There are four kinds of type approvals:

EC approvals:
- for whole vehicles (EC-WVTA), systems, separate technical units or components;
- mandatory for all Member States of the European Union;
- bears a small "e";
- based on EC Directives.

ECE approvals:
- for systems, separate technical units or components (no WVTA possible);
- mandatory for all countries which have (voluntarily) signed (each) agreement;
- bears a capital "E";
- based on ECE Regulations;
- has worldwide accepted Regulations.

National Type Approvals:
- For vehicles of vehicle category T and verhicle classification T4.2 and T5.

National Small Series Type Approvals (NSS-TA):
- for whole vehicles produced in small series (NKS-WVTA);
- only for that country;
- bears a small "e", followed by "NKS";
- based on national legislation.

Some ECE Regulations are equivalent to EC Directives. If so, this is mentioned in the Framework Directives.