll vignette that remains valid when changing residence and thus minimizes additional costs and bureaucratic effort, as explained at oeamtc.at.

Digitalization as the key to modernization

The issue is also receiving attention in Germany, where the cabinet headed by Federal Minister Dr. Volker Wissing has passed a regulation on the digitalization of the vehicle registration regulations. This will come into force on September 1, 2023 and aims to both accelerate vehicle registration processes and reduce costs. Every year there are around 20 million vehicle registration processes in Germany that could benefit significantly from digitalization, as [BMV](https://www.bmv.de/SharedDocs/DE/Press Releases/2023/013-wissing-i-kfz.html) reports.

According to the regulation, citizens will be allowed to drive for up to 10 days without the usual vehicle documents, and special license plates can be applied for online for the first time. These legal innovations clearly show that digital transformation is an important step in making the approval processes for citizens more practical and cost-effective.