Individual approval refers to a process where an approval authority verifies that an individual new vehicle or trailer conforms to requirements. Individual approval may be applied for by the vehicle owner, manufacturer, importer or a representative of the manufacturer.
Individual approval can be granted to passenger cars and buses (category M), vans and lorries (category N) and trailers for vehicles in the said categories (category O). Individual approval typically needs to be sought before the first registration of a vehicle if the vehicle is not type-approved or if it no longer fully conforms to its type-approval.
The Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom acts as the approval authority in Finland and manages the organisation of national individual approval of vehicles as well as the granting of EU individual approvals. Traficom has arranged the granting of national individual approvals through acquiring the necessary services from contract partners.
National or EU individual approval?
Vehicles registered in Finland are usually subjected to national individual approval. National individual approval is valid in Finland, but it may also be recognised in other member states if the approval corresponds to the national requirements of the country in question.
Vehicles may be subjected to EU individual approval as an alternative to national individual approval. EU member states must approve EU individual approval without special recognition procedures. There are no national exemptions from EU individual approval, and the process is thus often more complex and expensive in terms of both the approval and the necessary reports on conformity.
National individual approval may be granted to all category M, N and O vehicles. EU individual approval may only be granted to passenger cars and vans (categories M1 and N1) and special purpose vehicles.
National individual approval may employ national alternative requirements for the manner in which the conformity with requirements is demonstrated in accordance with Annex 1 to the Traficom regulation on technical requirements for cars and their trailers. The reports required for EU individual approval correspond to the reports required for EU type-approval. This results in the fact that reports drafted by recognised experts cannot be used as part of conformity verification in EU individual approvals. Instead, the reports must be issued by a designated technical service.
How to apply for national individual approval
Do like this
Find a location performing individual approvals for the vehicle category in question on a contract partner’s website.
Contract partners performing individual approval for Traficom are:
A-Katsastus Oy (External link)
K1 Katsastajat Oy (External link)
Oy Testmill Ltd (External link) and
Suomen Yksittäishyväksyntä Palvelu Oy.
Take your vehicle and the documents required for the individual approval process to the contract partner location.
The contract partner will provide you with further information on the documents required for individual approval.
Individual approval is subject to a fee in accordance with the fee specified in the Annex to the Decree of the Ministry of Transport and Communications on transport-related services provided by the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency subject to a fee. The fee for national individual approval is EUR 198–330 depending on vehicle category.
Take the individual approval certificate to the registration office for first-time registration of a vehicle.
The individual approval certificate is valid for three months. The validity of the certificate will expire, however, if the vehicle no longer meets the technical requirements of its first entry into service date at the time of entry into service.
If the vehicle has not been registered within three months of issuing the certificate, the validity of the certificate may be continued, if the vehicle continues to meet the technical requirements of its first entry into service date.
How to apply for EU individual approval
- EU individual approval is granted by an approval authority. In Finland it is the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom.
- Please contact approvals(at)traficom.fi in matters concerning EU individual approvals.
- The fee for EU individual approval is charged by the hour based on time spent, and the fee is EUR 150/hour.
Apply to become a contracting partner or report changes
Technical information declaration form for N3 and O4 vehicle categories
Related legislation
Vehicles Act (only in Finnish and Swedish)
Traficom Regulation: Technical requirements for cars and their trailers (only in Finnish and Swedish)
Decree of the Ministry of Transport and Communications on transport-related services provided by the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency subject to a fee (only in Finnish and Swedish)