1993L0034 — EN — 11.05.1999 — 001.001 — 1
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►B COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 93/34/EEC
of 14 June 1993
on statutory markings for two- or three-wheel motor vehicles
(OJ L 188, 29.7.1993, p. 38)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Commission Directive 1999/25/EC of 9 April 1999 L 104 19 21.4.1999
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COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 93/34/EEC
of 14 June 1993
on statutory markings for two- or three-wheel motor vehicles
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Havingreg ard of the Treaty establishingthe European Community, and
in particular Article 100a thereof,
Havingreg ard to Council Directive 92/61/EEC of 30 June 1992 relating
to the type-approval of two- or three-wheel motor vehicles(1),
Havingreg ard to the proposal from the Commission(2),
In cooperation with the Euroepan Parliament(3),
Havingreg ard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee(4),
Whereas the internal market comprises an area without internal frontiers
in which the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital isensured; whereas measures necessary to that end should be adopted;
Whereas, with regard to their statutory markings, in each Member State
two- or three-wheel motor vehicles must display certain technical char-acteristics laid down by mandatory provisions which differ from oneMember State to another; whereas, as a result of their differences, suchprovisions constitute a barrier to trade within the Community;
Whereas those obstacles to the establishment and operation of the
internal market may be removed if the same requirements are adoptedby all Member States in place of their national rules;
Whereas it is necessary to draw up harmonized requirements concerning
statutory markings for two- or three-wheel motor vehicles in order toenable the type-approval and component type-approval procedures laiddown in Directive 92/61/EEC to be applied for each type of suchvehicle;
Whereas, given the scale and impact of the action proposed in the sector
in question, the Community measures covered by this Directive arenecessary, indeed essential, to achieve the aim in view, which is toestablish Community vehicle type-approval; whereas that aim cannot beadequately achieved by the Member States individually;
Whereas, with regard to the statutory markings applicable to two- or
three-wheel motor vehicles, this Directive does not prevent certainMember States from retaining, on a non-discriminatory basis, specificmandatory provisions for the purposes of applyingtraffic reg ulations,provided that such specific requirements concern the use of thesevehicles and do not involve any modifications in their constructionlikely to create an obstacle to Community type-approval of this type ofvehicle,
HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Article 1
This Directive applies to the statutory markings for all types of vehicles
as defined in Article 1 of Directive 92/61/EEC.
(1) OJ No L 225, 10. 8. 1992, p. 72.
(2) OJ No C 293, 9. 11. 1992, p. 43.
(3) OJ No C 337, 21. 12. 1992, p. 103 and
OJ No C 176, 28. 6. 1993.
(4) OJ No C 73, 15. 3. 1993, p. 22.
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Article 2
The procedure for the granting of component type-approval in respect
of the statutory markings for a type of two- or three-wheel motorvehicle and the conditions governing the free movement of suchvehicles shall be as laid down in Chapters II and III of Directive92/61/EEC.
Article 3
Any amendments necessary to adapt the requirements of the Annexes to
technical progress shall be adopted in accordance with the procedurelaid down in Article 13 of Directive 70/156/EEC (
1).
Article 4
1. Member States shall adopt and publish the provisions necessary to
comply with this Directive not later than 14 December 1994. They shallforthwith inform the Commission thereof.
When the Member States adopt these provisions, they shall contain a
reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such a referenceon the occasion of their official publication. The methods of makingsuch a reference shall be laid down by the Member States.
From the date mentioned in the first subparagraph Member States may
not, for reasons connected with statutory markings, prohibit the initialentry into service of vehicles which conform to this Directive.
They shall apply the provisions referred to in the first subparagraph as
from 14 June 1995.
2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the texts of
the provisions of national law which they adopt in the field governed bythis Directive.
Article 5
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.
(1) OJ No L 42, 23. 2. 1970, p. 1; Directive as last amended by Directive
92/53/EEC (OJ No L 225, 10. 8. 1992, p. 1).
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ANNEX
REQUIREMENTS CONCERNING STATUTORY MARKINGS FOR
TWO- OR THREE-WHEEL MOTOR VEHICLES
1. GENERAL
1.1. All vehicles must receive a plate and markings as described below. That
plate and those markings must be affixed by the manufacturer or hisauthorized representative.
2. MANUFACTURER’S DATA PLATE2.1. A manufacturer’s data plate, a model of which is shown in Appendix 1
must be firmly attached, at an easily accessible point, to a part which isnormally not likely to be replaced duringuse; it must be easily leg ibleand contain the followinginformation in an indelible form, in thefollowingorder:
2.1.1. name of manufacturer;2.1.2. type-approval mark as described in Article 8 of Council Directive 92/
61/EEC of 30 June 1992 on the type-approval of two- or three-wheelmotor vehicles;
2.1.3. the vehicle identification number (VIN);
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2.1.4. the static sound level:… dB(A)… min–1.
