What applies to vehicles without type approval? This page sums up § 21 of the German Road Traffic Licensing Regulations for the trade.
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
When does a vehicle need an individual operating licence?
If a vehicle does not belong to an approved type, the person entitled to dispose applies for the operating licence at the authority competent under state law.
If it belongs to an approved type, an assessment is only permitted when the operating licence has lapsed under § 19 paragraph 2.
Who writes the expert report?
- an officially recognised expert for motor vehicle traffic,
- a technical service designated for testing whole vehicles of the vehicle class concerned.
The report is submitted with the application.
What must the report contain?
| Component | Content |
|---|---|
| Technical description | to the extent needed for the registration certificate part I and part II |
| Annex | technical rules on the basis of which the operating licence can be granted |
| Certification | vehicle correctly described and compliant |
| Where the operating licence has lapsed | description of the modifications that led to the lapse |
The approval authority transfers the details from the report into the registration certificate.
Which documents belong to the application?
For vehicles subject to registration, a registration certificate part II is submitted with the application. If it does not exist yet, its issue is applied for under § 14 of the Vehicle Registration Ordinance.
How long are reports kept?
Test records must exist for the results of the report. The retention period for reports and test records is 10 years.
What does this mean for dealers?
For dealers this mainly concerns imported vehicles without type approval and converted vehicles.
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 lapsed: when modifications to the vehicle end it (§ 19 StVZO)
- Importing an EU vehicle and registering it in Germany: what dealers need to know
- CoC (certificate of conformity): the proof at first registration
- Registration certificate part II: issue, duty to present and new certificate
- Operating licence for vehicle parts under § 22 StVZO: licence, inspection and type mark
- Historic vehicle report under § 23 StVZO: requirements for the H plate
- General operating licence for vehicle types in Germany: grant, duties and lapse (§ 20 StVZO)
- Individual approval for vehicles in Germany: conditions, expert report and revocation (§ 13 EG-FGV)
- 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)
- 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)
- Design approval for vehicle parts in Germany: duty, test mark and exceptions (§ 22a 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
- Manufacturers & importers
- Car workshops
- Import dealers
- Pricing
Sources: Straßenverkehrs-Zulassungs-Ordnung (StVZO) § 21 – Betriebserlaubnis für Einzelfahrzeuge · Straßenverkehrs-Zulassungs-Ordnung (StVZO) § 19 – Erteilung und Wirksamkeit der Betriebserlaubnis · Sources · Vehicle figures: tax, insurance, fines