{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/goods-vehicles-plating-and-testing-miscellaneous-amendments-regulations-2017/note",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/goods-vehicles-plating-and-testing-miscellaneous-amendments-regulations-2017/note.json",
  "legislation": "uksi/2017/849",
  "legislation_title": "The Goods Vehicles (Plating and Testing) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2017",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/goods-vehicles-plating-and-testing-miscellaneous-amendments-regulations-2017",
  "path": "note",
  "kind": "note",
  "number": null,
  "heading": "Explanatory note",
  "text": "(This note is not part of the Regulations)\nThe Goods Vehicles (Plating and Testing) Regulations 1988 (“the 1988 Regulations”) make provision about the examination of goods vehicles by persons authorised by the Secretary of State, and for test certificates to be issued for goods vehicles that are found to meet prescribed requirements.\nThese Regulations amend the 1988 Regulations to give effect to the requirements of Directive 2014/45/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 April 2014 on periodic roadworthiness tests for motor vehicles and their trailers, and come into force on 20th May 2018.\nThe Regulations amend regulation 4 of, and Schedule 2 to, the 1988 Regulations to bring certain heavy goods vehicles (category N2 and N3 vehicles), trailers (category O3 and O4 trailers) and tractors used for haulage (category T tractors) within the scope of the 1988 Regulations. They amend the 1988 Regulations to provide for the validity of a test certificate for category T tractors, and to enable a vehicle examiner to determine in certain circumstances that a plate is not required. They update the vehicle construction requirements which are to be examined during periodic testing.\nThese Regulations also amend section 67 of the Road Traffic Act 1988. Section 67(3B) provides that a constable in uniform may require a vehicle to stop for a test if the vehicle appears to fall within one of certain categories of vehicle. The amendment to section 67 substitutes references to the categories of vehicle within the scope of the amended 1988 Regulations to give effect to the requirements of Directive 2014/47/EU of the European Parliament and the Council of 3 April 2014 on the technical roadside inspection of the roadworthiness of commercial vehicles circulating in the Union. These Regulations also amend section 53 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, which contains offence provisions relating to the use of goods vehicles without a goods vehicle test certificate required by the 1988 Regulations. The amendments to section 53 are necessary to bring the new categories of heavy goods vehicles within the scope of the offence provisions.\nAn impact assessment of the effect of introducing roadworthiness testing for specialised heavy vehicles will have on the costs of business, the voluntary sector and the public sector is available from the Department for Transport, Great Minster House, 33 Horseferry Road, London, SW1P 4DR. A copy may be obtained from the Department for Transport website (www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-transport). An Explanatory Memorandum and a Transposition Note are published alongside the instrument on www.legislation.gov.uk. The Directive referred to above is published at http://eur-lex.europa.eu.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2017/849/note",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-28T23:08:42.250577+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}