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2.2. The type-approval mark as required by section 2.1.2., the static sound
level value and the number of rev/minute as required by section 2.1.4.are not included in the component type-approval of statutory markings.However, those pieces of information must be attached to all vehiclesmanufactured in conformity with the type that has been approved.
2.3. Manufacturers may affix additional information below or to one side of
the mandatory markings, outside a clearly marked rectangle whichcontains only the information required by sections 2.1.1. to 2.1.4. (seeAppendix 1).
3. VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION NUMBER
The vehicle identification number consists of a structured combination
of characters assigned to each vehicle by their manufacturer. Its purposeis to enable any vehicle to be identified unambiguously via its manufac-turer — without any need for any other information — for a period of30 years. The identification must meet the followingrequirements:
3.1. the vehicle identification number must be entered on the manufacturer’s
data plate. It must also be hammered or punched in such a way as toavoid obliteration or change on the chassis or frame at a point such thatit can easily be accessible, and it must be situated on the right half of thevehicle;
3.1.1. the vehicle identification number must be in three parts as indicated
hereafter:
3.1.1.1. the first part consists of a code assigned to the vehicle manufacturer
enablingthat person to be identified. The code shall consist of threecharacters (letters or digits) issued by the competent authorities in thecountry in which the manufacturer has his registered address in line withthe practice of the international agency acting on the authorization of theInternational Organization for Standardization (ISO). The first characterdesignates a geographical area, the second a country within a geograph-ical area and the third character a particular manufacturer. Where themanufacturer produces less than 500 vehicles per year the third char-acter is always a 9. In order to identify that manufacturer the authorityreferred to above shall also issue the third, fourth and fifth characters ofthe third part;
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3.1.1.2. the second part consists of six characters (letters or digits) for the
purpose of describingthe g eneral characteristics of the vehicle (type,variant and version). If the manufacturer does not use one or more ofthose characters, the unused spaces must be filled by alphanumericalcharacters, the choice beingleft to the manufacturer for each vehicle;
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3.1.1.3. the third part consists of eight characters, the last four of which are
required to be numerical and, in combination with the two other parts,must enable a particular vehicle to be clearly identified. Any unused
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position must be filled by a 0 in order to obtain the requisite total
number of characters;
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3.1.2. the vehicle identification number must, wherever possible, occupy a
single line. The beginning and end of this line must be marked by asymbol which is neither an Arabic numeral nor a capital Latin letter, normust it be possible to confuse this with any such character.
By way of an exception and for technical reasons it may also occupy
two lines. However, in this case there must be no breaks within any ofthe three parts and the beginning and end of each line must be markedby a symbol which is neither an Arabic numeral nor a capital Latinletter, nor must it be possible to confuse this with any such character.
The introduction of said symbol within a line between the three parts
(Point 3.1.1) is also authorised.
There must be no spaces between the characters.
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4. CHARACTERS4.1. Latin letters and Arabic numerals must be used for all of the markings
provided for in sections 2 and 3. However, the Latin letters used for theinformation provided for in sections 2.1.1, 2.1.3 and 3 must be capitalletters.
4.2. In the vehicle identification number:4.2.1. letters I, O and Q, or dashes, asterisks or other specific signs are
prohibited;
4.2.2. letters and figures shall have the following minimum heights:4.2.2.1. 4 mm in the case of characters entered directly on the chassis or frame
or any other similar vehicle structure;
4.2.2.2. 3 mm in the case of characters entered on the manufacturer’s data plate.
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Appendix 1
Example of manufacturer’s data plate
The example below in no way affects the information actually set out on
manufacturer’s data plates, nor the dimensions of the plate itself, the figures orletters. It is given solely by way of an example.
The additional information referred to in section 2.3 may be entered below or on
one side of the information required in the followingrectang le.
Legend:
In the above example of a plate the vehicle concerned has been made by ‘Stella
Fabbrica Motocicli' and type-approved in Italy (e3), under number 5364.
The identification number (3GSKLM3AC8B120000) gives the following infor-
mation:
— first part (3GS):
— 3 : geographical area (Europe);— G : country within the geographical area (Germany);— S : manufacturer (Stella Fabbrica Motocicli);
— second part (KLM3AC):
— KL : type of vehicle;— M3 : variant (vehicle bodywork);— AC : version (vehicle engine);
— third part (8B120000):
— 8B12 : identification of the vehicle and combination of the two other
parts of the identification number;
— 0000 : unused positions that have been filled b ya0i norder to make
up the total number of characters required.
The static sound level is 80 dB(A) at 3 750 rev/min.
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Appendix 2
Information document in respect of statutory markings for a type of two or three-wheel motor
vehicle
(to be attached to the application for component type-approval where this is submitted separately from
the application for vehicle type-approval)

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Appendix 3
Name of administration
Component type-approval certificate in respect of statutory markings for a type of two- or
three-wheel motor vehicles
MODEL