The Zulassungsbescheinigung Teil 1 (Registration Certificate Part 1) — colloquially the Fahrzeugschein (vehicle registration document) — assigns each technical characteristic an EU-standardised letter or number code. Field A names the official registration mark, B the first registration, D.1/D.2/D.3 the manufacturer, type and trade designation, E the vehicle identification number. The engine data sit under P: P.1 is the displacement in cubic centimetres, P.2 the rated power in kilowatts (kW times roughly 1.36 gives PS), P.3 the fuel type. S.1 gives the number of seats, T the top speed, J the vehicle category or body type. Field 2 names the keeper, field 22 contains remarks and conditions. Anyone who can read these codes can check in a few minutes whether the listing, the paperwork and the vehicle all match.
Registration Certificate Part 1: the complete field-by-field legend
Behind every letter and every number in the registration document is a specific piece of information — from the vehicle category through engine displacement and power output to the conditions in field 22. This legend walks through the most important EU-standardised codes and shows you how to check them against the listing and the vehicle when buying a used car.
Why the field legend matters when buying a used car
At first glance the Zulassungsbescheinigung Teil 1 (Registration Certificate Part 1) looks like a jumble of letters and numbers. In fact it is strictly systematic in its layout: since the EU standardisation, the technical fields carry the same codes everywhere in Europe. A P.1 means exactly the same thing on a German document as on an Austrian or French one. Once you have internalised the legend, you can read any vehicle document in minutes.
For the buyer this is not an end in itself. Every field is a check point. Does the power output promised in the listing match the value under P.2? Is the fuel type right? Is the trade designation under D.3 really the trim variant you are paying for? Anyone who can't read the fields is relying blindly on the seller's claims — and that is exactly where the expensive misunderstandings arise.
This article is the pure field legend of the Registration Certificate Part 1. It explains what each code means and how to check it against the vehicle and the listing. The basic function of the registration document is covered in the article on understanding the registration, and the ownership question via Part 2 in the article on the registration part 2. Individual fields have their own, more in-depth sibling articles, which this legend briefly points to at the relevant places.
How the Registration Certificate Part 1 is structured
The registration document encodes its details in two schemes. The vehicle's core technical characteristics carry letter codes such as A, B, D, E, J, P, S and T. These letters are EU-standardised and appear on every document in the same logical position, regardless of the country of issue. Alongside them are purely numeric fields such as 2, 14 or 22, which capture additional national details.
The distinction between letter and number is important, because both schemes run in parallel. Field 2 (keeper) has nothing to do with the letter B (first registration), even though both appear on the same document. Mix them up and you'll read it wrong. In practice you'll find the letter codes printed small next to the respective entries — that's what you look for when you want to look up a particular characteristic.
A second note up front: not every field is filled in on every vehicle. On a car without trailer operation, the nose-weight and towing-load fields often stay empty; on a pure electric vehicle there is no value under P.1 (engine displacement). An empty field is therefore not automatically an error — but it's worth knowing why it's empty.
The core legend: code by code
The following table summarises the most important fields of the Registration Certificate Part 1. It is the core of this legend — the sections that follow go deeper into the fields that yield the most for a prospective buyer.
| Code | Meaning | Practical note |
|---|---|---|
| A | Official registration mark | the current number plate |
| B | Date of first registration | note: not the same as the build year |
| D.1 | Manufacturer (make) | e.g. Volkswagen, BMW |
| D.2 | Type, variant, version | technical manufacturer code |
| D.3 | Trade designation | e.g. Golf, 3 Series — the model |
| E | Vehicle identification number (VIN) | 17 digits, unique worldwide |
| J | Vehicle category / body type | e.g. M1, estate saloon |
| P.1 | Engine displacement in cm³ | engine size |
| P.2 | Rated power in kW | times approx. 1.36 = PS |
| P.3 | Fuel type / energy source | petrol, diesel, electric … |
| S.1 | Number of seats | incl. driver's seat |
| T | Maximum speed in km/h | by design |
| 2 | Keeper | not necessarily the owner |
| 22 | Remarks and conditions | entries, conditions, exemptions |
These fourteen rows cover the bulk of what a buyer wants to read out of the registration document. The remaining fields — in particular the weight and emission fields — are handled by dedicated sibling articles, because each offers enough substance for an explanation of its own.
