Certificate of Conformity in the UK 

Looking to register your car in the UK? Taking your car from the UK onto the continent for a long period of time? You might need a COC UK. 

This COC-Pedia post will cover what a COC is, how to get a certificate of conformity UK and when you may need a COC certificate UK to register your car. Are you searching for a way to get a COC now? Click the green ‘I need COC’ button at the top of the page to get your application started straight away.

What is a Certificate of Conformity UK?

A COC, or a Certificate of Conformity, is a document that is necessary if you wish to register a car from another country in the UK, or if you want to bring your UK car over to another country. If you’re looking to move from the UK to a country in Europe like Spain, France or Germany permanently, or for long periods of time, and want to take your car with you, you will likely need a COC. Likewise, if you’re bringing your car from Europe home to the UK, you probably need a COC too.

In EU Law, a COC (Certificate of Conformity) is required as a declaration of conformity with the type approval of the European Commission. In brief, the COC guarantees the homogeneity of goods in the EU that are subject to registration, including passenger vehicles (M1), light goods vehicles (N1), and motorcycles (L). EUROCOC can get a COC for all of these vehicle types to help you in your move to the UK, or moving your car from the UK to countries in the EU. It’s important to know that a COC shows technical characteristics of the vehicle as it was manufactured and approved. As a result, it cannot be changed or edited and it is valid for the whole lifespan of the vehicle as these characteristics will not change.

There are two things that complicate moving a car from the UK abroad – namely Brexit and left-hand drive. Read on to discover how you can get your COC certificate UK.

When do I need a Certificate of Conformity UK?

Firstly, it is important to note that if you import a vehicle from the UK into the EU which was manufactured before Brexit, then the original COC is still valid and it can be used for registration in European Union countries. 

This is because a COC is a legal document that assures your vehicle conforms to the standards set by EU law. As the vehicle was manufactured in the UK under EU law, the COC remains valid and can be used to register your car back home in the EU as COC certificates UK cannot be modified or changed and are valid for the whole of the lifespan of your vehicle. 

This means that if your British vehicle has a valid European Certificate of Conformity, the individual country’s national driving authorities, or registration authorities, should are not be obligedable to ask you for further documentation. 

There is an exception, however. If the vehicle, namely a car, has been manufactured specifically for the British market and is built for left-hand driving, you may be required to provide additional documentation. In vehicles where this is present, the driver’s seat, steering wheel and pedals are situated in the right-hand seat of the car. In these vehicles, national authorities can require specific national approval procedures and you must satisfy their requirements that the car is safe to drive on the alternate side.

For cars manufactured after Brexit, however, they must undergo an individual inspection. Cars manufactured in the UK now no longer benefit from mutual recognition of technical certificates, and therefore they require individual inspections to be carried out in order to complete the registration. This means that for cars manufactured on or after the end of the transition period (31st December 2020) your vehicle must undergo a technical inspection performed by an approved centre in the country of the new registration. 

For more information about importing a car to or from the UK after Brexit, read our blog post here.

How do I get a Certificate of Conformity UK?

Without EUROCOC, getting a COC can be a little complex. While an original COC is provided for free on the purchase of a brand new car from a car dealer, getting a duplication if you have lost or did not have a COC on purchase can be difficult. If this is the case, you will need to request a duplicate COC from the manufacturer. The manufacturers are notoriously slow at dealing with these requests and there is a fee involved. 

The good news is that it’s simple to get a valid Certificate of Conformity UK with EUROCOC. With a simple application form, we do the hard work with the manufacturers for you. On your behalf we can negotiate with manufacturers and ensure that you receive the COC much quicker. Once you have completed the application, your COC will be delivered to your door within the expected delivery date, meaning there are no lengthy delays.

Looking for a specific vehicle type? Click here to read our blog post on how to get a certificate of conformity UK Peugeot. Whatever car you want to import from the UK, we can probably help. Click the green ‘I need COC’ button now to get your certificate of conformity application started and make registering your car in Europe simple.

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