EUCARIS is a system for the secure, EU-wide exchange of vehicle and driving license register data between authorized public authorities.

The aim of EUCARIS is to support the prosecution of cross-border crime, including the detection of vehicle thefts, the improvement of road safety, the fight against terrorism and the reduction of driving license tourism.

The establishment of EUCARIS is based on the eponymous EUCARIS contract. Initially, the system only included procedures for exchanging vehicle data in the context of registering vehicles of foreign origin and for exchanging driver's license data in the context of issuing driver's licenses. In the meantime, however, it has been used as a technical platform for various data exchange procedures based on other legal principles. Countries that are connected to EUCARIS can decide for which procedures they want to use the EUCARIS system.

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EUCARIS networks the central national traffic registers. Following this decentralized approach, each country is responsible for its own data and procedures. Authorized national public authorities (for example, police, registration and driving license authorities) can query vehicle or driving license data online via their national EUCARIS head office in other countries on the basis of the legal basis(s) relevant to them. In Germany, the Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt (KBA) is this head office.

EUCARIS started in the early 1990s as a cooperation between national traffic registry authorities. The aim was to effectively support the fight against cross-border vehicle theft and curb driver's license tourism by exchanging vehicle and driver's license data.

On June 29, 2000, five countries (Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Germany) concluded the EUCARIS agreement on a European vehicle and driving license information system. For Germany, the KBA participates in the data exchange with three of its registers (Central Vehicle Register, Central Register of Driving Licenses, Register of Driver Fitness).

In addition to the procedures based on the EUCARIS agreement, there are now other functionalities that use the EUCARIS system as a technical platform:
On May 27, 2005, seven EU member states (Belgium, Germany, Spain, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria) concluded an intergovernmental agreement in Prüm, Rhineland-Palatinate. It serves to improve cooperation and the exchange of information between the signatory states in the police field in the fight against terrorism and the prosecution of serious cross-border crime.

The Prümer Vertrag regulates the networking of DNA, fingerprint and vehicle databases. Authorized police and law enforcement authorities receive direct access via their national contact point. In the area of vehicle registration data, retrieval takes place via a specially established procedure using the EUCARIS system. The use of the EUCARIS system has thus been extended from data exchange in the purely administrative area to the police and judicial area. In the meantime, the multilateral Prüm Convention has been transferred into the EU legal framework (Council Decisions 2008/615/JHA and 2008/616/JHA). This has extended the use of the EUCARIS system for this area to all 27 EU Member States.

Currently and for the next years further fields of application of the EUCARIS system are foreseen:

• A European driving license information system (EReg - RESPER) is currently being set up on the basis of the 3rd EU Driving License Directive. Before a driver's license is issued, it will be possible to check in the EU member states whether a driver's license has already been issued or withdrawn there.
• A European network of company registers for transport companies (EReg - ERRU) is also currently being set up. In Germany, this register is maintained by the Bundesamt für Güterverkehr (BAG). The EUCARIS platform is used for the mutual international exchange of data.
• Furthermore, based on EU Directive 2011/82/EU, the European data exchange for the cross-border prosecution of traffic offenses that endanger road safety was established.
• With the implementation of "eCall" (emergency calls) via EUCARIS, rescue forces will be able to provide help in traffic accidents even faster and more safely in the future. In the event of an accident, the vehicle automatically sends an emergency call to the nearest rescue control center. EUCARIS uses the vehicle identification number or license plate number to determine the vehicle data of the vehicle involved in the accident. The rescue forces thus know at an early stage which vehicle is involved. Appropriate rescue equipment can be procured immediately and it is known where potentially dangerous equipment is located in the vehicle for rescuers and casualties.

Since the EUCARIS system offers the states a tried and tested platform for data exchange that can be expanded almost at will, it is to be expected that further procedures will be implemented on the EUCARIS technical platform in the future. Furthermore, it is possible to link the EUCARIS system with other systems by using a newly developed so-called "broker".

EUCARIS has become a European success story. More than 10 million inquiries about vehicles and driver's licenses are made via EUCARIS every year.
Below are some fields of application for EUCARIS:

• Vehicle registration
  When registering vehicles imported from abroad, EUCARIS can be used to clarify whether there is a search note (for example, a theft note) for the vehicle in the vehicle register of the country of origin and whether the data on the vehicle match the register entries.
  If registration has taken place, the register authority of the country of origin can be informed of this for the purpose of deregistration using EUCARIS.
• Issuance of a driving license
  In order to ensure that an EU citizen holds only one driving license, the driving license authority can enquire via EUCARIS in the other Member States whether there are entries in the registers there that prevent the issuance of a driving license and a driving permit.
• Cross-border prosecution of traffic violations
  Within the framework of an EU directive, it is envisaged that competent authorities will be able to carry out holder searches via EUCARIS in order to prosecute certain traffic violations endangering road safety that have been committed with vehicles registered in other EU countries.
• Law enforcement and counterterrorism
  Police and law enforcement authorities can obtain information for criminal prosecution and counterterrorism purposes through the EUCARIS system under the Prüm Treaty and EU Council Decisions 2008/615/JHA and 2008/616/JHA, respectively.

Since November 7, 2013, an electronic system for exchanging holder data has been in effect throughout Europe for eight particularly serious traffic violations.

Speeding, drunk driving, red light violations and non-use of seat belts are among the most common causes of fatal traffic accidents. Nationally, a system of automated transmission of holder data has been established for decades, which takes effect in the case of traffic violations. Although foreign road users have a significantly higher risk of violating the traffic regulations in force in the country they are visiting, there has been no corresponding cross-border procedure at European level until now. This has changed with the implementation of the EU Directive to facilitate the cross-border exchange of information on road safety offences (2015/413/EU (only in German)).

The directive regulates the cross-border exchange of holder data; called Cross Border Enforcement (CBE). The CBE Directive is part of a European package of measures aimed at halving the number of road deaths in Europe by 2020.

The European exchange of holder data is possible for eight traffic violations classified as particularly dangerous.

These are

• Speeding,
• Failure to wear a seat belt,
• running a red light,
• drunk driving,
• driving under the influence of drugs,
• not wearing a safety helmet,
• unauthorized use of a traffic lane,
• unlawful use of a cell phone or other communication device while driving.

If a German vehicle owner is charged with a corresponding violation, the Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt (KBA) electronically transmits the German owner data to the authorized body abroad. The CBE holder data exchange is legally regulated in the newly created § 37b Road Traffic Act. The foreign authority then has the option of taking follow-up action and sending an information or hearing letter.

The respective national laws of the member states apply. There is no standardization with regard to the type of infringement or the level of punishment.

If a German vehicle owner is charged with a traffic offense that is not mentioned in the above-mentioned directive (e.g. "wrong parking"), the KBA will still transmit the German owner data to the authorized body abroad in accordance with Section 37 of the Road Traffic Act.