Which parts may only be sold and fitted with a test mark? This page summarises § 22a of the German Road Traffic Licensing Regulations.
Zevra is the B2B platform for digital vehicle registration for car dealers, registration services and fleets: cases are entered in the dealer portal and filed nationwide by power of attorney with qualified electronic signature – from €10 per registration, no base fee, no minimum volume.
Last updated: · Zevra editorial team · Reviewed by M. Gabal, owner
Which parts need a design approval?
- pneumatic tyres and anti-skid devices,
- safety glass panes and films for them,
- headlamps, rear lamps, stop lamps and direction indicators,
- devices for coupling vehicles,
- seat belts and child restraint systems,
- warning triangles and warning lamps,
- lighting devices for number plates.
The list in § 22a names further equipment, such as tachographs and frontal protection systems.
What does the test mark mean?
Parts that require a design approval may only be offered, sold, acquired or used when they are marked with an officially prescribed and assigned test mark.
A part may carry the test mark only when it matches the design approval in every respect.
Which exceptions are there?
| Case | Condition |
|---|---|
| testing in road traffic | The driver carries an official certificate and hands it over on request. |
| vehicles built abroad | The equipment roughly matches tested equipment of the same kind in its effect and is recognisable as such. |
| registration with European type approval | A Member State of the European Union has confirmed that the technical requirements are met. |
The exception for vehicles built abroad does not apply to lighting equipment for bicycles or to light sources for headlamps.
What applies to an individual approval?
For equipment with an individual approval within the meaning of the Vehicle Parts Ordinance, the test mark duty does not apply.
The approval document has to be carried in traffic and handed over on request. This does not apply when the approval is shown in the registration document.
Which marks are prohibited?
Marks that could be confused with an officially assigned test mark must not be attached to vehicle parts.
What does this mean for dealers?
For dealers and workshops: parts from this list without a test mark may be neither sold nor fitted.
With Zevra the dealer files registration and deregistration in the dealer portal. Registration costs from 10 € per case, deregistration 2 € net, plus official fees.
- Operating licence for vehicle parts under § 22 StVZO: licence, inspection and type mark
- Operating licence lapsed: when modifications to the vehicle end it (§ 19 StVZO)
- Fitting number plates: what the FZV prescribes on height, tilt and readability
- Fines in German vehicle registration: standard rates from the schedule of fines
- Temporary registration proof: valid for 10 days
- Documents posted by the authority: within 6 days
- Digital deregistration: documents from 01.01.2015
- Digital registration: documents from 01.01.2018
- Registration with Zevra: €10 net
- Deregistration with Zevra: €2 net · base fee: €0
Deadlines and cut-off dates according to: Bundesministerium für Verkehr
Read more
- Vehicle registration fees in Germany: official fees at the counter and online
- Operating licence lapsed: when modifications to the vehicle end it (§ 19 StVZO)
- Individual operating licence under § 21 StVZO: application, expert report and retention
- Historic vehicle report under § 23 StVZO: requirements for the H plate
- Compulsory motor insurance in Germany: duty to insure, term and penalty
- Minimum insured sums in German motor liability insurance: amounts per claim
- Making, selling and issuing number plates: notice duty under § 6b StVG
- Number plate misuse under § 22 StVG: punishable acts and penalty
- Fines in German vehicle registration: standard rates from the schedule of fines
- German vehicle tax: car rates by engine size and CO₂ (§ 9 KraftStG)
- German vehicle tax liability: start, end and minimum term under § 5 KraftStG
- German number plate size and font: dimensions, FE font and character count (annex 4 FZV)
- Paying German vehicle tax: yearly, half-yearly or quarterly (§ 11 KraftStG)
- German vehicle tax for motorhomes, vans and trucks: rates by total weight
- German vehicle tax and severe disability: exemption and reduction under § 3a KraftStG
- Trailer without vehicle tax in Germany: green plate and trailer surcharge (§ 10 KraftStG)
- Operating licence for vehicle parts under § 22 StVZO: licence, inspection and type mark
- Claims history statement in Germany: deadline, content and equal treatment (§ 5c PflVG)
- Foreign vehicle in Germany: insurance, Green Card and frontier insurance
- General operating licence for vehicle types in Germany: grant, duties and lapse (§ 20 StVZO)
- Vehicle tax notice in Germany: assessment, reassessment and tax base (§ 12 and § 8 KraftStG)
- E-scooter and other small electric vehicles in Germany: operating licence, insurance sticker and minimum age (eKFV)
- German vehicle tax: who is the tax debtor and what is taxed? (§ 7 and § 1 KraftStG)
- Provisional cover in German motor liability insurance: start, end and duties (KfzPflVV)
- Logbook order in Germany: order, entries and retention for keepers (§ 31a StVZO)
- Keeper liability for stopping or parking offences in Germany: when the keeper bears the costs (§ 25a StVG)
- Individual approval for vehicles in Germany: conditions, expert report and revocation (§ 13 EG-FGV)
- Car dealerships
- Registration services
- Fleet operators
- Motorcycle dealers
- Car workshops
- Pricing
Sources: Straßenverkehrs-Zulassungs-Ordnung (StVZO) § 22a – Bauartgenehmigung für Fahrzeugteile · Straßenverkehrs-Zulassungs-Ordnung (StVZO) § 22 – Betriebserlaubnis für Fahrzeugteile · Sources