Hungary’s plug-in hybrid owners must replace their green licence plates by November 30, 2026. From December 1, 2026, vehicles in environmental classes 5N and 5P can no longer legally use public roads with their old green plates. According to the Ministry of Science and Technology (TTM), 25,771 motorists still need to make the switch.
If authorities stop an affected vehicle after the deadline, they will confiscate its plates and registration certificate and begin the process of withdrawing it from circulation. The ministry says the vehicle can return to the road only once its plates have been replaced.
Owners have two options. The first is re-registration with a new registration number on white-background plates. A pair costs HUF 11,475, with another HUF 6,000 for a replacement registration certificate.
The second option lets owners keep their existing combination of letters and numbers on new white-background plates. This costs HUF 16,605 and doesn’t require a replacement registration certificate. Manufacturing plates with the same characters can take time, so the ministry particularly urges owners choosing this option to start promptly rather than wait until the final days.
When the registration number changes, the paperwork doesn’t end at the government office. Owners must notify their insurer and, for motorway vignette records, the National Toll Payment Services provider, Nemzeti Útdíjfizetési Szolgáltató. They must also notify their parking company, if applicable, and the lessor if the vehicle is leased.
Appointments can be booked through the Central Appointment Booking Application, Központi Időpontfoglaló Alkalmazás, after signing in with DÁP or Ügyfélkapu+. Booking isn’t compulsory: owners can also take a queue ticket at a government customer service office, known as a kormányablak.
According to the ministry’s statement, these offices are ready to handle the exchanges, with all available vehicle administration staff serving customers. Officials are asking owners not to leave the exchange until the last few days. The ministry doesn’t currently consider special opening hours necessary, but it is continuously monitoring demand and hasn’t ruled out extending customer service hours at individual offices if needed.
The deadline completes a transition set in motion by the previous government in 2024. The rules took effect on September 1, 2024, restricting newly issued green plates to purely electric and zero-emission vehicles. Plug-in hybrids that already had green plates were given a transition period lasting until November 30, 2026.
The new government hasn’t reversed the policy. It explains that implementation began two years ago: newly registered plug-in hybrids could no longer receive green plates, and many existing owners had already exchanged theirs. Reversing the requirement could therefore have disadvantaged those who had already complied.
The ministry attributes the policy to Hungarian and international experience indicating that plug-in hybrids’ actual environmental performance often falls short of earlier assumptions. The stated aim is to bring environmentally friendly vehicle benefits more closely into line with vehicles’ actual environmental advantages and, over the longer term, encourage the adoption of purely electric transport.
Purely electric and zero-emission vehicles are unaffected. Cars in environmental classes 5E and 5Z remain eligible for green plates and retain their associated tax and duty benefits. These include exemptions from vehicle tax, company car tax, property transfer duty on purchases and registration tax.
For owners arranging an exchange, DMÜ’s detailed guidance explains the administrative process, including the steps for keeping an existing letter-and-number combination and allowing time for the replacement plates to be manufactured before the cutoff.
