Adaptations to vehicles for people with reduced mobility
In some situations, it is necessary to adapt a vehicle in such a way that people with reduced mobility can still travel. However, the modifications must be approved if they are not included in the original certificate of conformity.
Modifications can be made by:
- a bodyshop that is not approved by the manufacturer, and therefore not in possession of a valid COP (Conformity Of Production), and the approval procedure is initiated by or an authorised Technical Service
- a manufacturer-approved bodyshop, and therefore in possession of a valid COP (Conformity Of Production), that then undertakes the necessary steps for approval and the issuing of the corrected registration application
The approval procedure takes place in five steps via the technical inspection centre or an authorised Technical Service.
The applicant makes an appointment with the Compliance Department at the ACT technical inspection centre in Evere (Schaerbeek) or an authorised Technical Service with the following documents in order to produce an application for an adaptation authorisation:
- copy of the European COC or the national certificate of conformity or the foreign vehicle documentation
- copy of the registration certificate if the vehicle is registered
- documentation for each component or system used (assembly manual, any approvals, etc.)
- written authorisation from the manufacturer
- up-to-date CARA certification issued by the VIAS Institute
If the Compliance Department of the Evere technical inspection centre (Schaerbeek) or the authorised Technical Service considers your request to be admissible, it forwards the application for adaptation authorisation to the Brussels Mobility Vehicle Appraisal Department for review.
- Either the authorisation is issued by the Compliance Department of the Evere technical inspection centre or the Technical Service, which informs the applicant of this. Modifications are made in accordance with the submitted file.
- Or authorisation is refused and comments issued to the Compliance Department of the Evere technical inspection centre or the Technical Service, which informs the applicant of this. The applicant must then modify/complete their file through the Compliance Department of the technical inspection centre.
Once the authorisation has been issued and the adaptation(s) made, the applicant must present the adapted vehicle by appointment at the Compliance Department of the Evere technical inspection centre or the Technical Service. This centre will review the match between the file submitted and the adaptations made. In addition, the technical inspection centre or the Technical Service will check whether the modifications have been carried out according to the manufacturer's specifications.
Depending on the inspection, the following results are possible:
- the vehicle is completely modified in accordance with the file and the manufacturer's specifications. The procedure continues
- the vehicle has been modified in accordance with the file, but the modifications have not been carried out according to the manufacturer's specifications. The modifications must be corrected and the vehicle re-inspected in order to continue the procedure
- the vehicle has not been modified in accordance with the file. The applicant can correct the modifications and resubmit the vehicle or add additional information to the file through the technical inspection centre or the Technical Service. If changes are made to the file, the procedure must start again at step 1 above
After inspection, the Compliance Department of the Evere technical inspection centre (Schaerbeek) or the Technical Service attaches its report to the file opened with the Brussels Mobility Vehicle Appraisal Department for validation of the adaptation. An individual approval form is sent to the Compliance Department of the technical inspection centre or the Technical Service.
As soon as the technical inspection centre or the Technical Service receives the individual approval form, it informs the applicant and issues the document to them and affixes a new identification label to the vehicle. The technical inspection centre issues a new registration application for a correction of a registration certificate. The vehicle can now be registered on the basis of the new approval.
A vehicle that has been modified by a manufacturer can be restored to its original condition, if desired. To do this, the customer can contact an authorised Technical Service which will carry out a procedure to verify that the changes have been completely eliminated. If this is the case, a new approval procedure is started. A registration application is issued together with a technical inspection certificate.