Type Approval Heavy Goods Vehicle Document RSA
Source: RSA
September 2012
Heavy Goods Vehicle (N2 and N3)
Type Approval Leaflet
From October 29th 2012
APPROVAL REQUIRED AT REGISTRATION
A new heavy goods vehicle (HGV - Gross Vehicle Design Weight in excess of 3,500kg), presented for
registration must have type approval certification from the following dates:
§ 29th of October 2012 - Complete (single stage built) vehicles
§ 29th of October 2014 - Completed (multistage built) and Special purpose vehicles
From October 29th 2012 onwards, the registration system used by the Revenue Commissioners and
Applus+ will change in order to capture the type approval data for relevant vehicles.
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Background
Due to safety, environmental, and trade reasons, the European Union has set harmonised
construction standards for new road vehicles. Any vehicle that has been approved to these
standards can be registered and used in any country within the European Union. This is known as
European Community Whole Vehicle Type Approval or, in short, ECWVTA.
ECWVTA already applies to cars, vans and buses and from October 29th 2012 onwards, the system
will extend to include HGV’s (EU Categories N2 and N3) and Ireland is obliged to ensure that new
vehicles entering the national fleet are ‘type approved’ and have approval certification to ensure
that they meet with minimum safety and environmental standards. Type approval is mandated in all
Member States of the European Union by EC Directive 2007/46/EC and this Directive has been
transposed into Irish law by S.I. No. 157 of 2009 and S.I. No. 158 of 2009. The Directive allows
Member States to introduce national approval schemes and Ireland has introduced the National
Small Series Type Approval (NSSTA) and the Individual Vehicle Approval (IVA) schemes for the
approval of vehicles manufactured in small numbers or as individual vehicles. The technical and
administrative requirements associated with NSSTA and IVA are less onerous than those of ECWVTA.
The National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) is the Irish appointed approval authority and is
responsible for issuing NSSTA and IVA for vehicles in Ireland. The NSAI has established a network of
Approved Test Centre’s (ATC) who physically examine and issue test reports for some or all of the
technical requirements. These test reports are then used by NSAI to grant the vehicle or trailer
approvals.
Upcoming Approval dates affecting heavy goods vehicles
An application to register a new HGV (EU category N2 or N3) must be accompanied by an EC or Irish
certificate of conformity (CoC) or individual approval certificate from the following dates:
§ 29th of October 2012 - Complete (single stage built) vehicles
§ 29th of October 2014 - Completed (multistage built) and Special purpose vehicles
A complete vehicle means a vehicle which has been manufactured in a single stage (i.e. by a single
manufacturer). It requires no further work prior to registration, and an example of this would be a
mass produced vehicle, in a finished condition. One manufacturer makes the whole vehicle and sells
it as a complete vehicle.
A completed vehicle is one which has been manufactured in more than one stage (i.e. by more than
one manufacturer). An example of this would be a manufacturer who imports an incomplete rigid
truck chassis and assembles a body so that the completed vehicle requires no further work and is in
a finished condition.
A Special Purpose vehicle is defined in Directive 2007/46/EC as a vehicle “having specific technical
features in order to perform a function which requires special arrangements and/or equipment”.
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These are vehicles which, because of their technical features, they cannot meet the technical
requirements of the Directives specified in Annex IV of Directive 2007/46/EC. In order for a
manufacturer to declare that a vehicle is special purpose, the manufacturer should first consult with
the NSAI (or another European approval authority).
What proof of approval will the Revenue Commissioners/ Applus+ need to register my vehicle
An application to first register an N2 or N3 vehicle after the relevant approval dates must be
accompanied by either of the following:
- · An EC Certificate of Conformity (EC CoC). This certificate is issued in respect of a vehicle
that meets the European Communities Whole Vehicle Type Approval (ECWVTA)
requirements. This certificate allows the vehicle to enter into service in any Member State
of the European Union.
- · An Irish National Small Series Type Approval Certificate of Conformity (NSSTA CoC). This
certificate is issued in respect of a vehicle that meets Ireland’s National Small Series Type
Approval requirements. Upon purchasing a vehicle, the NSSTA CoC is issued by the
manufacturer to the purchaser and signifies that the vehicle is of a type which has been
approved by the NSAI. The number of N2 or N3 vehicles which can be approved as part of a
small series is limited to 250 per year.
