How is a car-free family defined?
2 Answers
The new policy limits the range of family members who can jointly apply for the license plate quota to spouses, children, and parents from both sides. It comprehensively considers factors such as the travel utility of passenger vehicles, passenger space, and the convenience of car ownership and usage. A minimum of 2 people. A 'car-free family' consists of the main applicant and his/her family members, with a total of at least 2 people.
Last week, I just helped a friend complete the application for a car-free household certification, which turned out to be more complicated than expected. There are three key points: all family members must have local household registration or a residence permit for over five years, genuinely own no cars under their names, and most importantly, they must apply for the new energy vehicle quota together. It took us two trips to figure out that bringing just ID cards wasn't enough—we also needed the original household register, marriage certificate, and even the child's birth certificate. A reminder to everyone: don't miss any required documents, especially in cities like Beijing and Shanghai where you need five consecutive years of social security contributions—a three-month gap means restarting the count. Also, if anyone in the family recently sold a car, it doesn't count as truly car-free until a full year has passed.
