Type Approval for Motorcycles L1 to L7
This page was last updated on 1st January 2021This guidance is aimed at manufacturers or importers of motorcycles in categories L1 to L7.
This covers 2, 3 and some light 4 wheeled vehicles (quadricycles) – definitions can be found here.
You will need to ensure that you have the right approval for your intended market.
Great Britain and Northern Ireland
For motorcycles intended to be placed on the market in the UK (Great Britain and Northern Ireland) type approval routes are available for L category vehicles. Currently, these are aligned with EU regulation 168/2013. More information about the routes is available here.
Motorcycle Single Vehicle Approval
Manufacturers making just a single vehicle or very small numbers of a vehicle type may wish to use the Motorcycle Single Vehicle Approval (MSVA) scheme in order to place on the market or register vehicles in the UK only. The MSVA scheme is the least onerous approval route in terms of compliance but involves an individual inspection of each vehicle.
Follow the links below for further information about the MSVA scheme:
In Great Britain;
https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-approval/motorcycle-single-vehicle-approval.
In Northern Ireland;
https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/motorcycle-single-vehicle-approval-msva-scheme
European Union
EU Whole Vehicle Type Approval
For motorcycles which are to be placed on the market in the EU, whole vehicle type approval is prescribed under an EU scheme. This is set out in EU Regulation 168/2013, a Type Approval Framework regulation, which calls up subordinate regulatory acts in a suite of EU regulations.
Type Approval Framework covers 2, 3 and some light 4 wheeled vehicles (quadricycles), they are all in category L.
Systems, Components and Separate Technical Units
For systems, components and separate technical units intended for motorcycles which are to be placed on the market in the EU, type approval is available under both the EU and UN schemes. The requirements are set out in EU Regulation 168/2013 and associated subordinate regulatory acts. These acts also call up relevant UN regulations, type approvals to these UN Regulations can be used to demonstrate compliance with certain elements of the EU whole vehicle type approval scheme, and products in compliance with approvals granted under UN regulations must be accepted by all contracting parties to those regulations.
