eCOC 2026: what changes, and what does not

The certificate of conformity in one minute

The certificate of conformity (COC) is the document by which the manufacturer states that a specific vehicle conforms to a type approved in the European Union. It carries the approved characteristics: dimensions, weights, engine, emissions, noise level, safety equipment.

It is the item that allows a vehicle imported from another Member State to be registered: without it, the authority cannot record the vehicle’s technical data.

Two points are often missed. Only the manufacturer or their authorised representative can issue it: there is no “generic COC”, each document belongs to one vehicle identified by its chassis number. And the certificate describes the vehicle as it left the factory: it covers no later modification. Everything about the COC.

What the eCOC changes since 5 July 2026

The framework is set by Regulation (EU) 2018/858 and its implementing regulations (EU) 2021/133 and (EU) 2024/1061. Since 5 July 2026, manufacturers have been making the conformity data of their new vehicles available to approval authorities as structured data: an XML file in the IVI format, electronically sealed within the meaning of the eIDAS Regulation.

This covers categories M (vehicles carrying passengers), N (commercial vehicles) and O (trailers). Small series and certain special categories may stay on paper.

The essential difference lies in the recipient. The ordinary COC is handed to the buyer with the vehicle. The eCOC travels from the manufacturer to the authorities: it is an exchange between approval professionals, not a delivery to the owner. That is the source of the most widespread confusion on this subject.

What the eCOC does not change

This is the part press coverage most often skips, and it is the part that concerns almost all of our customers.

• Vehicles built before the change. The text is not retroactive. A vehicle produced before 5 July 2026 has no eCOC and never will: the ordinary COC remains required to register it.
• Lost certificates. A duplicate is requested from the manufacturer exactly as before. Article 36 of Regulation (EU) 2018/858 in fact states explicitly that this duplicate is supplied in paper format, and for ten years after the date of manufacture.
• Imports from outside the European Union. A vehicle sold new in the United States, Japan or Switzerland has no European approval: no COC, no eCOC. The applicable route is individual vehicle approval. Our guide.
• Small series and special categories. They may continue on paper.

In other words: if you are reading this page because you bought a used car abroad, the eCOC does not concern you. You need a COC, and our service has not changed.

Does it affect me? A three-question check

Three questions are enough to know what you need. Open the one that matches your situation.

Regulatory timeline

Step	What it brings
Regulation (EU) 2018/858	General framework for vehicle approval and market surveillance. Article 36 sets out the owner’s right to a paper duplicate of the certificate for ten years.
Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/133	Defines the format and structure of the electronic certificate of conformity.
Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/1061	Completes and clarifies the arrangements for making conformity data available.
5 July 2026	Manufacturers make the conformity data of new vehicles available to approval authorities in eCOC format, for categories M, N and O.
29 November 2026	End of the transition period: paper formats and printouts of the eCOC remain accepted until this date at the latest.

How much does a certificate of conformity cost?

The price depends on the manufacturer: they hold the type-approval data and they charge for access to their services. Here is our list, brand by brand. The price is the same whatever the delivery format: receiving a digital copy by e-mail costs no more than a postal delivery.

Indicative prices including VAT, confirmed once the chassis number has been checked. No cost is incurred before you agree.

How long does it take?

The turnaround is the manufacturer’s, not the intermediary’s: nobody else holds the type-approval data. It ranges from a few working days at the quickest brands to several weeks at those that route the request through a national importer.

The only real time saving a provider can offer is delivery by e-mail rather than by post — a few days, not a few weeks. The full detail is in our turnaround guide by brand.

When is the COC free?

Article 36(1) of Regulation (EU) 2018/858 provides that the manufacturer supplies the certificate of conformity free of charge to the buyer along with the new vehicle. That same article, however, releases the manufacturer from that obligation where the data is made available as an eCOC.

The practical consequence of the reform: the buyer of a new vehicle produced from 5 July 2026 no longer receives a paper document at all — the data goes straight to the approval authority.

As soon as a used vehicle, a duplicate or a lost certificate is involved, issuing is chargeable: it is a manufacturer service.

By country: where do the authorities stand?

The timetable is European, but the operational rollout happens authority by authority. We do not publish progress figures we could not stand behind: the table below is deliberately neutral.

Country	Rollout status
France	Rollout under way.
Belgium	Rollout under way.
Germany	Rollout under way.
Netherlands	Rollout under way.
Luxembourg	Rollout under way.

For the exact state of practice in your country of registration, ask the competent authority: theirs is the only authoritative answer.

Glossary

COC

Certificate of conformity. A manufacturer’s document stating that a vehicle conforms to a type approved in the European Union.

eCOC

The structured-data version of the certificate of conformity, sent by the manufacturer to the approval authorities. Not a document ordered by a private owner.

IVI

Individual Vehicle Information: the data format defined at European level to describe an individual vehicle in the eCOC.

eIDAS

The European framework for electronic identification and trust services. It defines, among other things, the electronic seal that guarantees a file’s origin and integrity.

Qualified electronic seal

The equivalent, for a legal person, of a qualified electronic signature. It proves the file genuinely comes from the manufacturer and has not been altered.

Approval authority

The national administration competent to grant type approvals and to receive manufacturers’ conformity data.

EUCARIS

The European system for exchanging vehicle and driving licence information between national administrations.

Categories M, N, O

M: vehicles carrying passengers. N: commercial vehicles. O: trailers. These are the categories covered by the eCOC transmission requirement.

Beware of certificate of conformity scams

The move to the eCOC has produced a new generation of dubious offers, selling an “eCOC” to owners whose vehicle cannot have one. A few reflexes:

• A site offering you an “eCOC” for a used vehicle is selling something that does not exist in that case.
• Sites imitating an official government service.
• Unusually low prices, or a promise of an “immediate” document on a brand known to be slow.
• No legal notice, no address, no verifiable company number.
• Payment requested without a clear quote or terms of sale.

Remember: a genuine certificate is issued by the manufacturer. Producing or falsifying one is forgery, with criminal consequences. A serious provider never sells a falsified document: they obtain the real certificate. Homologa is published by ELEKO SARL (RCS Paris), with a verifiable address and company number in our legal notice.

Going further on the eCOC

• What is an eCOC? — The short definition, jargon-free, and what it means in practice.
• eCOC or COC: the comparison — Who issues them, to whom, for which vehicles — in one table.
• I’m buying used — Do I need an eCOC? The answer is no, and here is why.
• Professionals — Brokers, garages, importers: what changes in your workflows.
• File stuck? — We review your documents and identify the blocking point.