Can Car License Plates Be Leased?

[VonTheo]

Car license plates cannot be leased, as leasing license plates itself is illegal. According to the "Motor Vehicle Management Regulations," motor vehicles and license plates are designated for specific vehicles and cannot be privately borrowed or misused without legal procedures. Article 38 of the "Motor Vehicle Registration Regulations of the People's Republic of China" stipulates: No unit or individual may forge or use forged motor vehicle license plates or motor vehicle driving licenses, nor may they resell, lend, misappropriate, or alter motor vehicle license plates or motor vehicle driving licenses. No one may fraudulently obtain motor vehicle license plates or motor vehicle driving licenses by claiming that the plates or licenses are lost or missing. Except for traffic management departments of public security authorities, no unit or individual may withhold motor vehicle license plates or motor vehicle driving licenses. When leasing a license plate, the lessee typically purchases the vehicle under the name of the license plate lessor. In the event of a traffic accident, the license plate lessor bears joint legal liability. Additionally, if the vehicle has outstanding debts or is mortgaged, the license plate lessor may also face financial losses.

[VonRose]

I've seen many friends who wanted to take shortcuts by leasing license plates, and they all ended up in trouble. This practice is completely illegal in our country. Each license plate number is bound to a personal ID card, just like your own fingerprint. Last time, a friend leased their unused license plate to an acquaintance, and the other person caused a hit-and-run accident with the car. The court directly impounded the original owner's car for over six months and fined them 20,000 yuan. The traffic management department's system is now very intelligent—license plates are bound together with engine numbers and chassis numbers in a trinity system. Leasing out your plate is like lending someone your ID card to book a hotel room—if anything goes wrong, you'll be fully responsible. If you really need to deal with an unused vehicle, the proper way is to honestly go through the transfer process at the used car market.

[DelDominic]

Right after getting my driver's license, I also considered renting a license plate, but the research scared me off immediately. Chinese law stipulates that license plates are tied to the owner, and renting them out is equivalent to forging documents. Last year in Beijing, there was a case where a car owner took a 30,000 yuan deposit to rent out a Beijing license plate to a ride-hailing driver. The driver then used the vehicle for over 30 illegal operations. When the traffic enforcement team investigated, the plate owner even had their driver's license temporarily suspended. What's worse, the rental contract itself isn't legally protected—if the other party refuses to pay, you can't even win a lawsuit. Even if you have an idle quota, don't entertain this idea. Nowadays, the policies for new energy vehicle license plates are much more lenient.

[Tom]

Old Man Zhang, my neighbor, was just complaining about this the other day. His son couldn't get a license plate through the lottery and wanted to rent one, but I advised against it. While it might seem like easy money with monthly rents of three to five thousand, all the risks fall on the vehicle owner. If the rented-plate car is involved in a major accident, the insurance company might refuse to pay, leaving the owner to cover hundreds of thousands out of pocket. Not to mention tenants who buy cars on loans—if they default, the bank comes straight after the registered owner. My relative, who's worked at the DMV for twenty years, has seen countless cases where people tried to save a few thousand only to end up losing millions. If you really need a car, consider using a corporate vehicle license or getting an out-of-town plate as a temporary solution.

[Martha]

From an economic perspective, renting a license plate is particularly cost-ineffective. Currently, the black market price for license plate rentals in Beijing is approximately 80,000 yuan annually, but the risk premium doesn't cover the costs at all. First, you have to pay a 50,000 yuan deposit to the intermediary, and then 30% of the monthly rent is taken as commission. Secondly, there's the risk of the vehicle being mortgaged—last year, there was a case where a tenant mortgaged the car to a small loan company for cash and then fled. Most importantly, the legal costs are potentially infinite, as administrative penalty records can affect the political vetting of one's children. When you do the math, it's better to directly participate in judicial auctions, where some government vehicles with license plates sell for about 15% below market price.