The general type approval is issued to the manufacturer for vehicles to be manufactured or produced 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, in accordance with Section 4 (2) FZV, it is a prerequisite for being allowed to operate unregistered vehicles on public roads.

It is issued for type-approved vehicles by the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) or comparable institutions in other European Union states and for vehicles without type approval by the competent authority as an individual approval.

For vehicles that do not belong to an approved type, an expert opinion in accordance with Section 21 of the German Road Traffic Licensing Regulations (StVZO) from an officially recognized expert for motor vehicle traffic or an authorized representative of a technical service must be submitted when applying for type approval.

Unless it is expressly limited in time or withdrawn, the operating license remains valid until the vehicle is finally taken out of service. Section 19 (2) and (3) of the Road Traffic Licensing Regulations regulate when the operating license expires. If modifications are made that change the type of vehicle, are likely to endanger road users (technical defects) or worsen the exhaust or noise characteristics, the operating license expires. Furthermore, the operating license for a vehicle expires if a component is subject to mandatory approval but this has not been complied with or if installation regulations, restrictions or requirements for technical modifications have not been observed.

Operating licenses issued for company vehicles are always individual licenses and are only valid for the use of the vehicle as a company vehicle.

It is an administrative offense to operate vehicles on public roads that do not have an operating permit or whose operating permit has expired, 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.

If the operating license has expired, only those journeys that are directly related to obtaining a new operating license may be carried out. If necessary, the previous license plates or red license plates must be displayed on the vehicle. Short-term license plates on vehicles that do not belong to an approved type may only be used for journeys for the aforementioned purposes in the district of the registration authority responsible for the location of the vehicle or an adjacent district and back.