Certificate of conformity by make Nissan

The Qashqai is by far the most requested model of the brand here. It was assembled for many years in Sunderland, in the United Kingdom, which makes it a special case since Brexit.

A Qashqai first registered in the United Kingdom after 1 January 2021 counts as a non-EU import, with customs formalities distinct from those of a vehicle coming from Germany or the Netherlands. The place of manufacture is irrelevant: it is the country of first registration that determines the regime. On the electric Leaf, expect some authorities to ask for battery data absent from the oldest certificates.

The recurring file is a Qashqai bought in the Netherlands or Belgium whose buyer does not know where it was first registered. The Dutch seller has sometimes imported it from the United Kingdom himself without saying so in the advert. On a Nissan our first check is therefore the country of first registration, read from the foreign document, not the seller’s country. That is what determines the applicable regime. On Leaf models our question concerns the battery data, absent from the oldest certificates and sometimes required by the authority. On Navara models we check the category and gross weight, different from those of a passenger car.

For a Nissan, 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 Nissan

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 Nissan, 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 the boot floor mat, near the spare wheel well

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 Nissan models

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

The requests we receive mostly concern:

• Nissan Qashqai
• Nissan Juke
• Nissan X-Trail
• Nissan Micra
• Nissan Leaf
• Nissan Navara

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

Nissan and the eCOC: what changes in 2026

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