1976L0114 — EN — 19.12.1975 — 000.001 — 1
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►B COUNCILDIRECTIVE
of18December 1975
on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to statutory plates and inscrip-
tionsformotorvehiclesandtheirtrailers, andtheirlocationandmethodofattachment
(76/114/EEC)
(OJ L 24, 30.1.1976, p. 1)
Corrected by:
►C1Corrigendum, OJ L 56, 4.3.1976, p. 38 (76/114/EEC)
►C2Corrigendum, OJ L 329, 25.11.1982, p. 31 (76/114/EEC)
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COUNCILDIRECTIVE
of18December 1975
on the approximationof the lawsofthe Member States relating to
statutory plates and inscriptions for motor vehicles and their trai-
lers,andtheir locationandmethodofattachment
(76/114/EEC)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic
Community, and in particular Article 100 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament(1),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee(2),
Whereas the technical requirements which motor vehicles must satisfy
pursuant to national laws relate inter alia to statutory plates and
inscriptions, and their location and methods of attachment;
Whereasthos e requirementsdiffer from one Member State to another;
whereas it is therefore necessary that all Member States adopt the samerequirements either in addition to or in place of their existing rules, in
order, in particular, to allow the EEC type-approval procedure, which
wasthe s ubject of Council Directive 70/156/EEC of 6 February 1970on the approximation of the lawsof the Member Statesrelating to thetype-approval of motor vehiclesand their trailers (
3), to be applied in
respect of each type of vehicle;
Whereasthe approximation of national lawsrelating to motor vehicles
involvesthe mutual recognition by Member Statesof the ins pectionscarried out by each of them on the basis of common provisions;whereas, for such a system to function successfully, these provisions
must be applied by all Member States with effect from the same date,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Article 1
For the purposes of this Directive, ‘vehicle’ means any motor vehicle
intended for use on the road, with or without bodywork, having at leastfour wheels and a maximum design speed exceeding 25 km/h, and itstrailers, with the exception of vehicles which run on rails, agricultural
or forestry tractors and machinery, and public works vehicles.
Article 2
No Member State may refuse to grant EEC type-approval or national
type-approval of a vehicle on groundsrelating to the s tatutory platesand inscriptions and their location and method of attachment, if thesesatisfy the requirements set out in the Annex hereto.
Article 3
No Member State may refuse registration or prohibit the sale, entry
into service or use of a vehicle on grounds relating to the statutoryplatesand ins criptionsand their location and method of attachment, ifthese satisfy the requirements set out in the Annex to this Directive.1976L0114 — EN — 19.12.1975 — 000.001 — 2
(1) OJ No C 5, 8. 1. 1975, p. 41.
(2) OJ No C 47, 27. 2. 1975, p. 4.
(3) OJ No L 42, 23. 2. 1970, p. 1.
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Article 4
The amendments necessary to adapt the requirements of the Annex to
technical progress shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure
laid down in Article 13 of Directive 70/156/EEC.
Article 5
1. By 1 January 1977, Member States shall adopt and publish the
provisions necessary to comply with this Directive and shall forthwith
inform the Commission thereof.
They shall implement these provisions with effect from 1 October
1978.
2. After notification of thisDirective, Member Statess hall take
steps to inform the Commission, in sufficient time for it to submit itscomments, of any draft laws, regulations or administrative provisionswhich they intend to adopt in the field covered by the Directive.
Article 6
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.1976L0114 — EN — 19.12.1975 — 000.001 — 3
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ANNEX
1. GENERAL
1.1. All vehicles must be provided with the plate and inscriptions described
in the following sections. The plate and inscriptions shall be attached
either by the manufacturer or by hisauthorized repres entative.
2. MANUFACTURER'S PLATE
2.1. A manufacturer'splate, modelled on that s hown in the appendix hereto,
must be firmly attached in a conspicuous and readily accessible position
on a part not subject to replacement in use. It must show clearly and
indelibly the following information in the order listed:
2.1.1. Name of the manufacturer.2.1.2. EEC type-approval number(
1).