Registration mark, first registration and identity: A, B, D, E
Field A names the official registration mark — the current number plate, which is often reissued when the keeper changes. More interesting for the vehicle history is field B, the first registration. That is the date on which the vehicle was first registered somewhere. A common thinking error: first registration is not the build year. A vehicle can be built at the end of one year and only registered in the spring of the following year — with demonstrator or stock vehicles there can be many months in between. The precise distinction between build year and first registration, and why it matters for resale value and warranty periods, is covered in the article on determining the build year.
Fields D.1, D.2 and D.3 identify the vehicle on the model side. D.1 is the manufacturer, i.e. the make. D.3 is the trade designation — the name under which the model is sold. In between, D.2 holds the technical manufacturer code of type, variant and version. This D.2 code looks cryptic but is valuable for the buyer: it identifies the exact technical specification and can be used for targeted research into model-specific weak points. The same trade designation under D.3 does not mean the same engineering — only the D.2 code cleanly separates the variants.
Field E, finally, carries the vehicle identification number, or VIN for short: seventeen characters, unique worldwide, effectively the vehicle's fingerprint. It is the most important point of cross-checking of all, because it is also stamped into the vehicle itself and repeated on the type plate. Where to find the VIN on the vehicle, how to read it and why it must match the papers is explained in the article on finding the VIN.
The engine data: P.1 displacement, P.2 power and the PS conversion
For many buyers the P block is the heart of the registration document, because this is where the performance data sit. Field P.1 gives the engine displacement in cubic centimetres — that is, the size of the engine. A value of 1968 under P.1 means a two-litre engine, 1598 a 1.6-litre. On pure electric vehicles, P.1 stays empty because there is no combustion-side displacement.
The most misunderstood field is P.2, the rated power. It is given in kilowatts (kW), not in PS. That is exactly where the widespread question comes from — where, then, is the PS in the registration document? The short answer: not directly anywhere, you have to convert it. The rule of thumb is: kW times roughly 1.36 gives PS. So a vehicle with 110 kW under P.2 produces about 150 PS, and a value of 85 kW corresponds to roughly 116 PS. Conversely, you divide PS by 1.36 to get to kW. This one line is worth memorising, because listings almost always quote PS while the document quotes kW — and it's precisely this difference that causes confusion.
Field P.3 names the fuel type, or energy source: petrol, diesel, electric, hydrogen, CNG or LPG, or a hybrid combination. That sounds trivial but it is a genuine check point. Compare it with the seller and the listing to see whether the fuel type matches — especially with gas conversions or hybrids, where the figure in the document decides tax, low-emission-zone access and the right fuel at the pump. A diesel that's advertised as economical in the listing but recorded as a petrol under P.3 is either a typo in the listing or a real problem — either way, something that needs clarifying.
Important for the cross-check: the values under P.2 and P.1 are the official figures entered in the registration document. If a seller advertises a power increase or a chip tune, that modification must be registered and noted in field 22 — otherwise the advertised vehicle does not legally match the paperwork.
Body, seats and top speed: J, S.1 and T
Field J describes the vehicle category and the body type. This is where the EU vehicle category sits — for ordinary cars, M1 — along with the body type, such as saloon, estate saloon, hatchback saloon or convertible saloon. For the buyer this is a quick plausibility check: a vehicle advertised as an estate should also be recorded as one in field J.
Field S.1 gives the number of seats, including the driver's seat. A five-seater carries a 5 here. That seems trivial, but it becomes relevant when the vehicle has been converted after the fact — for instance with vans where a row of seats has been removed or added. If the actual number of fitted seats differs from the figure under S.1, there's an unregistered modification, and that's a finding that needs clarifying.
