How does a single vehicle without type approval obtain its approval? This page summarises § 13 of the German EC Vehicle Approval Ordinance.
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 is an individual approval granted?
It is granted when the vehicle meets the provisions named in Annex IV or Annex XI of Directive 2007/46/EG.
Individual provisions among these need not be met when the vehicle complies with the corresponding rules of the Road Traffic Licensing Regulations.
What belongs to the application?
- the expert report drawn up at the applicant's expense,
- an approval sheet as part of the report,
- an annex with the technical provisions under which the vehicle is to be approved.
The approval sheet contains at least the details needed to complete the registration certificate part I and part II in full.
Who draws up the report and what does it certify?
| Point | Rule |
|---|---|
| author | an officially recognised expert of a technical inspection body or a designated technical service |
| content | The vehicle is correctly described and complies with the rules. |
| test records | They show that the necessary tests were carried out and the required results achieved. |
| retention | 10 years for reports and test records |
The approval authority can have the report re-examined.
When is an individual approval not enough?
When more than 20 percent of the maximum small-series number of new vehicles of the same type in class M 1 are to be registered each year, a type approval has to be applied for.
In the application the applicant states how many vehicles of the same kind are to be approved.
When is the approval revoked?
The approval authority can revoke or withdraw it when the vehicle described does not match the approved facts.
This also applies when the vehicle poses a considerable risk to road safety, public health or the environment.
What does this mean for dealers?
For import dealers, the approval sheet supplies the data for the registration certificate part I and part II.
With Zevra the dealer files registration and deregistration in the dealer portal. Registration costs from 10 € per case, deregistration 2 € net, plus official fees.
- Individual operating licence under § 21 StVZO: application, expert report and retention
- CoC (certificate of conformity): the proof at first registration
- Importing an EU vehicle and registering it in Germany: what dealers need to know
- General operating licence for vehicle types in Germany: grant, duties and lapse (§ 20 StVZO)
- 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)
- 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)
- Car dealerships
- Registration services
- Fleet operators
- Manufacturers & importers
- Import dealers
- Pricing
Sources: EG-Fahrzeuggenehmigungsverordnung (EG-FGV) § 13 – Einzelgenehmigung für Fahrzeuge · Straßenverkehrs-Zulassungs-Ordnung (StVZO) § 21 – Betriebserlaubnis für Einzelfahrzeuge · Sources · Vehicle figures: tax, insurance, fines