FAQ
What all this vehicle registration is about?
 Registration of vehicles is provided for in Article 33 of the Interoperability Directive (Directive
2008/57/EC) and the NVR Decision (Decision 2007/756/EC as amended by Decision
2011/107/EU).
 When a vehicle has been granted a first authorisation for placing in service in the meaning of
Article 22 or 24 of the Interoperability Directive it shall be registered in the NVR of the MS that
has granted this first authorisation.
 When a vehicle has been granted an additional authorisation for placing in service in the
meaning of Article 23 or 25 of the Interoperability Directive, the additional authorisation of this
vehicle shall be registered in the NVR of the MS that granted its first authorisation (according to
Section 3.2.5 of the updated Annex of the NVR Decision). It means all information about the
vehicle and its authorisations is kept in one register through the whole lifecycle of the vehicle.
Note: Article 3 of Decision 2011/314/EU (OPE TSI) provides for a transitional period until 31 Dec
2013, during which a registration in certain cases may be transferred.
 Vehicle authorised before entry into force of the Interoperability Directive for which its Article
21(12) is applicable have to be registered in the NVR as well. The registration of these vehicles
should have been completed by November 2010.
 The applicant for a registration should be the entity which once the vehicle is registered
becomes the registration holder (RH) (usually keeper of the vehicle subject of the registration).
The keeper may be (but not necessarily is) a Railway Undertaking (RU) or an Infrastructure
Manager (IM). However, if an organisation that happens to be an RU or an IM is applying for a
registration of a vehicle in a National Vehicle Register (NVR), it does not apply as an RU or IM
but as a vehicle keeper.
 The RH is responsible for updates of all information registered in NVR. Therefore, when any
changes occur the RH shall inform the RE, where the vehicle is registered, about those changes
and request an update of data in the NVR.
Do all the vehicles need to be registered in the NVR?
All the vehicles authorised on the territory of the EU must be registered in a NVR. This includes both
existing and new vehicles.
The only exception is for the vehicles placed in service for the first time in a third country and authorised
in a Member State for placing in service on its territory. In this case that Member State shall ensure that
relevant data can be retrieved through the national vehicle register.
On track machines do not need to be registered, if these machines are not authorised to run on lines in
operation.
Where to register a vehicle when it has been granted a first
authorisation for placing in service?
Vehicle shall be registered in the National Vehicle Register (NVR) of the Member State where the vehicle
has got its first authorisation for placing in service.
Only after the registration of the vehicle it can be placed in service and used on the network.
What to do when a vehicle has been granted an additional authorisation
for placing in service?
The registration holder (RH) shall inform the registration entity (RE) of the Member State where the
vehicle is registered. The RH should provide evidence of this additional authorisation, a multilingual
annex to the authorisation for placing in service delivered by the National Safety Authority that granted
the additional authorisation should be accepted as evidence by the RE .
What to do if data recorded in the NVR changed?
The registration holder (RH) shall inform the registration entity (RE) of the Member State where the
vehicle is registered about any modification to the data entered in the national vehicle register.
This includes the case when a new authorisation for placing in service has been granted after a renewal
or upgrading.
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What to do if a vehicle has been transferred to another keeper?
The keeper shall inform the registration entity (RE) of the MS where the vehicle is registered about the
transfer of vehicles to another keeper.
RE shall inform the new keeper about the change of the vehicle registration.
New keeper shall acknowledge the role of keeper (and registration holder) of the transferred vehicle.
If on the date of de-registration of the currently registered keeper no new keeper has accepted the
keeper status, the registration of the vehicle is suspended and, consequently, the vehicle may not be
used on the network.
What to do if a vehicle is not intended to operate on the European
railway network anymore?
The registration holder (RH) shall inform the registration entity (RE) of the Member State where the
vehicle is registered about its decision to no longer register the vehicle.
A vehicle cannot be used on the network, if it does not have valid registration in NVR.
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