In brief

• The government has adopted a draft amendment to the regulations on vehicle type approval and road traffic.
• Registration offices are to register new vehicles based on data from the Central Vehicle Register (CEP), without a paper certificate of conformity.
• The change covers M, N and O category vehicles and provides for data exchange with other EU countries.

Electronic certificates instead of paper

On Tuesday, the government adopted an amendment to the regulations on vehicle type approval and road traffic. The aim of the changes is to streamline and simplify the rules for creating electronic certificates of conformity for new vehicles covered by EU type-approval certificates. (Rząd przyjął projekt przepisów ws. elektronicznych świadectw zgodności pojazdów – wnp.pl) The draft was prepared by the Ministry of Infrastructure. It provides that registration offices will use documents available in the Central Vehicle Register (CEP), so the owner will not have to bring a paper certificate of conformity. (Rejestracja aut będzie prostsza. Elektroniczne świadectwa trafią do CEP – Prawo.pl) (Kolejne ułatwienia w rejestracji pojazdów – Ministerstwo Infrastruktury)

Who the change will cover

The amendment concerns new vehicles in category M, i.e. passenger cars, buses and special-purpose motor vehicles; category N, to which trucks, road tractors and some special-purpose vehicles belong; and category O, i.e. trailers and semi-trailers. Electronic certificates of conformity, so-called eCoCs, are issued by manufacturers, and their data is to be available to registration authorities.

National access point and data exchange in the EU

The Ministry of Infrastructure, together with the Ministry of Digital Affairs, has proposed creating a national access point operating alongside CEP. Through it, eCoC data will be exchanged with other EU Member States via the trans-European EUCARIS network.

Benefits for owners and offices

According to the ministry, the solution is intended to reduce the flow of paper documents and speed up vehicle registration. The type-approval authority will also gain the option of spot-checking whether certificates are being issued correctly.

Entry into force

The new rules are to take effect 14 days after publication in the Journal of Laws (Dziennik Ustaw), although some solutions may enter into force later. The draft has been adopted by the government but still has to go through the legislative process.