This number is composed of a small letter ‘e’ followed, in the order
given, by the distinguishing number or letters of the country which
granted the EEC type-approval (1 for Germany, 2 for France, 3 for
Italy, 4 for the Netherlands, 6 for Belgium, 11 for the United Kingdom,
►C213◄for Luxembourg, DK for Denmark, IRL for Ireland) and
by the type-approval number corresponding to the number on the type-
approval certificate for the type of vehicle. An asterisk shall be placed
between the letter ‘e’ and the distinguishing number or letters of the
country which granted the EEC type-approval, and between the distin-
guishing number or letters and the type-approval number.
2.1.3. Vehicle identification number.2.1.4. Maximum permitted laden weight of the vehicle.
2.1.5. Maximum permitted laden weight for the combination, where the
vehicle isus ed for towing.
2.1.6. Maximum permitted road weight for each axle, listed in order from
front to rear.
2.1.7. In the case of a semi-trailer, the maximum permitted weight on the fifth
wheel king pin.
2.1.8. The requirementsof 2.1.4 to 2.1.7 s hall not enter into force until 12
monthshave elaps ed from the date of adoption of the Council Directive
on weights and dimensions of motor vehicles and their trailers. In the
meantime, however, a Member State may require that the maximum
permitted weights prescribed in its national legislation be shown on
the plate of any vehicle which hasentered into s ervice in itsterritory.
If the technically permissible weight is higher than the maximum
permitted weight, the Member State in question may request that the
technically permissible weight also be stated. The weight would be set
out in two columns: the maximum permitted weight on the left and the
technically permissible weight on the right.
2.2 The manufacturer may give additional information below or to the side
of the prescribed inscriptions, outside a clearly marked rectangle which
shall enclose only the information prescribed in 2.1.1 to 2.1.8 (see the
Appendix to thisAnnex).
VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION NUMBER
The vehicle identification number isa fixed combination of characters
assigned to each vehicle by the manufacturer. Its purpose is to ensure
that every vehicle can be clearly identified over a period of 30 years
through the intermediary of the manufacturer, without there being a
need for reference to further data. The vehicle identification number
must conform to the following requirements:
3.1. It must be marked on the manufacturer's plate, and also on the chassis,
frame, or other similar structure.
3.1.1. It must consist of two sections: the first, composed of not more than six
characters (letters or figures), identifying the general characteristics of
the vehicle, in particular the type and model; the second, composed of1976L0114 — EN — 19.12.1975 — 000.001 — 4
(1) Until such time as EEC type-approval is granted, the national type-approval number
may be used instead.
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eight charactersof which the firs t four may be lettersor figuresand the
other four figures only, providing, in conjunction with the first section,
clear identification of a particular vehicle.
3.1.2. It must wherever possible be marked on a single line. As an exception,
for technical reasons, it may also be marked on two lines. However, in
this case there must be no gaps within either of the two sections.
There must be no spaces between the characters.In the second section, any unused position must be filled by a zero in
order to obtain the required total of eight characters.
The beginning and end of each line must be marked by a symbol which
isneither an arabic numeral nor a roman capital letter and which cannot
be confused with either. It is also permissible to place such a symbol
between the two sections on one line (3.1.1).
3.2. The identification number must, moreover:3.2.1. be marked on the chassis, frame or other similar structure, on the right-
hand side of the vehicle;
3.2.2. be placed in a clearly visible and accessible position by a method such
as hammering or stamping, in such a way that it cannot be obliterated
or deteriorate.
4. CHARACTERS
4.1. Roman letters and arabic numerals must be used for all the markings
provided for in sections 2 and 3. However, the roman letters used in
the markingsprovided for in 2.1.1 and 2.1.3 and 3 mus t be capital
letters.
4.2. For the vehicle identification number:
4.2.1. use of the letters I, O and Q and dashes, asterisks and other special
signs, other than the symbols referred to in the final paragraph of
3.1.2, isnot permitted;
4.2.2. the minimum height of the letters and figures shall be as follows:4.2.2.1. 7 mm for characters marked directly on the chassis, frame or other
similar structure of the vehicle;
4.2.2.2. 4 mm for charactersmarked on the manufacturer'splate.1976L0114 — EN — 19.12.1975 — 000.001 — 5
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APPENDIX
MODEL OF THE MANUFACTURER'S PLATE
(see 2.1 and 2.2)
►(1)C1
Example asfor a Clas sN 3 vehicle.Additional information (see 2.2) may be given below or to the side of the
prescribed information within the rectangles shown with broken lines in the
above model.1976L0114 — EN — 19.12.1975 — 000.001 — 6