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Homologation (Greekhomologeo, ὁμολογέω, "to agree") is the granting of approval by an officialauthority. This may be a court of law, a government department, or an academic or professional body, any of which would normally work from a set of rules or standards to determine whether such approval should be given. The word may be considered very roughly synonymous withaccreditation, and in fact inFrench andSpanish[1] may be used with regard toacademic degrees (seeapostille).Certification is another possible synonym, whileto homologate is theinfinitiveverb form.
In today's marketplace, for instance, products must often be homologated by some public agency to assure that they meet standards for such things as safety and environmental impact. A court action may also sometimes be homologated by a judicial authority before it can proceed, and the term has a precise legal meaning in the judicial codes of some countries.
The equivalent process of testing and certification for conformance to technical standards is usually known astype approval in English-language jurisdictions.
Inmotorsports a vehicle must betype approved by the sanctioning body to race in a given league, such asWorld Superbike,International Level Kart Racing, or othersportscar racing/touring car racing series.
Where a racing class requires that the vehicles raced be production vehicles only slightly adapted for racing, manufacturers typically produce a limited run of such vehicles for public sale so that they can legitimately race them in the class. These vehicles are commonly called "homologation specials".[2]
The term is also applicable in theOlympic Games, in venue certifications, prior to the start of competition. An issue was raised atCesana Pariol—thebobsleigh,luge, andskeleton track used for the2006 Winter Olympics inTurin—over its safety in luge. This delayed homologation of the track from January 2005 to October 2005 in order to achieve safe runs during luge competitions.
In towed water sports, tournaments must adhere to homologation requirements set by theInternational Waterski & Wakeboard Federation in order to qualify as ranking.[3] Inspeed climbing, in order for world, continental or national records to be recognised by theInternational Federation of Sport Climbing, an official homologated wall must be used, and each event must be approved through a homologation visit.[4][5]
