Certificate of conformity by make Jeep

Jeep is an American brand whose European models — Renegade, Compass, Avenger — are built in Italy and approved in the EU. Those raise no particular difficulty beyond the turnaround linked to going through the importer.

The problem comes from Wranglers and Grand Cherokees imported from the United States. There are many of them in Europe, often bought for their American configuration, and they have no European certificate of conformity: lighting, indicators, emissions and instrumentation all differ from the version sold in the EU. No provider can produce a COC for these vehicles; the route is individual vehicle approval. The VIN says so from the first few characters.

Jeeps rarely arrive in factory condition. Off-road tyres, raised suspension, winch, snorkel, rock sliders, roof rack: the brand’s customers equip their vehicles, and none of those fittings appears on the certificate, which describes the Wrangler or Renegade as it left the line. That does not make the document wrong or unusable, but the discrepancy can be picked up at the roadworthiness test, and it is better known in advance. Our other check, on Wranglers and Grand Cherokees, is to read the chassis number to establish whether the car was delivered new inside the Union or across the Atlantic: the two look alike, they do not carry the same rights. Finally, on early Renegades, the year of manufacture is starting to count.

For a Jeep, the request usually goes through the national importer of the country of first registration: one more link in the chain, so a longer turnaround.

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

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 Jeep, 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
• stamped under the bonnet, on the front crossmember

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 Jeep models

The Jeep vehicles we handle most often come from Italy, from Germany and from Belgium.

The requests we receive mostly concern:

• Jeep Renegade
• Jeep Compass
• Jeep Wrangler
• Jeep Grand Cherokee
• Jeep Avenger

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

Jeep and the eCOC: what changes in 2026

Since 5 July 2026, Jeep has been sending conformity data for its new vehicles to the approval authorities in eCOC format. Your used Jeep 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.