{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/road-traffic-act-1972/section-173",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/road-traffic-act-1972/section-173.json",
  "legislation": "ukpga/1972/20",
  "legislation_title": "Road Traffic Act 1972",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/road-traffic-act-1972",
  "path": "section/173",
  "kind": "section",
  "number": "173",
  "heading": "Power to seize articles with respect to which offences under ss.169 to 171 may have been committed",
  "text": "(1) If a constable has reasonable cause to believe that a document produced to him in pursuance of section 137 of this Act, or in pursuance of any of the foregoing provisions of this Part of this Act, is a document in relation to which an offence has been committed under section 169, 170 or 171 of this Act or under section 86 of the 1967 c. 76.Road Traffic Regulation Act 1967, he may seize the document; and when a document is seized under this subsection, the person from whom it was taken shall, unless the document has been previously returned to him or he has been previously charged with an offence under any of those sections, be summoned before a magistrates' court or, in Scotland, the sheriff to account for his possession of the said document and the court or sheriff shall make such order respecting the disposal of the said document and award such costs as the justice of the case may require.\n(2) If a constable, a certifying officer appointed under Part III of the 1960 c. 16.Road Traffic Act 1960 or an examiner appointed under section 56 of this Act has reasonable cause to believe that a document or plate carried on a motor vehicle or by the driver thereof is a document or plate in relation to which an offence has been committed under section 169, 170 or 171 of this Act in so far as they apply—\n(a) to documents evidencing the appointment of examiners for the purposes of sections 56 to 58 of this Act, or\n(b) to goods vehicle test certificates, plating certificates, manufacturers' certificates or Minister's approval certificates, or\n(c) to plates containing plated particulars or containing other particulars required to be marked on goods vehicles by section 47 of this Act or regulations made thereunder, or\n(d) to records required to be kept by virtue of section 59 of this Act,\nhe may seize the document or plate; and when a document or plate is seized under this subsection, either the driver or owner of the vehicle shall, if the document or plate is still detained and neither of them has previously been charged with an offence in relation thereto under section 169, 170 or 171 of this Act, be summoned before a magistrates' court or, in Scotland, the sheriff to account for his possession of, or the presence on the vehicle of, the said document or plate and the court or sheriff shall make such order respecting the disposal of the said document or plate and award such costs as the justice of the case may require.\nFor the purposes of this subsection the power to seize includes power to detach from a vehicle.\n(3) In subsection (2) above \" plated particulars \", \" manufacturer's certificate \" and \" Minister's approval certificate \" have the same meanings as they respectively have for the purposes of Part II of this Act.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1972/20/section/173",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T10:49:09.170683+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."
}