Motor vehicle: Apply for operating license/individual approval

The operating license, together with the registration plate, is part of the registration procedure for motor vehicles on public roads. An operating license is a confirmation that the vehicle complies with the relevant regulations.

It is issued for type-approved vehicles by the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) or comparable institutions in other countries of the European Union and for vehicles without type approval by the registration authority.

The expiry of the operating license is regulated in Section 19 (2) of the Road Traffic Licensing Regulations (StVZO).

Driving without or with an expired operating license is an administrative offence; the registration authority can also prohibit operation and cancel the license plate. In addition, liability insurance cover may lapse if the operating license or individual approval has not been issued.

On 29.04.2009, the introduction of the EC Vehicle Approval Regulation (EG-FGV) and the new version of § 21 StVZO changed the procedure for issuing an individual approval or individual operating permit for motor vehicles.

In Hesse, this task is carried out by 2 bundling authorities in the districts of Fulda and Marburg-Biedenkopf.

The district of Marburg-Biedenkopf is responsible as the approval authority for the following cities/districts:

• City of Darmstadt
• Darmstadt-Dieburg district
• City of Offenbach
• District of Offenbach
• City of Wiesbaden
• County of Gießen
• Odenwald district
• Bergstrasse district
• District of Groß-Gerau
• Main-Taunus district
• Rheingau-Taunus district
• Limburg-Weilburg district
• Marburg-Biedenkopf district

The district of Fulda is the licensing authority responsible for the following cities/districts:

• City of Kassel
• County of Kassel
• District of Waldeck-Frankenberg
• Schwalm-Eder district
• District of Hersfeld-Rotenburg
• County of Werra-Meißner
• County of Fulda
• Vogelsberg district
• Main-Kinzig district
• Wetterau district

Exceptions are the city of Frankfurt a. M., the Lahn-Dill district and the Hochtaunus district, which provide this service themselves for their residents, provided the vehicles are registered there.

Issuance of an individual permit in accordance with § 13 EG-FGV:

For the registration of a new vehicle in categories M (cars, motorhomes, buses), N (trucks, tractor units) and O (trailers) for which no certificate of conformity (so-called COC certificate) is available, an individual approval must be applied for in accordance with § 13 EG-FGV.

The following documents must be enclosed with the application for individual approval:

• Certificate of the officially recognized expert
• Identity card/passport of the applicant (note: the applicant and the subsequent owner of the vehicle do not necessarily have to be one and the same person)
• for legal entities: Copy of the trade register excerpt Based on the documents submitted, you will receive the individual permit by post and please submit the original to your local registration authority. They will then issue the registration certificates (vehicle registration document and vehicle registration certificate).

Issue of an operating license in accordance with § 21 StVZO:

For the registration of all other new or used vehicles for which no certificate of conformity/COC certificate is available, an operating permit in accordance with § 21 StVZO must be applied for. This also applies in the event that you have received an expert opinion in accordance with § 19 Para. 2 in conjunction with § 21 StVZO from an officially recognized expert due to modifications to the vehicle (e.g. gas system installation, chassis modifications), as the operating permit for your vehicle has also expired in this case and must therefore be reissued.

The following documents must be enclosed with the application for an operating license:

• Certificate from the officially recognized expert
• Any existing registration certificate/vehicle registration document (also foreign)
• Identity card/passport of the applicant (Note: the applicant and the future owner of the vehicle do not necessarily have to be one and the same person)
• for legal entities: Copy of the trade register excerpt

Based on the documents submitted, you will receive the operating permit by post and please submit the original to your local registration authority. They will then issue or amend the registration certificates (vehicle registration document and vehicle registration certificate).

The fees are charged according to administrative expenses.

Fees must be paid to the authorized organizations for the technical inspections.

Before you carry out any installation or conversion work on your vehicle, ask an officially recognized expert whether the operating permit will be affected or whether the modification can be approved at all.