- · An Irish Individual Vehicle Approval Certificate (IVA Certificate). This certificate is issued in
respect of a vehicle that meets Ireland’s Individual Vehicle Approval requirements, a scheme
suited for vehicles imported or manufactured in very small numbers or as individual vehicles.
Each vehicle is examined individually and when the technical requirements are met, an IVA
Certificate is issued by the NSAI to the owner or manufacturer.
If you import a new vehicle and it has national approval certification from a Member State of the
European Union other than Ireland, please contact the NSAI in order to have the certification and/or
vehicle examined in order to verify whether Ireland’s national approval requirements are met.
Should the NSAI consider that Ireland’s approval requirements are met, then the NSAI will issue you
with an Irish IVA certificate.
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Contact Details
The NSAI - Irelands Approval Authority
The NSAI (National Standards Authority of Ireland) is Ireland’s appointed Approval Authority and are
responsible for issuing all national approvals (IVA or NSSTA) for vehicles in Ireland. In order to make
enquiries about obtaining approval, please contact the NSAI at the following:
www.nsai.ie
Tel: 01 8073800
Fax: 01 8073838
Email: info@nsai.ie
Address: NSAI, 1 Swift Square, Northwood, Santry, Dublin 9
Revenue Commissioners
The Revenue Commissioners are the registration authority for mechanically propelled vehicles in
Ireland. Please visit Revenue’s website at www.revenue.ie for further information relating to first
registration of vehicles or importing of vehicles.
Road Safety Authority - RSA
The RSA website contains further information on the type approval process including; FAQ’s,
implementation dates and links to the relevant legislation. Please visit the RSA website at
www.rsa.ie and navigate your way through to vehicle type approval. If you need further
information, you can email ecwvta@rsa.ie or phone 096-25040 or 096-25014. Copies of an
interactive CD, issued originally in January 2009, are still available on request.
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FAQ’s for Manufacturers/ Bodybuilders
How manufacturers/ bodybuilders can get approval for their vehicles?
An EC Certificate of Conformity (EC CoC) - proof that the vehicle meets with European Communities
Whole Vehicle Type Approval (ECWVTA)
ECWVTA consists of a series of tests carried out on a prototype vehicle and on the production
process used to manufacture the vehicle. If the vehicle and production process pass these stringent
safety and environmental tests, then the vehicle receives EC Whole Vehicle Type Approval. Each
subsequent vehicle manufactured in the same way is issued with an EC Certificate of Conformity (EC
CoC) which allows the vehicle to enter the fleet of any Member State of the EU.
In order to achieve ECWVTA, manufacturers need to apply for approval to an Approval Authority, of
which there is one in each of the Member States of the European Union. Applying for ECWVTA can
be costly and onerous and involves strict conformity of production requirements, but its main
advantage is that it allows manufacturers to sell throughout the EU in unlimited quantities. In order
to achieve ECWVTA, a heavy goods vehicle (category N2 or N3) must meet with all of the relevant
separate Directives and Regulations listed in Annex IV of 2007/46/EC.
Irish National Small Series Type Approval Certificate of Conformity (NSSTA CoC)
There are a number of small to medium businesses who manufacture or assemble heavy goods
vehicles in small volumes for the Irish market. These manufacturers may find ECWVTA prohibitively
expensive due to the limited quantities of vehicles they produce. Therefore, Ireland has introduced
a national small series type approval (NSSTA) scheme for the approval of such vehicles. The NSSTA
scheme is administratively less onerous than ECWVTA and where appropriate, alternative technical
requirements apply. There are also reduced Conformity of Production requirements. Once NSSTA
has been granted by the NSAI to the manufacturer, the manufacturer may issue a Certificate of
Conformity (CoC) for each vehicle produced, however the number of heavy goods vehicles of one
type that a manufacture may produce in a year is limited to 250.
NSSTA is applied for in the Member State where vehicles are destined to be sold. The National
Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) is the Irish appointed approval authority and is responsible for
issuing NSSTA for vehicles in Ireland. The NSAI has established a network of Appointed Test Centre’s
(ATC) who physically examine and issue test reports for some or all of the technical requirements.
These test reports are then used by NSAI as part of an application for national small series type
approval. In order to achieve NSSTA, a heavy goods vehicle must demonstrate compliance with all
of the technical requirements relevant to category N2 or N3 vehicles set out in Part 3 of Schedule 3
of S.I. No. 158 of 2009. These requirements are derived from the EC requirements but with certain
exemptions and variations.
