Technical service

In­di­vid­u­al ap­proval in ac­cor­dance with Sec­tion 21 StV­ZO

Vollgutachten

When do I need an individual approval?

In order for a vehicle to be registered for operation on public roads, certain requirements must be met. One of them is that “the vehicle must conform to an approved type”.

Vehicles that are produced in series in Europe and/or for the European market normally have an EC type approval; older vehicles have a national general type approval.

Vehicles that don’t have a type approval, whose type approval has expired, or for which proof of a type approval cannot (or can no longer) be provided, require a so-called individual approval to obtain an individual operating permit in accordance with Section 21 StVZO (German Road Traffic Licensing Regulations).

Such an individual approval is required, for example, for

  • the registration of used imported vehicles from outside the EU (e.g. from the USA or Switzerland),
  • the registration of older import vehicles from outside Germany without a general type approval and EC/EU type approval,
  • the re-registration of vehicles that have be registration for more than seven years and for which no vehicle documents are available (e.g. a barn find),
  • New vehicles of certain vehicle categories (motorbikes, agricultural or forestry vehicles).

What is the individual approval?

An individual approval in accordance with Section 21 StVZO determines whether your vehicle complies with the construction and operating regulations and whether conversions or – if applicable – exceptions to individual equipment regulations are necessary. The technical data for the registration certificate are determined and the road safety of the vehicle is checked.

 

What do I need for the individual approval?

Some inspection items can be checked on the vehicle itself by the authorised signatories of the Technical Service. For others, a corresponding inspection report (e.g. an exhaust emission inspection from a recognised laboratory) has to be submitted.

If no data confirmation from the manufacturer can be provided, you will need a data sheet from a recognised data sheet agency. This also contains the required evidence for exhaust and noise behaviour, for example. You can order this data sheet yourself from a data sheet agency of your choice. Or your local GTÜ partner can do this for you.

The documents required for the approval are as follows

  • the manufacturer’s certificate or the data sheet of a recognised data sheet agency,
  • foreign registration papers, e.g. US title,
  • test certificates for any existing modifications to the vehicle,
  • if applicable, further documents, e.g. Carfax query.

Our authorised signatories would be happy to advise you on all questions relating to drawing up an individual approval for your vehicle.