An ATP certificate's end date is counted from the date of manufacture. The first certificate runs 6 years from manufacture, then each periodic inspection adds 3 years; the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure's ATP Roadside Inspection Guide and Article 12 of the regulation set the same frame. If the type test is repeated at inspection and passes, a renewal can run 6 years instead of 3.
| Stage | Equipment age |
|---|---|
| First certificate | up to year 6 |
| First renewal (+3) | up to year 9 |
| Second renewal (+3) | up to year 12 |
| Third renewal (+3) | up to year 15 |
At year fifteen the calendar stops. The guide gives the reason as loss of performance in the insulation polymer, and the equipment is assigned to the next class down (for example FRC becomes FNA). Article 12(8) states the rule in two sentences: heavily insulated equipment is treated as normally insulated after 15 years, and normally insulated equipment more than 15 years old is not certified under ATP. The class falls by calendar, not by maintenance; equipment involved in an accident or impact also needs an exceptional inspection (Article 12(6)).
That calendar is the line most often left out when working out what a reefer really costs.
Equipment without an ATP certificate that is no more than 15 years old can receive a domestic Perishable Food Carriage Document; its inspection period is 3 years and it cannot be used for carriage to countries party to ATP (Article 19). Keeping each body's manufacture year and certificate expiry side by side in the fleet list shows the renewal decision well ahead.
