REGISTERED IMPORTER NEWSLETTER No. 15
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance

November 1999

STATEMENT OF CONFORMITY

All conformity packages submitted on or after December 1, 1999, must use the attached Statement of Conformity. The information on recalls has been revised on the Statement of Conformity. You must attach documentation (manufacturer recall printout, letter from the manufacturer, etc.) to the Conformity Statement that shows that there are no outstanding recalls on the vehicle. If the documentation shows that the vehicle was covered by a recall, you must identify the recall number on the Conformity Statement and submit proof that the vehicle was remedied.

The conformity statement has also been revised to reflect a new standard, FMVSS No. 225, Child Restraint Anchorage Systems, which applies to passenger cars, trucks and multipurpose passenger vehicles with a GVWR of 8,500 lb or less and buses including school buses with a GVWR of 10,000 lb or less. The notice implementing the standard was published on March 5, 1999 (64 FR 10823), and amended on August 31, 1999 (64 FR 47565).

CONFORMITY PACKAGES

We request that you submit certain information (RI number, VIN, vehicle type and date of manufacture) on a diskette as part of your conformity package. This will help speed up NHTSA turn around time. Submission is voluntary and will not affect the order in which conformity packages are reviewed. After January 1, 2000, priority will be given to conformity packages which include the above information on diskette. For more information contact Ms. Rena Lee at 202-366-7982.

CERTIFICATION LABELS

RI certification labels are not always permanently affixed to the vehicles as required 49 CFR Part 567.4. If the RI certification label falls off within 6 months of certification by the RI, the RI or one of his employees will be required to affix a replacement certification label. A duplicate of that label must be submitted to NHTSA. If an RI's certification label falls off more than 6 months after certification by the RI, it will be required to send out a new label to the current owner of a vehicle.

RI INFORMATION AT NHTSA WEB SITE

RI Newsletters will be moving to a new location on the NHTSA web site: www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/maninfo/. Information for Registered Importers will be found under Information for New Manufacturers. This location will also contain information on how to become a Registered Importer and the package that is sent after a company becomes a Registered Importer.

ELECTRONIC SPEEDOMETER OR ODOMETER

Photographs to document replacement of a speedometer or odometer on a vehicle with an electronic display should be taken with the ignition on so that the display may be viewed.

MOTORCYCLE CONFORMITY PACKAGES

Photographs of the RI label or odometer label permanently affixed to the frame of a motorcycle are often difficult to read. Please submit a second photograph or a photocopy of the label in a flat position. Motorcycles are not subject to the Bumper Standard or the Theft Prevention Standard; therefore, the RI certification label should not refer to these standards. The conformity statement should address only the FMVSS that are applicable to motorcycles.