Why do some vehicles have no certificate of conformity?
The certificate of conformity is issued by the manufacturer to certify that an individual vehicle matches a type that received EU type-approval. No EU type-approval, no COC. This is the case for:
- vehicles built for a market outside the European Union (United States, Canada, Japan, Gulf states): the first three characters of the VIN often give it away;
- vehicles that predate EU type-approval, which became general in the late 1990s for passenger cars and later for the other categories;
- vehicles approved only at national level (small series, conversions);
- vehicles modified after leaving the factory, or whose manufacturer no longer exists;
- vehicles more than ten years old whose manufacturer declines to issue a duplicate, as regulation (EU) 2018/858 allows it to do.
Our free VIN check spots non-EU production before any order is placed: that is how most readers arrive on this page.
What is the manufacturer’s identification certificate?
It is a document by which the manufacturer or its representative in your country certifies that your vehicle corresponds to an approved type, national or EU, and states its technical characteristics (type, variant, version, approval number, masses, power, emissions). France calls it an attestation d’identification, Germany a Datenbestätigung; other registration authorities accept comparable manufacturer statements in place of the certificate of conformity when the rest of the imported-vehicle file is complete. Practice varies between the DIV in Belgium, the SNCA in Luxembourg and the RDW in the Netherlands, so ask your authority before ordering.
It typically suits a European vehicle whose brand no longer issues COCs, or a vehicle approved at national level. It does not suit a vehicle that was never approved in Europe: for that one, only an individual approval works.
Our Identification certificate option (€89) covers the request to the manufacturer or its representative, based on the VIN and a copy of the registration certificate. It is offered subject to acceptance: the manufacturer remains the sole judge; if it refuses, we point you to the right route and apply our refund policy.
Historic-vehicle status for a vehicle over thirty years old
For a vehicle over thirty years old, whose type is no longer produced and which has not been significantly modified, most EU countries offer a historic-vehicle registration: the véhicule de collection status granted on an FFVE attestation in France, the H plate after an historic-vehicle appraisal in Germany, the O plate in Belgium, and the equivalent schemes elsewhere. It replaces the certificate of conformity, which is often impossible to find for these vehicles.
The application is made directly with the competent body, usually with photographs, proof of ownership and the previous registration document. Historic status comes with its own rules (lighter periodic inspection, restrictions on daily or professional use): weigh them up before choosing this route.
Individual approval by the national technical authority
When no approved type matches the vehicle — an import from the United States or Japan, a prototype, a heavy conversion — it has to be approved individually by the national technical authority: the DREAL in France, TÜV or DEKRA under § 21 StVZO in Germany, the RDW individual inspection in the Netherlands, the regional approval service in Belgium. A technical file describes the vehicle; tests or modifications (lighting, emissions, noise) may be required, sometimes at an accredited laboratory.
Individual approval takes longer and costs more than a certificate of conformity. We do not carry it out ourselves, but we tell you frankly, from the VIN check onwards, if it is the only possible route: better to know before buying the vehicle.
When is the certificate of conformity simply not needed?
If the foreign registration certificate is a complete European registration document, with entries D.2 (type, variant, version) and K (EU type-approval number), the registration authority already holds the data it needs to issue the new document: the COC is then not always required. Likewise, a vehicle already registered in your country only needs one after a modification or to correct a technical entry.
Before ordering any document, check these two entries. We would rather tell you.