Guidance

Certificate of conformity for new vehicles

The certificate of conformity ensures the free movement of goods and must be supplied to the buyer of a new vehicle when the vehicle is delivered.

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

A certificate of conformity (CoC) is a paper document issued by the manufacturer of a vehicle. Its purpose is to ensure the free movement of goods between EU countries. It can also help when importing and registering a vehicle in a non-EU country such as the UK.

The certificate must be provided free of charge to the buyer of a new vehicle when the vehicle is delivered. There is a legal requirement for the supplying dealer to do this.

The document contains information about the vehicle and certifies that it has been manufactured in conformity with type approval standards.

This means that the vehicle complies with the relevant safety and environmental regulations and can be registered.

Information recorded on the certificate

The CoC sets out the main characteristics of the vehicle including:

  • mass
  • dimensions
  • engine size
  • technical performance such as official fuel consumption figures or electric range
  • manufacturer name and address
  • date of manufacture

To prevent forgery, the certificate should include a watermark or hologram.

The CoC will also show whether the vehicle has been designed for driving in left-hand traffic and with an imperial speedometer to indicate that it is suitable for use in the UK.

The Driver Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) will require evidence of type approval to support a vehicle’s first registration, which could be a CoC.

When a certificate is required

You may need a CoC if you:

  • intend to export and register your vehicle in another country
  • are importing a vehicle into the UK and intend to register it for use on the road
  • are asked for vehicle details that aren’t shown on your V5 vehicle registration document

EU certificate

EU certificates of conformity remain valid for vehicles sold in the UK for the time being. The current requirements are in the retained EU Regulation 2018/858, Article 36 (1).

We plan to replace the requirement for an EU certificate with a GB certificate for new vehicles sold in Great Britain.

The timetable for its introduction will be announced in 2022, but we expect to retain the obligations on manufacturers to supply the CoC to anybody buying a new vehicle.

New vehicles in Northern Ireland will continue to be supplied with an EU certificate.

Cost and duplicate certificates

The paper format CoC will be supplied free of charge to the buyer when the vehicle is delivered.

This is to prevent manufacturers or supplying dealers from providing the certificate after the customer has taken delivery of the vehicle.

Its delivery may not be made dependent on an explicit request or the submission of additional information to the manufacturer.

Up to 10 years after the date of manufacture of the vehicle, the manufacturer shall, at the request of the vehicle owner, issue a duplicate of the CoC in paper format for a payment that does not exceed the cost of issuing the duplicate certificate.

The word ‘duplicate’ shall be clearly visible on the face of any duplicate certificate.

Published 22 March 2022