Certificate of conformity by make Honda

Honda closed its British plant in Swindon in 2021 and sharply reduced its European range. Type-approval data remains accessible for models approved in the EU, but the organisation that handles it has shrunk.

In practice this means longer searches on older generations of Civic and CR-V, without the request being refused as such. On recent models — Jazz, HR-V, e:Ny1 — the channel is normal. As with the other Japanese manufacturers, beware of Japanese domestic-market versions imported outside the network: they are recognisable from the VIN and do not fall under the European certificate.

The typical file is a Civic or CR-V bought in Germany or Belgium, often of a generation no longer on sale. The request does succeed, but the search takes longer than on a brand with a full European network, and we would rather say so than discover it mid-file. On a Honda we therefore first establish the generation and type code, to point the search at the right approval file. Our second check concerns origin: as with the other Japanese manufacturers, a few vehicles on European roads are Japanese domestic-market versions imported outside the network, for which no European certificate exists.

Honda requests are usually handled by the brand’s European organisation, which centralises type-approval data.

Where to find the chassis number (VIN) on a Honda

A certificate covers one vehicle only, identified by its chassis number (VIN). The safest place to read it is field E of the foreign registration document. On a Honda, it also appears:

• at the base of the windscreen, driver’s side, readable from outside
• on the manufacturer’s plate on the driver’s door pillar
• under a floor flap on the front passenger side

A VIN never contains the letters I, O or Q: mistaking one for a 1 or a 0 is enough to send the search astray.

Most frequently imported Honda models

The Honda vehicles we handle most often come from Germany, from Belgium and from the Netherlands.

The requests we receive mostly concern:

• Honda Civic
• Honda Jazz
• Honda CR-V
• Honda HR-V
• Honda e:Ny1

The rest of the EU-approved Honda range is handled the same way.

Honda and the eCOC: what changes in 2026

Since 5 July 2026, Honda has been sending conformity data for its new vehicles to the approval authorities in eCOC format. Your used Honda is not affected: you need the ordinary COC, issued exactly as before. Paper and printouts of the eCOC remain accepted until 29 November 2026 at the latest. Understand the eCOC.