Type Approval Heavy Trailer Document RSA
Source: RSA
September 2012
Heavy Goods Trailer (O3 and O4)
Type Approval Leaflet
From October 29th 2012
APPROVAL REQUIRED AT FIRST LICENSING
In order to first license a heavy goods trailer (trailer with a Gross Vehicle Design Weight in excess of
3,500kg) at your local authority from October 29th 2012 onwards, you must ensure to have type
approval certification where the trailer is a:
§ Complete (single stage built) trailer manufactured on or after the 29th of October 2012
§ Completed (multistage built) trailer manufactured on or after the 29th of October 2013
§ Special purpose trailer manufactured on or after the 29th of October 2014
Trailers which do not require approval include trailers which were manufactured prior to the dates
outlined above, trailers designed to be towed exclusively by agricultural tractors and trailers which
were previously registered in another Member State of the European Union.
This leaflet explains how the system of trailer licensing at your local authority motor tax office will
change from October 29th 2012 in order to capture type approval data for relevant trailers and the
information required for other trailers. The leaflet also contains contact details for the relevant
national authorities and has a list of FAQ’s in relation to type approval for trailer manufacturers and
bodybuilders.
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Changes to the requirements for first licensing of Heavy Goods Trailers
HGV operators should be aware that from the 29th October onwards certain categories of Heavy
goods trailers (trailers with a Gross Vehicle Design Weight in excess of 3,500kg) must be
accompanied by a type approval certificate in order to be licensed for the first time in Ireland. A
type approval certificate confirms that a trailer meets prescribed safety and environmental
standards. The categories affected are as follows:-
- Trailers manufactured on or after 29th October 2012 in one single stage by a single
manufacturer. (Complete trailers)
- Trailers manufactured on or after 29th October 2013 in more than one stage i.e. by more
than one manufacturer. (Completed trailers)
- Special Purpose trailers manufactured on or after the 29th October 2014.
A type approval certificate will be supplied by the distributor/manufacturer when you purchase your
trailer and either EC or Irish approval certificates are acceptable
Heavy Goods Trailers which are designed to be towed exclusively by agricultural tractors and
trailers which are designed and constructed exclusively for use by the Defence Forces, civil defence,
Garda Siochana or fire services are exempt from the requirement to have a type approval certificate
regardless of their date of manufacture.
In order to license any of the trailers in the above categories the trailer owner must present the
following documentation to their local Authority along with a €60 fee.
1. Form TF100 which contains the name and address of the trailer owner and certain
characteristics of trailer (e.g. chassis number) and
2. Form TF300A (previously form TF 300) which is a weight identification certificate. A copy of
the type approval certificate must be attached to this form.
In order to license a vehicle previously licensed or registered in another EU Member State the same
process as above applies however you will be required to supply evidence of previous registration or
licensing in another Member State with the Form TF300A. Either a registration certificate from the
relevant Member State or alternatively a letter from the national trailer registration/licensing
authority is acceptable.
For trailers that do not fall into the categories mentioned above i.e. the following categories
- Trailers manufactured prior to the 29th October 2012
- Completed (multistage built) trailers manufactured on or after the 29th of October 2013.
A completed trailer means a trailer 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 trailer chassis and assembles a body so that
the completed trailer requires no further work and is in a finished condition.
- Special purpose trailers manufactured prior to 29th October 2014. 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 trailers which, because of their technical features, 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 trailer is special purpose the manufacturer should
first consult with the NSAI (or another European approval authority).
- Trailers designed and constructed to be towed exclusively by agricultural tractors or
trailers designed and constructed exclusively for use by the Defence Forces, Civil
defence, Garda Siochana or Fire services.
a type approval certificate is not required however it remains the legal responsibility of all vehicle
owners to ensure that any vehicle used in a public place complies with the relevant Road Traffic
legislation1
In order to get a trailer in these categories registered/licensed the vehicle owner must present the
following documentation to their local authority along with a €60 fee.
