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Last updated on 21 Apr, 2025

EC Type Approval of Motor Vehicles

 

EC Type Approval

Type approval is granted to a model of a vehicle, component and separate technical unit that meet a minimum set of regulatory requirements.  Type approval certificates can be issued by any one of the 28 EU Member States and is required for a vehicle to be placed on the EU market.  Once type approval is obtained, the vehicle can be placed in any one of the EU Member State without further testing.

The system is based on the mutual recognition of approvals granted by Member States.  Every vehicle produced is then accompanied by a certificate of conformity, which is like the car's birth certificate, in which the manufacturer certifies that the vehicle corresponds to the approved type. On the basis of this document, the vehicle can be registered anywhere in Europe.

 

Motor vehicles, their trailers, systems and components – Regulation (EU) 2018/858

Which products does this Regulation apply to?

Regulation (EU) 2018/858 applies to motor vehicles and their trailers that are intended to be used on public roads, including those designed and constructed in one or more stages, and to systems, components and separate technical units, as well as to parts and equipment, designed and constructed for such vehicles and their trailers. 

 

Two- or three- wheel vehicles and quadricycles – Regulation (EU) No. 168/2013

Which products does this Regulation apply to? 

Regulation (EU) No. 168/2013 applies to all two- or three-wheel vehicles and quadricycles that are intended to travel on public roads, including those designed and constructed in one or more stages, and to systems, components and separate technical units, as well as parts and equipment, designed and constructed for such vehicles.  This Regulation also applies to enduro motorcycles, trial motorcycles and heavy all terrain quads.  Regulation (EU) No. 168/2013 has been implemented into Maltese legislation by means of Legal Notice 17 of 2016 - Approval and Market Surveillance of Two- or Three-Wheel Vehicles and Quadricycles.

 

Agricultural and forestry vehicles - Regulation (EU) No. 167/2013

Which products does this Regulation apply to?

Regulation (EU) No. 167/2013 applies to agricultural and forestry vehicles, which are designed and constructed in one or more stages, and to systems, components and separate technical units, as well as parts and equipment, designed and constructed for such vehicles.  This Regulation applies to tractors, trailers and interchangeable towed equipment.  Regulation (EU) No. 167/2013 has been implemented into Maltese legislation by means of Legal Notice 18 of 2016 - Approval and Market Surveillance of Agricultural and Forestry Vehicles Regulations. 

 

Gaseous and particulate pollutant emission limits and type-approval for internal combustion engines for non-road mobile machinery (NRMM) – Regulation (EU) 2016/1628

Which products does this Regulation apply to?

Regulation (EU) 2016/1628 applies to all engines falling within the categories listed below, which are installed in or are intended to be installed in non-road mobile machinery: 

  • ‘category NRE’
  • engines for non-road mobile machinery intended and suited to move, or to be moved, by road or otherwise
  • engines having a reference power of less than 560 kW used in the place of Stage V engines of categories IWP, IWA, RLL or RLR
  • ‘category NRG’ - engines having a reference power that is greater than 560 kW, exclusively for use in generating sets, engines for generating sets other than those having those characteristics are included in the categories NRE or NRS, according to their characteristics
  • ‘category NRSh’ – hand-held SI engines having a reference power that is less than 19 kW, exclusively for use in hand-held machinery
  • ‘category NRS’ – SI engines having a reference power that is less than 56 kW and not included in category NRSh
  • ‘category IWP’
  • engines exclusively for use in inland waterway vessels, for their direct or indirect propulsion, or intended for their direct or indirect propulsion, having a reference power that is greater than or equal to 19 kW
  • engines used in place of engines of category IWA
  • ‘category IWA’ – auxiliary engines exclusively for use in inland waterway vessels and having a reference power that is greater than or equal to 19 kW
  • ‘category RLL’ – engines exclusively for use in locomotives, for their propulsion or intended for their propulsion
  • ‘category RLR’
  • engines exclusively for use in railcars, for their propulsion or intended for their propulsion
  • engines used in the place of Stage V engines of category RLL
  • ‘category SMB’ – SI engines exclusively for use in snowmobiles, engines for snowmobiles other than SI engines are included in the category NRE
  • ‘category ATS’ – SI engines exclusively for use in ATVs and SbS, engines for ATVs and SbS other than SI engines are included in the category NRE

