EU Commission proposes overhaul of road safety and vehicle registration rules

Why did the roadworthiness legislation need to be revised?

Unsafe vehicles continue to be present on EU roads. They cause crashes, directly or indirectly. Some vehicle deficiencies are today still not detected either because they are not subject to testing at the periodic technical inspection (PTI) or because there is no obligation to test the vehicle itself.

Moreover, current testing methods have not been adapted to advances and roll-out of new technologies, such as advanced driver assistance (ADAS) features, and electric vehicles. There is also still insufficient control of air pollutant and noise emissions from vehicles, since some of the PTI tests today are not sensitive enough to detect emissions beyond the legal limits applicable to recent vehicles, and the current testing procedures are not fit to help reduce air pollution (nitrogen oxide emissions (NO_x) and nanoparticles) and noise.

Regarding EU cross-border traffic, the current rules are not effective. For example, some vehicle data is not available or is simply not up to date in the national vehicle registers to enforce road safety related offences and to ensure fair competition in the trade of used vehicles. There is insufficient exchange of information between Member States on the mileage of used vehicles (that could help to detect and prevent cross-border odometer fraud) and other relevant vehicle-related data, e.g., data needed for re-registration. Efficient exchange of vehicle data is also prevented by the use of largely paper-based documents, as required by the current rules. To enable digitalisation, the rules need to be amended.

What are the key elements of the revision?

New test methods, extended scope

• adapt PTI to electric vehicles and include new test items for electronic safety systems through wider use of the electronic vehicle interface (including for the testing of software integrity of safety- and emission-relevant systems).
• new emission test methods for ultrafine particles and nitrogen oxides to capture high emitting vehicles, including tampered ones.
• annual emissions testing of light commercial vehicles (vans).
• NO_x particles and noise measurement by remote sensing in roadside inspection of all vehicles.
• recording of odometer readings in national databases and making this data available to other Member States in the case of re-registration.
•  mandatory PTI for motorcycles above 125cm³ or 11kW.
• mandatory inspection of cargo securing at roadside inspections.
• mandatory annual PTIs for cars and vans older than 10 years.

Data governance, digitalisation, vehicle registers

• digitalisation of the roadworthiness certificate and vehicle registration certificate.
• interconnecting national vehicle registers and extending the set of harmonised vehicle data in those registers, for example, the country of first registration, registration status, and information on significant modifications to the vehicle.
• requirement that the Member State of registration recognises a PTI certificate issued by another Member State for passenger vehicles for a period of six months; and an option to recognise PTIs carried out in other EU Member States indefinitely for any vehicle category.
• data governance: defining the procedures and the means of access to vehicle technical information by testing centres free of charge.

See further details on specific measures below.

What are the main benefits for the citizens/consumers?

All citizens will benefit from improved road safety in the EU. The revision of the package will save lives and reduce injuries on EU roads:  between 2026 and 2050, it is estimated that around 7,000 lives will be saved, and around 65,000 serious injuries will be avoided.

It will contribute to a healthier environment due to a significant reduction in harmful air pollutant emissions (fine particles and nitrogen oxides) thanks to better detection of defective and tampered vehicles.

It will better protect consumers against fraud when buying used vehicles from another Member State. Tackling mileage fraud is important from the consumer protection viewpoint and also for fair competition in vehicle trade. It will help reduce odometer tampering in both domestic and cross-border sales of used vehicles. This should in particular benefit consumers in those countries with large second-hand vehicle fleets.

Finally, consumers will also be able to avail of a temporary periodic technical inspection carried out in another Member State, which will give flexibility for people staying temporarily in another Member State. (This option will apply for passenger vehicles only, it will have a limited time validity and it can be used under the condition that the next PTI takes place in the Member State of registration.) The Member State of registration of any vehicle would also be allowed to unilaterally recognise periodic technical inspections carried out in another Member State. 

Revision of the roadworthiness rules will bring other benefits such as digitalisation, interconnecting accurate national registers and enhanced exchange of information between Member States, thereby also contributing to the free movement of people and goods.

What are the main benefits for national authorities?

Several measures are expected to reduce administrative burden and bring cost savings for national administrations. Roadworthiness certificates in electronic format should become mandatory and gradually replace the paper format. The transition to issuing digital registration certificates instead of paper and smartcard versions will allow further digitalisation of procedures. Savings are expected due to more effective interlinking of national vehicle registers. Cost savings are also expected due to the time saved for the re-registration of a vehicle in another Member State.

Why has the Commission proposed a more frequent (annual) testing of older cars and vans, instead of the current minimum requirement of testing every two years?

In line with Vision Zero, the Commission is in favour of taking every meaningful measure that can bring down the number of road crashes and casualties. In 2024 alone, around 19,800 people were killed in road crashes. This is one reason why we have been reviewing the rules on roadworthiness testing. The other is the environmental and health implications.

Older vehicles are prone to more frequent breakdowns, and studies have also shown that they are more frequently involved in crashes and they also represent a higher share of high-emitting vehicles. Since cars are responsible for by far the largest share of fatalities, and even if technical defects only represent a relatively small share among the causes of accidents, inspecting older cars annually can make a significant difference. This is particularly the case in relation to safety.

Most Member States[1] already apply annual testing to cars and vans above 10 years, some of them do it already after 3 or 4 years (in all EU Member States, heavy duty vehicles are tested annually from year 1). In the other 11 Member States, the introduction of annual testing of cars and vans would lead to around 1% reduction in fatalities and injuries. This means almost 1850 lives saved and 21,400 severe and 120,500 slight injuries avoided over 25 years (or ca. 74 fatalities, 850 severe and 4,800 slight injuries avoided annually).

