How long does a certificate of conformity take?

Why turnarounds vary so much

There is only one possible source for a certificate of conformity: the manufacturer, or their authorised representative. Nobody else holds the type-approval data, and nobody else can issue the document. The turnaround is therefore, almost entirely, the manufacturer’s turnaround.

It depends on three factors.

• The channel. Some brands handle requests centrally for the whole of Europe. Others route them through the national importer of the country of first registration, which adds a link — and several days.
• Volume. Manufacturers that sell most in Europe have the best-oiled departments. Low-volume brands, or those with a reduced presence, respond more slowly.
• The age of the vehicle. On a recent model the data is immediately available. On an older model it requires an archive search — when the archive is still kept.

The full table, fastest to slowest

Average observed turnarounds, in working days. These are orders of magnitude, not contractual commitments: the manufacturer remains in charge of their own schedule.

What does not speed things up

Worth saying plainly, because the industry sometimes suggests otherwise.

• Paying more. The manufacturer applies their own schedule, whatever an intermediary was paid.
• Going to another provider. They all address the same source. A turnaround announced far below the market average on a slow brand deserves a question.
• Digital delivery. Receiving a file rather than a letter saves the days of the post, not the days of processing.

What genuinely does

• Starting the request at signing, not on delivery of the vehicle. It is the only truly effective lever, and it costs nothing.
• An accurate VIN. One wrong character sends the request back to the start. Copy it from field E of the registration document.
• Flagging special cases up front: conversion by a body builder, electric drivetrain, commercial version. Each may call for a supplementary document, better requested from the outset.

If your deadline is tight on a slow brand, tell us: we will not promise the impossible, but we will tell you plainly what is realistic.