The Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) (Amendment) (No. 4) Regulations 2003

Registration document

3.  There shall be inserted after regulation 10—

“Registration document

10A.— (1) This regulation applies to vehicles falling within the definition of “vehicle” in Article 2 of Council Directive 70/156/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the type approval of motor vehicles and their trailers(1) and in Article 2 of Council Directive 92/61/EEC relating to the type-approval of two or three-wheeled motor vehicles(2).

(2) The Secretary of State shall not issue a new registration document on or after 31st January 2004 unless it complies with Annex I of Council Directive 1999/37/EC on the registration documents for vehicles(3) as regards—

(a) dimensions;

(b) composition; and

(c) information contained within it;

except that in relation to a new registration document, the information contained may be limited to that available to the Secretary of State.

(3) Any registration document which does not comply with Council Directive 1999/37/EC on the registration documents for vehicles shall cease to have effect on the earlier of—

(a) the date on which the Secretary of State issues a new registration document under these Regulations; or

(b) 1st July 2005.

(4) In registering for the first time on or after 1st June 2004 a vehicle, which has been registered in another member State or Gibraltar, the Secretary of State shall recognise as a registration document a document which has been issued in respect of that vehicle by that other member State or Gibraltar if it complies with Annex I or Annexes I and II of Council Directive 1999/37/EC.

(5) Where the Secretary of State registers a vehicle in accordance with paragraph (4) he shall—

(a) retain the former registration document for not less than 6 months; and

(b) within 2 months of registration in the United Kingdom, notify the authorities in the member State or in Gibraltar where the vehicle was previously registered of his act of registration.”.

(1)

OJ No. L 42, 32.2.1970, p. 1; the Directive was last amended by Commission Directive 98/14/EC (OJ No. L 91, 25.3.1998, p. 1).

(2)

OJ No. L 225, 10.8.92, p. 72.

(3)

OJ No. L 138, 1.6.1999, p. 60.