As of 16 October 2026, the official sources reviewed for this article do not announce a further general eCoC postponement beyond the November transition. The EU legal baseline remains 5 July 2026. The coordinated operational transition described by RAR runs until no later than 29 November 2026. Manufacturers should continue against their applicable national timetable instead of waiting for an unannounced extension.
Questions such as “has eCoC been postponed again?” often combine three different issues: the date in the Regulation, the transition allowed during implementation and a particular operator's readiness. Separating them gives a more useful answer than repeating a rumour.
What happened between 5 July and 29 November?
Article 37 of Regulation (EU) 2018/858 names 5 July 2026 for manufacturers to provide structured electronic CoC data. RAR's official notice explains that, following the 168th Motor Vehicles Working Group meeting on 6 May 2026, Member States agreed a transition to reduce national administrative disruption, particularly around new-vehicle registration.
The notice connects the implementation timetable with the availability of national IT systems and administrative procedures. It sets an outer transition limit of 29 November, while allowing earlier use as systems become functional. Describing this as a coordinated operating transition preserves the distinction from a legislative amendment moving Article 37 itself.
What do current official notices actually say?
| Source | Published position | What it establishes |
|---|---|---|
| EU Regulation 2018/858 | Article 37 states 5 July 2026. | The legal baseline remains visible in the legislation. |
| RAR | Coordinated transition until no later than 29 November 2026. | The operating transition has a stated limit. |
| RDW | Relevant M, N and O vehicles produced from 29 November need an eCoC; its NAP is available for connection. | A usable infrastructure route and a concrete national obligation are published. |
| Irish Revenue | IVI 2.0 through EUCARIS is in use for relevant new M and N vehicles; only IVI 2.0 is accepted from 30 November. | The transition is reflected in an actual registration procedure. |
| UK VCA | Mandatory scope applies from 29 November; the submission portal and API launched on 17 June. | The separate UK submission service has launched. |
Is the infrastructure ready?
There is concrete evidence of available submission and exchange routes. RDW states that its NAP has been established and is available for connection. Revenue describes VIN-based EUCARIS retrieval in its registration process. VCA confirms the launch of its manufacturer submission portal and API.
That evidence supports proceeding with implementation. It does not establish that every national component, public lookup service or individual manufacturer connection is complete. VCA, for example, treats public retrieval as a separate Phase 2 service with timing still to be confirmed in the guidance reviewed. Public retrieval availability should not be confused with the ability to submit.
Does incomplete manufacturer onboarding mean another extension?
No extension follows automatically from a supplier delay, unfinished data mapping or a manufacturer's pending credentials. Those are project risks to resolve with the chosen operator. They are not an authority decision changing the timetable.
Keep two lists: external channel conditions and internal release readiness. For the channel, confirm onboarding, certificates, testing and production access. Internally, confirm vehicle facts, approval context, schema mapping, signing or sealing, and response ownership. A programme can be blocked by either list even when the other is complete.
How should manufacturers check an extension claim?
- Ask for the issuing authority, publication date and original notice.
- Identify whether it changes legislation, national operating arrangements or only a technical service milestone.
- Check vehicle categories, approval schemes and the production or registration date trigger.
- Compare the claim with the current receiving authority's instructions.
- Record the decision and review date in the manufacturer's implementation plan.
A presentation, social post or forwarded message without an identifiable decision should not replace that check. Equally, this article is a dated source review: a later official decision must be assessed on its own terms rather than dismissed because it differs from today's position.
What should the production team do now?
Continue the rollout against the published timetable. Test one representative vehicle from source data to IVI output, required signature or seal, submission and receiving result. Include a rejected file and a controlled correction so the team can handle exceptions after launch.
For the country and scheme distinctions, use the EU and UK deadline comparison. Digital CoC connects certificate creation, validation, signing and manufacturer-specific delivery follow-up. A focused workflow review can establish the remaining work without assuming that either a rumoured extension or a software installation resolves it.