Can I still participate in the license plate lottery if I already have a license plate?
3 Answers
If you already have a license plate, you cannot participate in the lottery. According to national regulations, individuals who already own a car are not allowed to continue participating in the lottery. The rule is one car per person, and having a license plate means you already have an allocated quota, so you cannot apply again. Nationwide, there are only a few cities where buying a car requires participating in a lottery, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Guiyang, Tianjin, and Hangzhou. The conditions for participating in the lottery are: 1. Local household registration; 2. No vehicle registered under your name; 3. A valid driver's license of C2 or above; 4. For those holding a temporary residence permit, in addition to the above conditions, you must also provide proof of five consecutive years of local employment social insurance and personal income tax records.
This topic starts with practical experience. I believe that once you have a license plate, you basically can't participate in the lottery anymore. When I lived in Beijing, I foolishly applied for the lottery after getting a license plate, only to be stuck at the qualification review stage. The system can automatically detect that you already hold a quota and will directly reject your application. The lottery is designed to fairly distribute opportunities to those without cars, such as policies to alleviate traffic congestion through license plate restrictions. The policy stipulates that individuals can only have one car quota. If you want to change or upgrade your car, you can do so through the quota renewal process, but the lottery is the path to obtaining a new plate. Some cities, like Shanghai, are even stricter, with restrictions on family-shared plates, making it impossible to add them arbitrarily. In short, if you have a plate, use it well and don’t waste energy on the lottery to avoid pointless effort. It’s better to focus on license plate renewal policies or understand city-specific differences to avoid missteps.
As someone who frequently follows automotive policies, I believe that individuals who already possess a license plate are generally ineligible to participate in the lottery. This stems from regulations in cities with license plate restrictions, such as Beijing and Shenzhen, where personal ownership of a quota signifies the occupation of resources, and the lottery system is specifically designed for new applicants. I have looked into the details—eligibility checks will verify whether you already have a plate, and if so, your application will be directly blocked. The reason is to control the growth of vehicles: only those without a car are eligible for the lottery, though families may have exceptions with many restrictions. If you genuinely want to add another car, consider options like plate renewal or transferring a second-hand quota instead of blindly entering the lottery. The policy aims for fair distribution—if you already have a plate, drive peacefully and avoid futile applications. It’s more practical to thoroughly understand local rules.
