Assessment of the production process

If you are a manufacturer of vehicles, systems, parts or technical units for the automotive sector, you have to have EC, ECE or national type-approvals in order to sell/register products in the EU and/or countries that have signed an ECE agreement.

As a manufacturer, you have to demonstrate that the products are produced in accordance with the type-approval concerned. In order to demonstrate CoP, you have to submit the required documents to us (see Initial Assessment (IA) in the Conformity of Production form).

We assess these documents and if these satisfy our requirements, we will issue a ‘Communication concerning the Initial Assessment’ (valid for a maximum of15 months). This is how you, as a manufacturer, demonstrate that we have assessed the production process and have accepted it for production in conformity with the relevant type-approval specifications.

If necessary, we can decide to plan an audit , before deciding about the Initial Assessment. 

Audit

Manufacturers are visited by us for an on-site audit, within 15 months after the issue of the “Communication concerning the Initial Assessment”.

We will issue a ‘Compliance Statement’ if the findings of this audit show that you produce/work in accordance with the applicable legislation.

You cannot apply for a type-approval without a valid ‘Communication concerning the Initial Assessment’ or a ‘Compliance Statement’.       

Applying for a CoP or reporting changes

You can apply for a CoP or notify a change using the Conformity of Production form. 
This form can also be requested via [email protected].    

Surveillance  of the production process

We supervise approvals granted by it by means of:

• document assessment,
• audits and
• a product assessment if necessary.

How often supervision takes place (frequency) depends on any provisions in respect thereof in the legislation as well as a risk analysis carried out by us.

The risk factors may consist, among other things, of the following:

• the absence of an ISO certificate,
• results from previous assessments, 
• the nature of the product, 
• the moment of the most recent audit,
• complaints and
• information concerning product deviations known to us.
  
  We carry out the audits itself, but we also have these carried out by RDW partners or technical services (category C) designated for this purpose by us. This means that manufacturers may also be visited by these organisations.

Maintenance costs

The RDW charges a contribution from manufacturers with the status of holder of valid EC (e4), ECE (E4) or national type-approvals. An explanation of the charge is provided in the Admission costs and Contribution fee. (pdf, 9kb)

More information 

We have a document for obtaining/retaining the CoP with specific information on the requirements, assessments and procedures of the RDW. This document can be requested by sending an email to [email protected]