Digital Era in Vehicles: Sales Ban for Those Without Software
Official titleRegulation Amending the Regulation on the Type-Approval and Market Surveillance and Control of Motor Vehicles and Their Trailers, and of Systems, Components and Separate Technical Units Intended for Such Vehicles (EU/2018/858)
With the amendment made to the type-approval regulation for motor vehicles, a transition has been made to a digital system for certificates of conformity, and a software update requirement has been introduced for category M, N, and O vehicles.
Details of the Regulation
With this amendment, it has been made mandatory for manufacturers to submit vehicle certificates of conformity electronically to the Notaries Union of Türkiye via the Vehicle Register and Registration System (AS TS), instead of in paper format. This data transmission process has been secured legally by Electronic Signature Law No. 5070, and is envisaged to operate with a standardized structure in XML format.
Furthermore, with the temporary provision added to the regulation, as of July 7, 2026, the registration, placing on the market, and entry into service of category M (passenger transport) and N (goods transport) vehicles have been prohibited if they fail to meet the 'software update' requirements. For category O (trailer) vehicles, a production prohibition has been imposed as of the same date.
This regulation, as part of the digitalization move in the automotive sector, aims to accelerate vehicle registration processes and to harmonize cybersecurity/software update standards with European Union legislation.
Questions You Might Have
- Does this amendment directly affect an ordinary vehicle owner?
- It does not directly affect vehicle owners, but rather manufacturers and distributors. However, it is mandatory that the vehicle you purchase complies with the software update criteria after July 2026.
- Why is the software update requirement important?
- In order to protect modern vehicles against cybersecurity vulnerabilities and to correct technical glitches, it is a requirement under EU standards for vehicles to be updatable remotely or via the system.
Key Terms
- Uygunluk Belgesi
- It is the document that proves a vehicle has been produced in compliance with technical standards and is required for registration.
- M ve N Kategorisi
- Category M refers to motor vehicles carrying passengers, and Category N refers to motor vehicles carrying goods.
- XML
- It is a coding language that enables data to be transmitted securely and in a standardized structure over the internet.
Where we posted this
Follow Turkish legal developments
REGAS analyzed all 39 items in the Official Gazette of 24 June 2026; we published only 2 of them here.
REGAS summarizes every change in the Turkish Official Gazette in plain language and notifies you.
The REGAS app is currently Turkish-only. If you would like English in the app, the best way to make it happen is to support the developer: get the app and just say so.
REGAS Commentary
A digital era is beginning for manufacturers and notary operations. Particularly the fact that vehicles failing to fulfill the software update requirement as of July 2026 will be prevented from entering traffic makes technical standard compliance critical for vehicle buyers and manufacturers.