The Vehicle Keeper Marking (VKM) register shall contain the unique name of all vehicle holders as defined in Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2018/1614 of 25 October 2018 laying down specifications for the vehicle registers referred to in Article 47 of Directive (EU) 2016/797 of the European Parliament and of the Council and amending and repealing Commission Decision 2007/756/EC in point 7 of Appendix 2 to Annex 1.
The marking of the vehicle holder is the alphabetical code comprising 2-5 letters. The VKM denotes each railway vehicle, indicating it alongside the European vehicle number. The VKM shall identify the vehicle holder as indicated in the national vehicle register.
The VKM is unique and applies in all EU Member States and in all countries concluding an agreement providing for the use of vehicle numbering systems and vehicle holder labelling.
It is the register of the European Union Railway Agency (hereinafter-ERA) and the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail (OTIF), which has been maintained by ERA since 2014.
The VKM register provides data in four languages (English, French, German, Russian). The VKM register is available in PDF or Excel format. (If there are differences between the two files, the PDF format prevails over another format.)
The VKM register is updated monthly (on the first Wednesday of every month).
! A VKM may be used only after publication by the ERA.
The vehicle holder must submit all requests for a new VKM, change of VKM or change of the name of the holder to the national safety authority of the Member State by means of a specific application form.
In Latvia, VKM requests must be submitted to the State Railway Technical Inspectorate, filling out the form of the application (in Word or Excel format) and sending it to the institution's e-mail: pasts@vdzti.gov.lv
Application forms:
More information on the ERM register and the register itself is available on the ERA website.