What is the new policy for license plate transfer in 2020?
2 Answers
Both the 2020 regulations and previous rules do not allow the transfer of license plates. Currently, when a vehicle is transferred, the license plate cannot be transferred with the vehicle, nor can the license plate be transferred separately. The original license plate can only be transferred to the owner's new vehicle information and cannot be transferred to another person. However, there is one special case: spouses can transfer their license plates to each other with a marriage certificate, allowing the other party to obtain the license plate without going through the lottery or bidding process. New policies for license plate retention: 1. If a vehicle has been used for at least one year, the original license plate can be retained for up to 2 years; 2. The original license plate can be retained when the vehicle is transferred, deregistered, or relocated; 3. Both used and new vehicles are eligible for license plate retention applications.
Last year when I bought a car, I encountered new policies—the 2020 license plate transfer rules became much stricter than before. The biggest change is that vehicles must now meet the China VI emission standards to be eligible for transfer, marking a major environmental upgrade. Previously, you could transfer ownership of any old car, but now that's not possible—high-pollution vehicles get rejected outright. When I helped a friend with the transfer process, I found that we had to first visit an inspection station to obtain an environmental compliance report proving the car met the standards; otherwise, the DMV wouldn’t process it. The government is also promoting digital procedures—submitting documents via a mobile app and booking inspections online, saving time on back-and-forth trips. Although there are more steps involved, it’s much better for air quality in the long run, as fewer outdated, high-emission cars remain on the road. Before transferring ownership, I recommend checking the emission data thoroughly and preparing the vehicle license, ID card, and inspection report to avoid missing any details.
