The general type approval is generally issued to the manufacturer for vehicles to be produced or manufactured in series, following an inspection carried out at the manufacturer's expense.
The individual type approval is issued by the local licensing authority for an individual vehicle and is only valid for this vehicle.
The type approval is an official confirmation that the vehicle complies with the relevant regulations and is a prerequisite for being allowed to use unregistered vehicles on public roads.
It is issued for type-approved vehicles by the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) or comparable institutions in other countries of the European Union and for vehicles without type approval by the competent authority as an individual approval.
Unless it is expressly limited in time or withdrawn, the type approval remains valid until the vehicle is finally taken out of service. If you make modifications that change the type of vehicle, are likely to endanger road users (technical defects) or worsen the exhaust or noise characteristics, the type approval expires. Furthermore, the operating license for a vehicle expires if a component is subject to mandatory approval but you have not complied with this requirement or if you have not complied with installation regulations, restrictions or requirements for technical modifications.
Operating licenses issued for company vehicles are always individual licenses and only apply to the use of the vehicle as a company vehicle.
If you use vehicles on public roads that do not have an operating permit or whose operating permit has expired, this constitutes an administrative offense and the licensing authority can also prohibit operation and, if necessary, cancel the license plate. In preparation for its decision, the administrative authority may order the submission of an expert opinion from an officially recognized expert, motor vehicle inspector or test engineer on the vehicle's compliance with regulations or the presentation of the vehicle and, if necessary, issue several such orders.
An inspection sticker for the main inspection may not be issued.