The current German license plates were introduced in 1994. The plates were first issued in Brandenburg and Berlin. The plates have a blue field on the left with the European flag and the country abbreviation D (Deutschland). Special dyes are used on these plates to make them more difficult to counterfeit. The size is the European standard.

To the right of the blue field is the registration code. This is a one to three letter code representing the location where the vehicle is registered, followed by one or two letters and a serial number of up to four digits. The total characters in the combination never exceeds eight. There are several reserved codes for government vehicles, police, diplomats, etc.

Rear license plates have two round seals. The top seal is colored and dated  and indicates that the vehicle has passed a safety test. The bottom seal is black on silver or colored indicating the federal state where the vehicle is currently registered. 

Since 1985, front license plates have a hexagonal seal to indicate that the vehicle has passed an exhaust emissions test.

The last license plate issue prior to 1994 occurred in 1956. These plates do not have a blue field, and a hyphen is used in the registration code field. The serial number is a four digit numeric field.

Prior to 1956, German license plates used the 1933 standard: