The Road Vehicles (Approval) Regulations 2020

Grant of first licence or registration of motor vehicle

21.—(1) Where a person makes an application under section 21 of the 1994 Act for—

(a) the issue of a first vehicle licence for a motor vehicle which is a relevant vehicle, or

(b) the issue of a first nil licence for a motor vehicle which is a relevant vehicle,

the licence must not be granted unless one of the conditions in paragraph (3) is satisfied or paragraph (6) applies.

(2) Where a person makes an application under section 21 of the 1994 Act for the registration, before the issue of a first licence, of a motor vehicle which is a relevant vehicle the vehicle must not be registered unless one of the conditions in paragraph (3) is satisfied, or paragraph (6) applies.

(3) The “conditions” are that—

(a) an appropriate EU certificate of conformity has effect with respect to the vehicle;

(b) an appropriate national small series certificate of conformity has effect with respect to the vehicle;

(c) an appropriate individual approval certificate has effect with respect to the vehicle.

(4) Subject to paragraph (5), for the purposes of this Part a certificate of conformity of any kind has effect if—

(a) it is issued in respect of—

(i) a type approval which, at the appropriate date, is valid for the vehicle in question, or

(ii) an end-of-series vehicle, and

(b) it is not issued in contravention of—

(i) an implementing act adopted under Article 36(4) of the Type Approval Regulation, or

(ii) regulation 16(7) (limitation on putting into service of vehicles covered by small series type approvals).

(5) An EU certificate of conformity also has effect for the purposes of this Part if—

(a) the vehicle to which it relates was first put into service in a member State other than the United Kingdom,

(b) it was issued in respect of an EU type-approval which was valid on the date on which the vehicle was first put into service, and

(c) it shows that the vehicle was constructed for use in left-hand traffic and that it uses imperial and metric units of measurement for the speedometer.

(6) This paragraph applies where a vehicle—

(a) is of a class falling in category M₂ or M₃, and

(b) was completed before 30th July 2011.

(7) In relation to a vehicle of a type to which a national small series type approval has been granted by the approval authority under regulation 16, the Secretary of State must not—

(a) issue a first vehicle licence for a motor vehicle,

(b) issue a first nil licence for a motor vehicle,

(c) register a motor vehicle before the issue of a first licence, or

(d) give consent under regulation 23(3) to the supply of a large trailer for use on a road,

if it appears that doing so would cause the total number of vehicles registered or, as the case may be, put into service on roads in the United Kingdom in any year to exceed the maximum permitted number.

(8) In calculating whether the maximum permitted number is exceeded in any particular year, no account is to be taken of any vehicle manufactured in an earlier year which was not registered or, as the case may be, put into service on roads in the United Kingdom in that year and provided that the number of vehicles manufactured in that earlier year did not exceeded the maximum permitted number.

(9) In this regulation—

“appropriate date” means, as the case may be, the date of the application under section 21 of the 1994 Act for the registration of, or the issue of a first licence for, a vehicle;

“EU certificate of conformity” means any of—

(a)

a certificate of conformity within the meaning of Article 3(5) of the Type Approval Regulation,

(b)

a certificate of conformity issued in accordance with—

(i)

regulation 15 of the Road Vehicles (Approval) Regulations 2009(1), or

(ii)

regulation 5 of the Motor Vehicles (EC Type Approval) Regulations 1998(2), or

(c)

a certificate of conformity issued under the law of a member State other than the United Kingdom in accordance with—

(i)

Directive 2007/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 September 2007 establishing a framework for the approval of motor vehicles and their trailers, and of systems, components and separate technical units intended for such vehicles(3), or

(ii)

Council Directive 70/156/EEC of 6th February 1970 on the approximation of the laws of the member states relating to the type approval of motor vehicles and their trailers(4);

“maximum permitted number” means the number of units specified in the table in paragraph 2 of Section A of Annex V to the Type Approval Regulation in relation to the vehicle category to which that type belongs;

“old vehicle” means—

(a)

a vehicle of category M₁ or N₁ which is more than 10 years old at the appropriate date, or

(b)

vehicle of category N₂ or N₃ which is more than 25 years old at the appropriate date;

“relevant vehicle” means a vehicle which is not an old vehicle and which is—

(a)

a vehicle of category M or N to which the Type Approval Regulation applies on a compulsory basis, or

(b)

a vehicle of any category except category O to which the Type Approval Regulation applies on an optional basis and where the manufacturer has obtained type approval or individual approval in respect of that vehicle;

“year” means any period commencing with 1st January and ending with 31st December.

(1)

S.I. 2009/717. These Regulations were revoked with effect from 1st September 2020 by Part 2 of Schedule 6 to this instrument.

(2)

S.I. 1998/2051. These Regulations were revoked with effect from 29th April 2009 by S.I. 2009/717.

(3)

OJ No. L 263, 9.10.2007, p. 1.

(4)

OJ No. L 42, 23.2.1970, p. 1.