1. Form TF100 which contains the name and address of the trailer owner and certain
characteristics of the trailer and
2. Form TF300B (previously Form TF300). This form must be completed by the manufacturer
or where the manufacturer cannot be contacted the form must be completed by an
Approved Test Centre (ATC) of the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI). The
details which shall be verified include the date of manufacture and the total and individual
axle weights for the trailer. For a full list of ATC’s and their scope of work, please visit
www.nsai.ie or click on the following: http://www.nsai.ie/Our-
Services/Certification/Automotive-Certification/Motor-Vehicle-Approval-
Schemes/Approved-Test-Centers.aspx
All of the forms referred to in this information note are available from your local Motor Tax Office
and are available to download from certain local authority websites.
Requirements for Heavy Goods Trailers following first licensing.
Annual Licensing
It is a legal requirement that heavy goods trailers are licensed annually at your local motor tax office.
There is no fee to renew the license and the period of license is 12 months. The owner should
submit a form TF100 together with the license card and a valid certificate of roadworthiness.
Modified Trailers
Where a trailer that has already been licensed is subsequently modified in respect of any details
contained on the original form TF300A/B then a new Form TF300B must be completed and
forwarded to the licensing authority together with the Trailer License Card. The licensing authority
will then make any necessary amendments on the licence card and return it to the owner.
Change of particulars
1 Road Traffic (Construction, Equipment and Use of Vehicles) Regulations as amended, Road Traffic
(Construction and Use of Vehicles) Regulations as amended, Road Traffic (Lighting of Vehicles) Regulations as
amended
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Where the details of the owner have changed e.g. address Form TF100 together with the License
Card must be forwarded to the licensing authority who will make the necessary amendments.
Notification of sale
When a trailer is sold the Form TF200 (notification of trailer ownership) shall be completed by both
the buyer and the seller and submitted along with the Trailer license card to the motor tax office
who will then issue a replacement license card to the new owner
Scrapped/Destroyed/Exported trailers.
The owner is required to notify the local authority motor tax office in writing and surrender the
license card for the trailer
Replacement Trailer Licensing card
Where a replacement licensing card is required the owner should submit form RF134 to the local
authority motor tax office with a fee of €6 who will then issue a new licensing card.
Background to Type Approval
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 of
type approval will extend to include heavy goods trailers and Ireland is obliged to ensure that new
trailers 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.
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Acceptable Certificates of Approval
An application to first license a trailer which has been manufactured 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 trailer that
meets the European Communities Whole Vehicle Type Approval (ECWVTA) requirements.
This certificate allows the trailer to enter into service in any Member State of the European
Union and when a copy of this certificate is submitted to the motor tax officials, it must be in
English or Irish.
- · An Irish National Small Series Type Approval Certificate of Conformity (NSSTA CoC). This
certificate is issued in respect of a trailer that meets Ireland’s National Small Series Type
Approval requirements. Upon purchasing a trailer, the NSSTA CoC is issued by the
manufacturer to the purchaser of a trailer and signifies that the trailer is of a type which has
been approved by the NSAI. The number of trailers of 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 trailer that meets Ireland’s Individual Vehicle Approval requirements, a scheme
suited for trailers imported or manufactured in very small numbers or as individual vehicles.
Each trailer 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 trailer 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
trailer 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 for the trailer.
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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
The Local Authority (Motor Tax Offices) – Irelands Licensing Authority for Trailers
Responsibility for the initial licensing and annual licensing of trailers and semi-trailers rests with the
relevant licensing authority (Local Authority Motor Tax Offices) in whose area the trailer is ordinarily
kept. A full list of the contact details of all of the local authority motor tax offices can be found at
the following link:
http://www.environ.ie/en/LocalGovernment/MotorTax/
Copies of the relevant forms are available at your local motor tax office, or alternatively may be
available to download from your local authority websites.
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 trailer (category O3 or O4) 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
trailers 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 trailers 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 trailer must demonstrate compliance with all of
the technical requirements relevant to category O3 or O4 trailers 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 trailer 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.
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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
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 trailers 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.