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Irish Individual Vehicle Approval Certificate (IVA Certificate)
Ireland has introduced the Individual Vehicle Approval (IVA) scheme for the approval of new vehicles
imported or manufactured in very small numbers or as individual vehicles. The technical and
administrative requirements associated with IVA are less onerous than those of NSSTA or ECWVTA.
Once a vehicle passes an IVA inspection, an Individual Vehicle Approval Certificate is issued which
allows the vehicle to be first licensed in Ireland. As with NSSTA, the NSAI administer the IVA scheme
in Ireland and manufacturers should contact them for more details.
If you are involved in importing or manufacturing vehicles in very small numbers or as individual
vehicles, then the IVA scheme may be the best commercial decision for you. There is no limit to the
number of vehicles that can be sold. However, as each vehicle is approved individually, the cost of
approving several vehicles may be greater than the cost for NSSTA. The NSAI can help advise which
option is more suitable for you.
In order to achieve IVA, a heavy goods vehicle must meet with the technical requirements set out in
Part 5 of Schedule 3 of S.I. No. 158 of 2009. These requirements are derived from the NSSTA
requirements but with certain exemptions and variations.
What kind of proof of approval will I get if I am a Manufacturer?
Once approval has been granted by the approval authority in Ireland, (the NSAI), the manufacturer
will get an Approval Certificate. It will either be an ECWVTA, or an Irish NSSTA, or an Irish IVA.
When selling a vehicle you (the manufacturer) are required to give the buyer a Certificate of
Conformity if that type of vehicle has been checked to ECWVTA or Irish NSSTA, or pass on the Irish
Individual Vehicle Certificate if that vehicle has been individually approved. For Irish NSSTA, copies
of the CoC must also be sent to NSAI.
To legally issue a Certificate of Conformity, you will need to ensure that each vehicle sold is the same
type as the vehicle originally approved. This will mean cooperating with the approval authority to
confirm that the production conforms to that type. This is known as Conformity of Production. The
Conformity of Production requirements will be agreed with the approval authority as part of the type
approval procedure. There are no Conformity of Production requirements for IVA.
I am a bodybuilder. Am I a manufacturer and if so, how do I get a proof of approval?
As you are completing part of the vehicle build and you have responsibility for the safety or
environmental acceptability of the construction of the vehicle, you are considered to be a
manufacturer. As a manufacturer you can apply to the NSAI for Irish national approval or to any
Approval Authority in any Member State of the European Union for ECWVTA.
You will only need to take responsibility for those parts of the vehicle that you have added or
modified. If the base vehicle that you have worked upon had been issued with an incomplete
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approval (prior to the work), then these approvals will remain valid as long as the base vehicle
systems and components are unaltered. However, certain modifications will alter the approvals of
the base vehicle. If you add an axle for example, then tests will be required to be carried out on the
braking devices of the vehicle, also the tyres on the new wheels added will have to have had
component approval, etc. The body builder will need to understand whether the work they carry
out affects the validity of the approvals issued at an earlier stage. The exchange of information is
very important during the multi stage build process and body builders will generally require access
to the base vehicle manufacturer’s approval information and ensure that modifications carried out
are in line with the base vehicle manufacturer’s guidelines where applicable.
I manufacture vehicles for Ireland and one other EU Member State (the UK for example). Do I
need different approvals for each market?
If your vehicle has ECWVTA, you will not need separate approvals for each Member State (as these
approvals are acceptable throughout the EU).
If your vehicle has an Irish NSSTA or IVA then you will need to contact the registration authorities in
the Member State where you wish to register the vehicle in order to establish whether or not the
Irish approval is acceptable in their jurisdiction. The approval certificate will be examined for
equivalency with the requirements of the Member State where you wish to sell the vehicle. Unless
the relevant authorities determine that the national approval requirements for their country have
been met, then sale/ registration may not be granted.
The RSA are actively pursuing mutual recognition arrangements between Ireland and the UK.
Although there is currently no formal mutual recognition arrangement currently in place, a great
similarity exists between the NSSTA and IVA technical specifications in both jurisdictions. This
should reduce the barriers to acceptance and reduce the cost of achieving approval in the UK for
vehicles which have successfully achieved approval in Ireland (and vice versa).
As a manufacturer, how much will national approval (NSSTA or IVA) cost?
The fees for approval work are charged based on the amount of time taken to carry out the
administrative work and also based on the amount of testing involved. However, the NSAI will try
to provide an estimate for the costs involved, once the scope of work has been agreed with the
manufacturer.