Motor Vehicle Tire Safety Regulations (SOR/2013-198)

Tire Identification Number

Marginal note:Tires of a class prescribed by subsection 3(1) or 4(1)

• 6 (1) Every tire of a class prescribed by subsection 3(1) or 4(1) must have a tire identification number on one of its sidewalls.

• Marginal note:Tires of a class prescribed by subsection 5(1)

  (2) Every tire of a class prescribed by subsection 5(1) must have

  • (a) a tire identification number on one of its sidewalls; and

  • (b) a tire identification number or a partial tire identification number on its other sidewall.

• Marginal note:Manner and location

  (3) Except in the case referred to in subsection (8), the tire identification number and partial tire identification number must be permanently moulded into or onto the tire

  • (a) in the manner and at the location specified in Figures 2 and 3 of Schedule 1; and

  • (b) at a depth or height of not less than 0.5 mm and not more than 1 mm as measured from the immediate surrounding surface of the tire.

• Marginal note:Mandatory symbols

  (4) The tire identification number must consist of the following groups of symbols:

  • (a) two or three symbols approved by the Minister or by the United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that identify the manufacturer of the tire;

  • (b) two symbols that identify the size designation of the tire; and

  • (c) four symbols that identify, in the following manner, the tire’s date of manufacture:

    • (i) the first two symbols correspond to the week of manufacture of the tire, with “01” indicating the week that begins on the first Sunday in a year, “02” indicating the week that begins on the second Sunday in the year, and so on until and including the week that begins on the last Sunday in the year, and

    • (ii) the last two symbols are the last two digits of the year in which the week identified in accordance with subparagraph (i) begins.

• Marginal note:Optional symbols

  (5) At the manufacturer’s option, to identify the tire type, the tire identification number may also include not more than four symbols that

  • (a) identify the owner of the brand name, if applicable; and

  • (b) form a code identifying the main characteristics of the tire.

• Marginal note:Laser-etching

  (6) At the manufacturer’s option, instead of being permanently moulded into or onto the tire, the symbols referred to in paragraph (4)(c) may, not later than 24 hours after the tire is removed from the mould, be permanently laser-etched into it

  • (a) in the manner and at the location specified in Figures 2 and 3 of Schedule 1; and

  • (b) at a depth or height of not less than 0.5 mm and not more than 1 mm as measured from the immediate surrounding surface of the tire.

• Marginal note:Permitted symbols

  (7) The tire identification number may consist of any of the following symbols:

  • (a) 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9; and

  • (b) A, B, C, D, E, F, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, R, T, U, V, W, X and Y.

• Marginal note:Optional symbols — Code of Federal Regulations

  (8) At the manufacturer’s option, the symbols referred to in subsection (4) and, if applicable, subsection (5) may be replaced by those set out in either option 1 or option 2 of Figure 1 of section 574.5, chapter V, Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations of the United States (revised as of October 1, 2015), in the manner and at the location specified in notes 1 to 4 of that figure and in paragraphs (a)(1), (b)(1) to (3), (d)(1), (e)(1) to (3) and (f) of that section.

• Marginal note:For greater certainty

  (9) For greater certainty, the requirements of section 574.5, chapter V, Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations of the United States referred to in subsection (8) respecting retreaded tires do not apply.

National Safety Mark

Marginal note:National Safety Mark

• 7 (1) For the purposes of these Regulations, the symbol set out in Figure 1 of Schedule 1 is prescribed as the national safety mark.

• Marginal note:Authorization by Minister

  (2) For the purposes of subsection 3(2) of the Act, on application by a company, the Minister may, in the form set out in Schedule 2, authorize the company to apply the national safety mark to a tire.

• Marginal note:Application of the national safety mark

  (3) For the purposes of subsection 3(2) of the Act, when a company applies the national safety mark to a tire, the company must

  • (a) reproduce the symbol set out in Figure 1 of Schedule 1 with the minimum height specified in Figure 3 of that Schedule; and

  • (b) permanently mould the symbol into or onto one sidewall of the tire

    • (i) in one of the places shown in Figure 3 of Schedule 1, and

    • (ii) at a depth or height of not less than 0.5 mm and not more than 1 mm as measured from the immediate surrounding surface of the sidewall.

Tire Information

Marginal note:Manufacturers and importers

• 8 (1) A company must, in respect of the tires of each specific size designation and type that it manufactures or imports, provide to the Minister, at the address set out in Schedule 3, to the dealers of the tires, and to any person who requests it, the following information:

  • (a) a list of the rims designed for use with the tires, together with a diagram and the dimensions of each of the rims;

  • (b) a table showing the type of construction and the intended use of the tires, together with the various load ratings; and

  • (c) a table and diagram showing the dimensions of the tires.

• Marginal note:Non-application

  (2) Subsection (1) does not apply in respect of tires of a specific size designation and type if the information specified in that subsection in respect of the tires appears in a publication issued by any of the following:

  • (a) the Tire and Rim Association, Inc.;

  • (b) the European Tyre and Rim Technical Organisation;

  • (c) the Japan Automobile Tire Manufacturers’ Association, Inc.;

  • (d) the Deutsches Institut für Normung e. V.;

  • (e) the British Standards Institution;

  • (f) the Scandinavian Tire and Rim Organization – STRO;

  • (g) the Tyre and Rim Association of Australia;

  • (h) the Associação Latino Americana de Pneus e Aros;

  • (i) the Tire and Rim Engineering Data Committee of South Africa;

  • (j) the South African Bureau of Standards;

  • (k) the Indian Tyre Technical Advisory Committee; or

  • (l) the Instituto Argentino de Normalización y Certificación.

