LED headlamp "bulbs"

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Just a heads up, from October 14 2026 all UK road legal LED conversion bulbs have to be supplied with a hologram sticker proving that they are ECE approved that you must fix under the bonnet so The MOT Man can see it and pass the installation.

No sticker = MOT fail

I presume the Osram bulbs are supplied with one as Osram were pushing for it (and they are over £100 a pair!)

There is an example sticker in the MOT manual section 4.1.4

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mot-inspection-manual-for-private-passenger-and-light-commercial-vehicles/4-lamps-reflectors-and-electrical-equipment#section-4-1-1

I was sent a link to a Rage Bait article in the Daily Fail, and when I researched it, you could have knocked me down with a feather, as IT WAS ACTUALLY CORRECT!!! 😮

(I suppose that there is a first time for everything…)

Mildly_Miffed

It's a slightly different angle…

It's not that "all road legal now have to be" - it's that conversions will now be legal. But only with the sticker.

And, yes, you can bet that will be a very expensive sticker.

flaneurs_lobster

It's a slightly different angle…

Hopefully that different angle means that those stupid LED lights are no longer shining straight at my face when I'm driving…

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https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82169947#Comment_82169947

Not how I read it, the bulbs are approved for use in halogen lights, and must be supplied with the sticker. (Presumably LEDr means LED replacement)

ECE approved LED replacement products come with a secure approval sticker. The sticker must be permanently fixed to the vehicle so it can be seen easily during an MOT test.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mot-special-notice-05-26-approved-led-replacement-bulbs-in-halogen-headlamps/mot-special-notice-05-26-approved-led-replacement-bulbs-in-halogen-headlamps

Which is a bit odd, as I'd have thought that they would have to be certified in the actual headlight they fit, rather than the bulb is certified for anything it will fit into, unless you have to buy the right one for your car- then you could just buy one for a different car and stick the sticker on.

My car has silly little projector headlights, apparently with an electromagnetic shutter/mirror/deflector for dip/main, like some old Lucas unit from the 1930s (and perform about as well as they did too..), the discrete LEDs must surely perform differently than in a big reflector, or those multifaceted reflectors.

Anyway, Moneysaving by buying cheap non-ECE approved LED bulbs is an MOT failure (as it always has been)

The OSRAM ECE approved bulbs for my car are £93 on Amazon, compared to the £20 for identical looking ones.

Mildly_Miffed

Yes, LED-replacement bulbs with sticker are now legal. That's my point.

Before, it was illegal to change the lightsource from an incandescent bulb to LED on any car first registered after the change in the vehicle lighting regs in 1984.

These new LEDs with sticker count, legally, as a type-approved H4 (or whichever format) bulb - so are not a change in light source under the meanings of those regs. Anything that's approved for an H4 (etc) bulb can use these, same as individual brands of H4 (etc) don't have to be approved individually for specific lamps.

They're expensive, though. The ECE approval looks to roughly triple the price of a pair of H4 replacements.

Frozen_up_north

Any electrical/electronic items fitted as a replacement, or in addition, to a car should be "e" marked to show it is an approved and tested item.

While the thread is concerned with LED bulb replacements and MOT tests, and fitting non "e" marked accessories is not likely to cause problems, buyers should check what they are fitting. For example I bought an eBay USB socket to fit to a car and it produced so much interference the car radio was wiped out. It was not marked in any way.

molerat

Approval markings located on the LEDr light source are not normally visible during a standard MOT inspection. Testers are not expected to remove lamp covers, lighting units or light sources to determine whether a light source is ECE approved. The approval sticker provides evidence that an ECE approved LEDr light source has been fitted.

If an LEDr light source is fitted and the required approval sticker is missing, illegible, damaged, appears to have been tampered with, or does not correspond with the fitted LEDr light source, the headlamp must be rejected for ‘light source and lamp not compatible’.

It seems that all this does is check you have got an approved sticker as it is impossible to check the actual light source without some dismantling. No doubt the far east market will be providing stickers in due course.