It would also lead to around 15% reduction in the number of highly polluting vehicles in those Member States (meaning 7-8% EU-wide reduction).

Why is the Commission proposing more stringent requirements for the periodic technical inspection of motorcycles and L-category vehicles?

Regular testing of motorcycles has a noticeable positive impact on road safety, as evidenced by the Member States who use it. Under the current rules, motorcycles with an engine capacity above 125 cm³ have been required to undergo PTI since January 2022, though Member States have a large element of discretion in terms of the scope and frequency of the PTI for motorcycles. There is also an option for Member States to apply ‘effective alternative road safety measures’ instead.

Given the clear road safety benefits of testing the roadworthiness of motorcycles, and the lack of legal and implementation clarity regarding the current opt-out provisions, the Commission has proposed to remove the current possibility of opt-out and introducing mandatory PTI for motorcycles above 125 cm³.

What solutions does the Commission propose to address the problem of odometer fraud?

To reduce odometer fraud, the current PTI Directive requires the recording of vehicle mileage at each PTI and that its manipulation be a punishable offence. However, PTIs are only conducted every year at most (in many instances only every two years), with the first PTI taking place only after four years in most cases. A significant part of odometer fraud will already have happened by that time since larger price gains can be achieved by tampering with the odometers of relatively new vehicles.

The proposed measure to tackle odometer fraud replicates the national systems established by Belgium (Car-Pass) and the Netherlands (Nationale Auto Pas, NAP) across all Member States.

To implement the proposal, Member States will have to establish national databases of odometer readings. The readings will have to be recorded each time the vehicle undergoes servicing or repair. Since the issue is of particular concern in the case of cars and vans, those vehicles would have to be covered as a minimum. Where the registration of a vehicle is moved to another Member State, the Member State of registration will have to share the mileage history of that car or van with the re-registering Member State.

Will the proposal allow for mutual recognition of PTI certificates across the EU?

Already under the current PTI rules, for a vehicle that has been registered in another Member State, the PTI certificate issued in that other Member State must be recognised by each Member State as if it had itself issued that certificate, provided that the PTI certificate is still valid. But this applies only for the purposes of free circulation and of re-registration.

However, the current PTI Directive requires that PTI is carried out by the Member State of registration or by bodies or establishments designated and supervised by that Member State. Today’s proposal introduces the possibility for a roadworthiness test to be carried out in a Member State other than the Member State of registration of the vehicle. (see the following Q&A).

The Commission has not proposed to implement full recognition of PTI certificates as it would require even higher levels of harmonisation of PTI testing methods and therefore disproportionate costs.  It could also affect the organisation and pricing of PTI in Member States.

What is a possibility of a temporary periodic technical inspection in another Member State and under which conditions can it be used?

The proposal introduces the possibility for a roadworthiness test to be carried out in a Member State other than the Member State of registration of the vehicle. The result of such roadworthiness test will be included on a temporary roadworthiness certificate, with a validity of six months. The measure will apply to passenger cars, and the next PTI must be conducted in the Member State of registration. It will contribute to enhancing free movement and it will benefit the citizens who may currently face obstacles when working or studying abroad.

In addition, and optionally, the wider recognition of PTIs could also be considered by Member States.

What are the changes regarding emission testing? Will the current recommendation to apply particle number (PN) testing become mandatory?

The emissions of fine particles and nitrogen oxides are among the most significant negative impacts of road transport. Even some of the newest vehicles exceed legal emission limits. Road transport is responsible for over 35% of NO_x and around 9% of particulate matter emissions, causing around 70,000 premature deaths in the EU every year.

The experience with PN testing in the Member States that have introduced it (Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany), , has been very positive.

Applying the tailpipe test on vehicles equipped with diesel particle filters has shown the limitations of the self-diagnosis of modern vehicles: while around 0.3% of Euro 6 vehicles would indicate a malfunctioning emission control system, around 6% of them fail the test involving actual measurement. The failure rate among Euro 5 cars and vans is even higher.

The use of particle number measurement for the exhaust gas emission testing will replace the currently required exhaust gas opacity test first for diesel vehicles equipped with particle filters at PTI, and for heavy-duty vehicles at technical roadside inspections of commercial vehicles. The test requirements will be based on the procedure described in the Commission’s Recommendation on PN measurement for the PTI of vehicles equipped with compression ignition engines, which allow for a fast, simple and inexpensive test. The use of the currently recommended pass/fail limit of 250.000/cm³ would be required.

Like PN testing, the testing of NO_x emissions at PTI and RSI for light and heavy vehicles focussing on the identification of malfunctioning Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) systems will also be required, first for diesel. Once the test method is adapted to positive ignition engines, vehicles powered by petrol could also be tested. The test procedure is being set up in a way that aligns it with the procedure applied for PN testing, to allow for simultaneous PN and NO_x testing. This will maintain the testing time as it is today and limit the additional equipment costs.

Why is the scope of PTI not extended to mopeds (vehicle category L1 and L2)?

From a subsidiarity and proportionality point of view, the testing of mopeds is best be left for Member States to legislate. Firstly, mopeds are less prone to fatal or serious crashes than motorcycles. Second, while making mopeds subject to PTI could have a positive impact on road safety and air pollutants reduction, these vehicles are used locally, and the cost-benefit ratio could vary significantly depending on the specific local context (including the electrification of the fleet[2], which will significantly reduce the negative impacts of these vehicles on air and noise pollution over time). There would be also technical feasibility issues with such measure since some Member States do not require registration of mopeds.

More information

Press release – Updated rules for safer roads, less air pollution and digital vehicle documents