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Last updated September 8, 2026

Car Insurance in Germany: Get the eVB Before You Register

To register a car in Germany, start with Kfz-Haftpflichtversicherung (third-party motor liability), obtain the insurer's electronic confirmation number—the eVB—and take that number into the registration process. Only after that minimum is clear should you decide whether Teilkasko or Vollkasko is worth paying for.

The legal minimum protects other people and their property; it does not pay to repair your own car. Your Europe confirms that third-party liability is compulsory when registering a car in an EU country and that optional cover is governed by the policy, not a single EU-wide rule. Germany's Federal Portal registration guidance explains that the insurer supplies a seven-character alphanumeric eVB number so the registration authority can retrieve the insurance data electronically. That establishes the eVB step for registration; the local authority's current checklist still controls the remaining documents and filing channel.

Choose the layer that matches the loss you could absorb

Do not buy by label alone. Compare exclusions, deductible, permitted drivers, annual mileage, parking address, business use, and territorial limits. A lender or leasing company may impose its own cover requirements.

Build the eVB and registration file together

Before requesting quotes, collect the vehicle identification number, first-registration date, model data, intended annual mileage, driver details, parking location, and purchase or lease papers. Tell the insurer how the vehicle will actually be used.

Once cover is agreed, the insurer supplies the eVB. The eVB proves the insurance step for registration; it does not replace identity papers, vehicle documents, inspection evidence, the purchase contract, or import paperwork.

For an imported car, ask the registration authority for the exact checklist before committing to a non-refundable policy. The required technical and tax documents depend on the vehicle's origin and history.

Bring foreign claims history as evidence, not an assumption

Your Europe says a policyholder can request a claims-history statement covering the previous five years, which the insurer must provide within 15 days using the standardised EU form. When an insurer uses claims history to set premiums, it must treat a statement from another EU country on the same basis as a domestic statement, without discrimination based on nationality or previous EU residence. This does not guarantee a particular discount or premium: compare the insurer's published claims-history policy and ask separately how it handles non-EU records.

Correction — October 15, 2026: Clarified that EU claims-history statements are subject to equal-treatment rules, rather than unrestricted insurer discretion. Premiums and discount policies can still differ.

A safe sequence

1. Confirm where the car must be registered and which documents the local registration office requires.
2. Compare written quotes on the same drivers, use, mileage, deductible, and cover.
3. Check cancellation and start-date terms, especially if registration may fail or be delayed.
4. Obtain the eVB.
5. Complete registration before driving, unless a specific lawful temporary arrangement applies.
6. Save the policy schedule, eVB message, payment proof, registration record, and claims-history certificate.

Stop and clarify before paying if

• the insurer has not accepted the real main driver or use;
• imported-car papers are incomplete;
• a lease requires broader cover than the quote;
• the policy start date does not match registration;
• you are relying on foreign cover after becoming normally resident in Germany; or
• the deductible is more than you could pay promptly.

Insurance is only one part of settling a vehicle in Germany. For the wider insurance context, see insurance for expats in Germany.

Place the eVB and vehicle-registration steps after the status, address and insurance dependencies in the Germany arrival checklist.