Field T gives the design-related maximum speed in kilometres per hour. This is an official, measured value, not an advertising promise. It is rarely the deciding factor in a purchase, but it helps to place the engine spec: it should be plausible for the power under P.2. A low value with a high kW figure would be unusual and a reason to take a closer look.
Keeper and conditions: the numeric fields 2 and 22
Field 2 names the vehicle's keeper — the person it is registered to. A common and consequential misunderstanding: the keeper is not necessarily the owner. The keeper is whoever operates the vehicle and keeps it on the road; the owner is whoever it legally belongs to. When buying, this is decisive, because the registered keeper cannot lawfully sell you the vehicle if they are not also the owner. This ownership question is established via the Zulassungsbescheinigung Teil 2 (Registration Certificate Part 2) and is dealt with in detail in the article on the registration part 2 — here the takeaway is enough: field 2 tells you who drives it, not necessarily who owns it.
Field 22 is perhaps the most overlooked and at the same time the most important field for a critical buyer. This is where remarks and conditions sit: registered modifications, technical requirements, special exemptions. Retrofitted add-on parts, changed tyres, a registered tow bar, conditions on specific tyre sizes or a documented power increase — all of that shows up here. Always read this field in full. If there's an entry you don't understand, ask until it's clarified. An empty field 22 is a good sign of a technically unmodified vehicle; a heavily annotated field 22 demands that every single entry can also be traced on the vehicle.
The fields that fill their own articles
Some fields of the Registration Certificate Part 1 are deliberately not part of this legend, because they carry so much substance that they deserve an article of their own. This is true first of all for the weight and load fields: G (mass in running order), F.1 and F.2 (technically permissible maximum mass and permissible mass in the state of registration) as well as O.1 and O.2 (towing loads). How to derive kerb weight and payload from them, and what that means for loading and trailer operation, is explained in the article on weights, kerb weight and payload.
The same goes for the emissions side. Fields 14 and 14.1 encode the pollutant class, or emission class — the key to the Euro standard, the environmental sticker and low-emission-zone access. That mapping is complex enough to warrant separate treatment: in the article on emission class and Euro standard. And where the engine code letter sits in the document — the one that counts for spare parts and research into known engine weaknesses — is set out in the article on the engine code.
This split is intentional. This page remains the quick field legend for looking up the codes; the deeper topics move into the specialised sibling articles, so that each page stays deep rather than superficial within its remit.
Matching the paperwork against the vehicle — the practical application
The legend only shows its worth in the cross-check. Take the registration document with you to the viewing and work through it systematically against the listing and the vehicle. Start with identity: the VIN from field E against the number stamped into the vehicle and against the type plate — they must be identical. Then the model data: the trade designation under D.3 and the technical code under D.2 against the variant promised in the listing.
After that, the power block: convert the kW from P.2 into PS and compare the result with the listing. Check the displacement under P.1 and the fuel type under P.3 against the seller's statements. If something doesn't add up here, you either have a wrong listing or a different vehicle in front of you — both a reason to dig in thoroughly. Finally, field 22: every registered modification must be findable on the vehicle, and conversely every visible modification on the vehicle should be listed in field 22.
This document cross-check is precisely a core part of the on-site inspection by checkdenwagen. An experienced inspector doesn't just read the registration document, but checks every relevant field against the actual vehicle — from the VIN through the registered power output to the conditions in field 22 — and puts any discrepancies into professional context. The Standard Check is available from €289 incl. VAT and travel, the Premium Check from €339 incl. VAT and travel, when a market-value assessment and a detailed report as a basis for negotiation are additionally in focus. Anywhere in Germany, directly at the seller, with a report within 24 hours.
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Frequently asked questions about the fields in the registration document
It isn't stated directly in PS at all. You'll find the power output in field P.2, given in kilowatts (kW). To get PS (metric horsepower), multiply the kW value by roughly 1.36. Example: 110 kW in P.2 equals about 150 PS, 85 kW roughly 116 PS. Conversely, divide PS by 1.36 to get kW. Because listings usually quote PS while the document quotes kW, this conversion is the most common stumbling block when reading a registration document.
Read the registration document — but unsure whether everything adds up?
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