How Long Is the Validity Period for a License Plate Obtained Through Lottery?
3 Answers
After winning a license plate through lottery, it can be retained for a maximum of 6 months. For example, in Hangzhou, according to Article 46 of the "Hangzhou Small Passenger Vehicle Quota Management Regulations," the validity period of the quota is 6 months. Both individuals and units must use the quota within its validity period. If the quota is not used within the specified period, it will be considered as forfeited. If the quota obtained through lottery is not used by the expiration date, the applicant will be barred from applying for incremental quotas for two years starting from the expiration date. Below is relevant information about the license plate lottery process: License Plate Lottery: Log in to the Small and Medium Passenger Vehicle Quota Control Management Information System, register an account, and log in. Conditions required for participating in the license plate lottery: Residence in the city; possession of valid identification and a valid motor vehicle driver's license; no small or medium passenger vehicles registered in the city under the applicant's name, or all such vehicles registered under the applicant's name in the Public Security Traffic Management Comprehensive Application Platform are listed as "cancelled" or "stolen"; no valid small or medium passenger vehicle quotas registered in the city under the applicant's name; ineligibility for applying for renewal quotas; and no overdue unused incremental quotas obtained through lottery within the past two years.
It was my third year participating in the Beijing license plate lottery when I finally won. I was so excited upon receiving the SMS notification that I nearly dropped my phone. The validity period of license plate quotas varies by region: typically 12 months in cities with purchase restrictions like Beijing and Shanghai, 6 months in Guangzhou and Hangzhou, and I heard Shenzhen recently extended it from 6 months to 1 year. This countdown starts from the day the quota is issued—my cousin learned this the hard way when his quota expired before he realized it. My advice is to print the confirmation letter immediately after winning and set a phone reminder three months before expiration. Policies change quickly these days; for instance, Tianjin suddenly extended the validity to 2 years last year. It doesn’t hurt to check the traffic management app 12123 regularly. My neighbor waited until the last week to order a car and ended up not having enough time to even get temporary plates.
Just helped a colleague look into this. She won the lottery last month in Hangzhou and was worried about the deadline. Currently, new energy vehicle quotas are generally more lenient than fuel vehicle ones. For example, in Guangzhou, the fuel vehicle quota is valid for 6 months, while the green license plate can last up to 1 year. The key is to complete two things before the deadline: either purchase a car and get it licensed, or apply for an extension. The extension process is simple—just log in to the local passenger car quota website and click the extension button to renew it for 6-12 months. However, note that there are limits on the number of extensions. For instance, Shanghai allows a maximum of two extensions. I recommend starting to look for a car within three months. Last year, a friend waited until the fifth month and almost missed out due to a shortage of available vehicles.
