First, the short answer: Your car's unladen weight is listed in registration certificate Part I in field G, where it is officially referred to as "Mass of the vehicle in operation". The permissible total mass can be found in fields F.1 and F.2, and the difference between the two is your payload. Sounds simple, but it has two snags that many people miscalculate: The unladen weight already includes a standard driver, and your car's actual weighed weight is almost always heavier than the value stated in the certificate. This guide explains all the weight fields, demonstrates payload calculation with an example, and clarifies why the axle loads from the same block determine your wheel choice.
Note: This guide refers to the German registration certificate. The values in your own documents are always binding; in the case of special superstructures, motorhomes, and imported vehicles, the entries may differ.
1. Where the unladen weight is located and what it includes
In the vehicle registration document (registration certificate Part I, issued since October 2005), you will find the unladen weight in field G. The official term "Mass of the vehicle in operation" is more precise than the everyday word because it describes a defined state: the ready-to-drive vehicle with all operating fluids, a tank filled to at least 90 percent, and a flat rate of 75 kilograms for the driver. So, you yourself are already onboard, statistically speaking, when you read field G.
In the old grey vehicle registration document, the unladen weight is listed under weights with number 14, and the permissible total weight is directly below it. The system is the same, only the field names differ. One detail when comparing old and new documents: The definition of unladen weight has been harmonized across Europe over the years, so older entries may have been determined without a driver's flat rate or with a different tank fill level. So, don't be surprised if the same model in an old certificate appears a few dozen kilograms lighter than in the new document; calculations are always based on the value in your current documents.
A complete overview of all fields of both document generations can be found in the guide Vehicle Registration Document Explained.
2. F.1 and F.2: the permissible gross vehicle mass
Directly above the unladen weight are two fields that are often confused. F.1 is the technically permissible gross vehicle mass, i.e., what the manufacturer and type approval constructively permit for the vehicle. F.2 is the gross vehicle mass permissible in the registration state, which may differ, for example, if a vehicle has been deliberately downrated to fall into a different driver's license or weight class. For your daily payload calculation, F.2 is what counts.
Downrated vehicles are, by the way, the most common case in which F.1 and F.2 diverge: The van could technically carry more, but it is registered at 3.5 tons so that it can be driven with a car driver's license. Conversely, F.2 can be increased towards F.1 through uprating, but this is a technical modification requiring approval by an officially recognized testing body.
3. Calculating payload: the calculation with the 75-kilo catch
The basic formula is simple: Payload = F.2 minus G. An example, marked as such: If the value in field F.2 is 2,000 and in field G is 1,500, 500 kilograms remain for occupants and luggage. Now comes the catch: Because field G already includes 75 kilograms for the driver, you must not deduct yourself again. If the driver actually weighs 90 kilograms, only the 15 kilograms difference reduces the payload, not the full 90.
The second catch is special equipment. Field G describes a type-approved configuration, but your specific car might have a tow hitch, panoramic roof, larger wheels, and a full set of tools. All of this adds weight, and therefore, the honest answer for tight reserves is always the vehicle scale: weigh it once with a full tank, calculate realistically. Overloading is not a trivial offense; it directly affects braking distance, tires, and driving behavior.
How quickly the reserve diminishes is shown by a second example, again marked as such: 500 kilograms of calculated payload sounds comfortable. However, if a family of four goes on vacation, three co-passengers, in addition to the driver's allowance, quickly account for 180 kilograms, four suitcases and small items another 80, the roof box with contents 60, the dog with its box 40. This leaves a good 140 kilograms of remaining capacity, and that can be used up faster than one thinks when packing with beverage crates, camping equipment, or a bicycle rack with bikes. Anyone who regularly drives like this should honestly do the calculation once with actual weights instead of by feeling.
4. Axle loads: the part that determines your wheel choice
Below the total masses are fields 7.1, 7.2 and 7.3 with the technically permissible maximum axle loads. They distribute the total mass to the axles, and this is where the weight block becomes interesting for wheels: The axle load determines the wheel load, i.e., the load that a single wheel must be able to bear. As a rule of thumb, this is half the axle load; if field 7.1, for example, states 1,200, each front wheel must be able to bear 600 kilograms.
In the old grey vehicle registration document, the axle loads are listed under number 16, directly with the other weights. Each rim has a tested load capacity, and this must at least correspond to the wheel load of your vehicle. Our guide to wheel load capacity shows you how to calculate this accurately, including special cases. The same principle applies to tires via the load index, which we have broken down, including a table, in the guide Load Index and Load Capacity. Anyone driving heavy SUVs, pick-ups, or fully loaded vans should check these values before every rim purchase, because an aesthetically suitable rim with insufficient load capacity will fail at the latest during inspection.
Find wheels with the right load capacity for your vehicle
5. Motorhomes and campers: where the calculation gets tight
Nowhere is the weight block as crucial as with motorhomes and converted campers. Many vehicles are registered for 3.5 tons so that they can be driven with a regular car driver's license, and this very limit makes the payload tight: while the conversion, furniture, technology, and water tanks are partly already included in field G, filled fresh and wastewater tanks, gas bottles, provisions, bicycles, and two people quickly add up to several hundred kilograms. A weighing appointment fully equipped, just as you would actually set off, is not an option here, but the only reliable information.
If it permanently gets too tight, there are two clean ways: consistently pack lighter, or uprating, i.e., increasing F.2 towards the technical limit F.1, provided that the chassis, tires, and wheels allow it. This is a technical modification with approval and affects the entire chain, because with the higher total mass, the demands on the load capacity of tires and rims also increase. Conversely, downrating can be useful if a vehicle is to fall below a driver's license or toll limit; however, this also reduces the permissible payload.
6. Towing capacity and tongue weight: the rest of the weight block
For the sake of completeness, three more fields belong in this overview. O.1 indicates the permissible braked towing capacity, O.2 the unbraked version, and field 13 the tongue weight, i.e., the weight that may vertically rest on the hitch. Important for drivers with trailers: The interplay with the axle loads also applies here, as the tongue weight presses on the rear axle and thus reduces the reserve there. Those who regularly drive with a full trunk and a trailer will reach the rear axle load faster than intuition suggests.
7. Common confusions clarified briefly
Unladen weight vs. empty mass: Colloquially the same; field G always refers to the defined "mass in operation" including driver's allowance and operating fluids.
Permissible total mass vs. actual weight: F.2 is a limit, not a measured value. Only a scale knows what your car weighs today.
Sum of axle loads vs. total mass: If you add 7.1 and 7.2, the result is usually more than F.2. This is not an error but a constructive reserve: The axles are individually allowed to carry more to compensate for uneven loading (full trunk, tongue weight). However, both limits apply simultaneously, so you must not exceed either a single axle or the total mass.