Apply for a licence to operate individual vehicles

The type-approval certificate, together with the registration number, forms part of the registration process for motor vehicles on public roads. A type-approval certificate confirms that your vehicle complies with the relevant regulations.

For type-approved vehicles, it is issued by the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) or equivalent bodies in other European Union countries. For vehicles without type approval, it is granted by the registration authority as an individual approval.

You will need a general operating licence if you wish to manufacture vehicles in series. In this case, the operating licence will be granted to you on a general basis following a test carried out at your own expense.

You require an individual operating licence (EBE) if

• you manufacture a vehicle individually or in small-batch production,
• the vehicle is of your own design
• you have imported it from abroad without EC type-approval, or
• it is a vehicle that has already been taken off the road, was deregistered 7 or more years ago, is to be re-registered and you cannot provide proof of a type-approval.

The individual operating licence is issued by the locally competent registration authority for a single vehicle and is valid only for that vehicle.

Upon application, the competent registration authority grants

• an individual authorisation for new vehicles on the basis of a report by one or more officially recognised experts from a technical inspection centre or a technical service recognised for testing the relevant vehicle class.
• for all other vehicles, a roadworthiness certificate based on an expert report from one or more officially recognised experts or a technical service.

To register new or used vehicles for which you do not hold an EC type-approval including a Certificate of Conformity (CoC), you must apply for a roadworthiness certificate based on an expert report from one or more officially recognised experts or a technical service. This also applies if, as a result of modifications to the vehicle – for example, the fitting of a gas system or changes to the chassis – you have received an expert report from an officially recognised expert or a technical service, as in this case too the roadworthiness certificate for your vehicle has expired and must therefore be reissued.

Unless it is expressly limited in time or revoked, the roadworthiness certificate remains valid until the vehicle is permanently taken off the road. The roadworthiness certificate expires if

• you have made modifications to the vehicle that result in
  • the vehicle type is altered,
  • technical defects are likely to endanger road users, or
• the exhaust emissions or noise levels deteriorate.
• a component is subject to a fitting approval requirement, but you have failed to comply with this.
• you have failed to comply with installation regulations, restrictions or conditions relating to technical modifications.

If you drive without a valid type-approval certificate, or with one that has expired, you are committing an administrative offence. The registration authority may then prohibit you from continuing to use the vehicle and de-register the number plate.

You must carry the type-approval certificate with you if modifications have been made that are not listed in the vehicle registration document.