Regulation (EU) 2016/1628 has been implemented into Maltese legislation by means of Legal Notice 55 of 2017 - Measures Against the Emission of Gaseous and Particulate Pollutants from Internal Combustion Engines to be Installed in Non-Road Mobile Machinery Regulations (http://www.justiceservices.gov.mt/DownloadDocument.aspx?app=lom&itemid=11998&l=1).

 

Placing on the market

Before placing any product on the market, which falls within the scope of the Regulations mentioned above, a manufacturer shall obtain a type-approval certificate from a Type Approval Authority.  The Technical Regulations Division of the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Directorate is the Type Approval Authority for Malta.  A type-approval certificate is a document whereby the Approval Authority officially certifies that a type of vehicle, system, component or separate technical unit is type-approved.  A type-approval certificate issued by any one of the 28 EU Type Approval Authorities is valid in each Member State of the EU.  

The tests which need to be carried out to ensure that the requirements of the applicable legislation are fulfilled, are conducted by a technical service.  A technical service is an organisation or body designated by the Approval Authority as a testing laboratory to carry out tests, or as a conformity assessment body to carry out the initial assessment and other tests or inspections.

 

Type Approval Authority

An EU Type Approval Authority is the authority of a Member State which issues EU Type Approval Certificates and handles all aspects related to the process of issuing such certificates.  An EU Type Approval Authority is also responsible for designating its Technical Service/s and for ensuring that the manufacturer meets his obligations regarding the conformity of production.

A list of the EU Type Approval Authorities for the following sectors can be found below: 

 

 

Technical Service

A technical service is a body which is designated by the EU Type Approval Authority of a Member State as a testing laboratory to carry out tests, or as a conformity assessment body to carry out the initial assessment and other tests or inspections, on behalf of the EU Type Approval Authority.

A list of the technical services for the following sectors can be found below: 

 

Technical service designation 

The Maltese Type Approval Authority exclusively designates its technical services on the basis of accreditation to the respective standard, depending on the technical service’s designation category. For this reason, the technical service is required to provide the Type Approval Authority with a valid copy of the: 

  • Accreditation scope, listing all the Directives and Regulations for which it has obtained accreditation
  • Accreditation certificate
  • Assessment report
  • Accreditation related documents such as quality manual, standard operating procedures etc.
  • Professional indemnity insurance covering its activities

 

Applications by the technical service should include: 

  • General features of the technical service, including corporate entity, name, addresses, legal status and technical resources
  • A detailed description, including curriculum vitae, of the personnel in charge of testing and of the managerial staff, setting out their educational qualifications and professional skills
  • Technical services which use virtual testing methods (where legally permitted by the respective regulatory acts) shall provide evidence of their ability to work in a Computer-Aided-x environment
  • General information concerning the technical service, including its activities, its relationship in a larger corporate entity, if any, and addresses of all its physical location(s) to be covered by the scope of designation
  • An agreement to fulfil the requirements for designation and the other obligations of the technical service as provided for in the relevant regulatory acts for which it is designated
  • A description of the conformity assessment services that the technical service undertakes in the framework of the relevant regulatory acts and a list of the regulatory acts for which the technical service applies for designation, including limits of capability, where applicable
  • A copy of the quality assurance manual of the technical service

The technical service is required to inform the Type Approval Authority if there is a modification in the scope of accreditation as this will be reflected in the designation scope of the technical service. The technical service should also inform the Type Approval Authority if the accreditation certificate has been withdrawn, suspended or not renewed and of any circumstances affecting the scope and conditions for its designation.

 

Legislation 

Regulation (EU) 2018/858

Regulation (EU) No. 168/2013

Regulation (EU) No. 167/2013

Regulation (EU) 2016/1628 

 

BREXIT

 Brexit Preparedness regarding Union type-approval legislation

 

Further information 

 

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