Records

Marginal note:Records

• 9 (1) A company must maintain — for each tire to which it applies the national safety mark or that it imports into Canada — the records referred to in paragraph 5(1)(g) of the Act and retain those records, in paper form or in readily readable electronic form, for a period of at least five years after the day on which the tire is manufactured or imported.

• Marginal note:If records maintained on behalf of company

  (2) If the records are maintained by a person on behalf of a company, the company must keep the name and address of the person.

• Marginal note:Request from inspector

  (2.1) On request in writing from an inspector, a company must send to that inspector a copy, in either official language, of the records referred to in subsection (1) within

  • (a) 30 working days after the day on which the request is mailed; or

  • (b) if the records must be translated, 45 working days after the day on which the request is mailed.

• Marginal note:Tires imported from United States

  (3) If a tire is imported from the United States, records that the manufacturer of the tire maintains and makes available to the Administrator of the United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in accordance with section 30166, chapter 301, title 49 of the United States Code are considered to meet the requirements of subsection (1).

Marginal note:Records — mandatory symbols

• 9.1 (1) A company must maintain a record of the symbols required by paragraph 6(4)(b) and the corresponding size designation of the tire.

• Marginal note:Records — optional symbols

  (2) If a company uses the symbols referred to in subsection 6(5), it must maintain a record of the symbols used, accompanied by the full name of the owner of the brand name, if applicable, and a description of the main characteristics of the tire.

• Marginal note:Records — Code of Federal Regulations symbols

  (3) If a company uses the symbols referred to in subsection 6(8), it must maintain a record of the following, with a corresponding legend:

  • (a) the symbols that identify the size designation of the tire;

  • (b) the code that identifies the main characteristics of the tire; and

  • (c) the symbols that identify the name of the owner of the brand name.

• Marginal note:Provision of records to Minister

  (4) A company must, on request, make any record referred to in this section available to the Minister.

Registration Systems

Marginal note:Written notice

• 10 (1) For the purpose of maintaining a registration system referred to in paragraph 5(1)(h) of the Act, the company must provide, to each person who purchases from the company a tire manufactured, imported or sold by the company, a written notice, in both official languages, that

  • (a) permits a retail purchaser to provide to the company, or to a duly authorized representative of the company, the retail purchaser’s name, mailing address and email address, the tire identification number and the date of purchase; and

  • (b) includes a safety message concerning the importance of providing the information.

• Marginal note:On-line registration or card

  (2) If the written notice does not permit the retail purchaser to provide the information to the company by means of an on-line registration system, the company must provide to the person who purchases the tire from the company a card that permits the retail purchaser to provide the information to the company at no-cost.

• Marginal note:Information to be kept in registration system

  (3) The registration system maintained by the company must consist of the information provided under paragraph (1)(a).

• Marginal note:Minimum retention period

  (4) The information kept in the registration system must be retained for at least five years after the day on which the tire is sold.

Importation

General

Marginal note:Declaration

• 11 (1) For the purposes of paragraph 5(1)(b) of the Act, a company that imports into Canada a tire of a class prescribed by subsection 3(1), 4(1) or 5(1) must make, at the nearest customs office that is open for business, a declaration that is signed by the company’s duly authorized representative and that sets out

  • (a) the name of the manufacturer of the tire;

  • (b) the name, telephone number, postal address and email address of the company;

  • (c) a statement from the manufacturer or its duly authorized representative that the tire conforms to the standards prescribed for a tire of that class by sections 3 to 5 at the time the tire was manufactured;

  • (d) the brand name, size designation and type of the tire and the number of tires of that size designation and type imported at the same time; and

  • (e) the date on which the tire was imported.

• Marginal note:Importation of 10,000 or more tires

  (2) For the purposes of paragraph 5(1)(b) of the Act, a company that imports into Canada 10,000 tires or more a year may provide the declaration referred to in subsection (1) in another form and manner that is satisfactory to the Minister.

• Marginal note:Tires imported from United States

  (3) A company that imports a tire into Canada from the United States may replace the statement referred to in paragraph (1)(c) with a statement from the manufacturer or its duly authorized representative that the tire was manufactured for sale in the United States and conforms on the day of its manufacture to the requirements established under chapter 301, title 49 of the United States Code.

• Marginal note:Used tires for large motor vehicles

  (4) In the case of a used tire, the statement referred to in paragraph (1)(c) may be replaced with a statement that the tire bears a national safety mark, a DOT symbol used by the United States Department of Transportation or a JIS symbol used by the Japanese Standards Association, if the tire

  • (a) is designed for use on a motor vehicle with a GVWR of more than 4 536 kg;

  • (b) is designed to fit on a rim that has a rim diameter greater than 406.4 mm; and

  • (c) has a load range of not less than D or a ply rating of not less than 8, as specified for a tire of that size designation and type in a publication referred to in subsection 8(2).