Recording equipment shall be submitted for approval complete with any integrated additional devices.

Type approval of recording equipment and of tachograph cards shall include security related tests, functional tests and interoperability tests. Positive results to each of these tests are stated by an appropriate certificate.

• a security certificate (if requested by this Annex),

• a functional certificate,

• and an interoperability certificate (if requested by this Annex)

for the recording equipment or the tachograph card, subject of the request for type approval.

Any modification in software or hardware of the equipment or in the nature of materials used for its manufacture shall, before being used, be notified to the authority which granted type-approval for the equipment. This authority shall confirm to the manufacturer the extension of the type approval, or may require an update or a confirmation of the relevant functional, security and/or interoperability certificates.

Procedures to upgrade in-situ recording equipment software shall be approved by the authority which granted type approval for the recording equipment. Software upgrade must not alter nor delete any driver activity data stored in the recording equipment. Software may be upgraded only under the responsibility of the equipment manufacturer.

Type approval of software modifications aimed to upgrade a previously type approved recording equipment may not be refused if such modifications only apply to functions not specified in this Annex. Software upgrade of a recording equipment may exclude the introduction of new character sets, if not technically feasible.

The security certificate is delivered in accordance with the provisions of Appendix 10 of this Annex. Recording equipment components to be certified are vehicle unit, motion sensor, external GNSS facility and tachograph cards.

In the exceptional circumstance that the security certification authorities refuse to certify new equipment on the ground of obsolescence of the security mechanisms, type approval shall continue to be granted only in these specific and exceptional circumstances, and when no alternative solution, compliant with the Regulation, exists.

In this circumstance the Member State concerned shall, without delay, inform the European Commission, which shall, within twelve calendar months of the grant of the type approval, launch a procedure to ensure that the level of security is restored to its original levels.

Each candidate for type approval shall provide the Member State's type approval authority with all the material and documentation that the authority deems necessary.

Manufacturers shall provide the relevant samples of type approval candidate products and associated documentation required by laboratories appointed to perform functional tests, and within one month of the request being made. Any costs resulting from this request shall be borne by the requesting entity. Laboratories shall treat all commercially sensitive information in confidence.

A functional certificate shall be delivered to the manufacturer only after all functional tests specified in Appendix 9, at least, have been successfully passed.

The type approval authority delivers the functional certificate. This certificate shall indicate, in addition to the name of its beneficiary and the identification of the model, a detailed list of the tests performed and the results obtained.

The functional certificate of any recording equipment component shall also indicate the type approval numbers of the other type approved compatible recording equipment components tested for its certification.

The functional certificate of any recording equipment component shall also indicate the ISO or CEN standard against which the functional interface has been certified.

Interoperability tests are carried out by a single laboratory under the authority and responsibility of the European Commission.

The laboratory shall register interoperability test requests introduced by manufacturers in the chronological order of their arrival.

• the entire set of material and documents necessary for such interoperability tests,

• the corresponding security certificate,

• the corresponding functional certificate,

The date of the registration of the request shall be notified to the manufacturer.

No interoperability tests shall be carried out by the laboratory, for recording equipment or tachograph cards that have not been granted a security certificate and a functional certificate, except in the exceptional circumstances described in Requirement 432.

Any manufacturer requesting interoperability tests shall commit to leave to the laboratory in charge of these tests the entire set of material and documents which he provided to carry out the tests.

• for which type approval is still valid or,

• for which type approval is pending and that have a valid interoperability certificate.

The interoperability tests shall cover all generations of recording equipment or tachograph cards still in use.

The interoperability certificate shall be delivered by the laboratory to the manufacturer only after all required interoperability tests have been successfully passed.

If the interoperability tests are not successful with one or more of the recording equipment or tachograph card(s), the interoperability certificate shall not be delivered, until the requesting manufacturer has realised the necessary modifications and has succeeded the interoperability tests. The laboratory shall identify the cause of the problem with the help of the manufacturers concerned by this interoperability fault and shall attempt to help the requesting manufacturer in finding a technical solution. In the case where the manufacturer has modified its product, it is the manufacturer's responsibility to ascertain from the relevant authorities that the security certificate and the functional certificates are still valid.

The interoperability certificate is valid for six months. It is revoked at the end of this period if the manufacturer has not received a corresponding type approval certificate. It is forwarded by the manufacturer to the type approval authority of the Member State who has delivered the functional certificate.

Any element that could be at the origin of an interoperability fault shall not be used for profit or to lead to a dominant position.

The type approval authority of the Member State may deliver the type approval certificate as soon as it holds the three required certificates.

The type approval certificate of any recording equipment component shall also indicate the type approval numbers of the other type approved interoperable recording equipment.

The type approval certificate shall be copied by the type approval authority to the laboratory in charge of the interoperability tests at the time of deliverance to the manufacturer.

• for which a request for interoperability tests have been registered,

• having received an interoperability certificate (even provisional),

• having received a type approval certificate.

Until four months after a first couple of 2^nd generation recording equipment and 2^nd generation tachograph cards (driver, workshop, control and company cards) have been certified to be interoperable, any interoperability certificate delivered (including the first ones), regarding requests registered during this period, shall be considered provisional.

If at the end of this period, all products concerned are mutually interoperable, all corresponding interoperability certificates shall become definitive.

If during this period, interoperability faults are found, the laboratory in charge of interoperability tests shall identify the causes of the problems with the help of all manufacturers involved and shall invite them to realize the necessary modifications.

If at the end of this period, interoperability problems still remain, the laboratory in charge of interoperability tests, with the collaboration of the manufacturers concerned and with the type approval authorities who delivered the corresponding functional certificates shall find out the causes of the interoperability faults and establish which modifications should be made by each of the manufacturers concerned. The search for technical solutions shall last for a maximum of two months, after which, if no common solution is found, the Commission, after having consulted the laboratory in charge of interoperability tests, shall decide which equipment(s) and cards get a definitive interoperability certificate and state the reasons why.

Any request for interoperability tests, registered by the laboratory between the end of the four month period after the first provisional interoperability certificate has been delivered and the date of the decision by the Commission referred to in requirement 455, shall be postponed until the initial interoperability problems have been solved. Those requests are then processed in the chronological order of their registration.