DECISION OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA ON ESTABLISHING TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS FOR QUALIFICATION OF TOURIST BUSES, SPECIFICATIONS, QUALIFICATION PROCEDURE, STANDARDS THEREOF, FORMS OF THE QUALIFICATION CERTIFICATE AND THE SIGN, VALIDITY PERIOD OF THE QUALIFICATION CERTIFICATE, PROCEDURE FOR GRANTING THE CERTIFICATE, GROUNDS FOR TERMINATION OF QUALIFICATION

OFFICIAL TRANSLATION

DECISION

OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA

No 1765-N of 4 December 2025

ON ESTABLISHING TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS FOR QUALIFICATION OF TOURIST BUSES, SPECIFICATIONS, QUALIFICATION PROCEDURE, STANDARDS THEREOF, FORMS OF THE QUALIFICATION CERTIFICATE AND THE SIGN, VALIDITY PERIOD OF THE QUALIFICATION CERTIFICATE, PROCEDURE FOR GRANTING THE CERTIFICATE, GROUNDS FOR TERMINATION OF QUALIFICATION

Based on part 3 of Article 16 of the Law of the Republic of Armenia "On Tourism", the Government of the Republic of Armenia shall hereby decide to:

1. Establish:

(1) the procedure for qualification of a tourist bus, the validity period of the qualification certificate, the procedure for granting the certificate and the grounds for termination of the qualification, according to Annex No 1;

(2) the technical requirements for qualification of a tourist bus, specifications and standards thereof, according to Annex No 2;

(3) the form of the qualification certificate of a tourist bus, according to Annex No 3;

4) the form of a tourist bus sign, according to Annex No 4.

2. Establish that the tourist buses in operation shall undergo qualification for the first time no later than within 12 months after the entry into force of this Decision.

3. This Decision shall enter into force on 1 April 2026, except for the cases prescribed by points 4, 5 and 6 of this Decision.

4. Starting from 1 January 2033, the tourist buses whose year of manufacture is 30 (thirty) years and more, may not be operated for tourist passenger transportation. Moreover, the tourist buses which, as of 1 January 2030, have a valid qualification certificate and whose year of manufacture is 30 (thirty) years or more, may be operated exclusively until the certificate expires and shall not be subject to further re-qualification as a passenger transportation tourist bus. Such a tourist bus shall not be subject to re-qualification, and the validity period of the relevant certificate shall not be subject to extension.

5. Starting from 1 January 2035, the tourist buses whose year of manufacture is 20 (twenty) years and more, may not be operated for tourist passenger transportation. Moreover, the tourist buses which, as of 1 January 2035, have a valid qualification certificate and whose year of manufacture is 20 (twenty) years or more, may be operated exclusively until the certificate expires and shall not be subject to further re-qualification as a passenger transportation tourist bus. Such a tourist bus shall not be subject to re-qualification, and the validity period of the relevant certificate shall not be subject to extension.

6. The requirement that a tourist bus shall be adapted for transportation of persons with disabilities, provided for by point 22 of the Table in Annex No 2 to this Decision, shall be established as binding from 1 January 2030 and shall be a prerequisite for the qualification of a tourist bus. Tourist buses which, as of 1 January 2030, hold a valid qualification certificate and do not meet the adaptation requirement specified in point 22 of the Table in Annex No 2 to this Decision, may continue to operate until the certificate expires, without the possibility of re-qualification.

7. Repeal Decision of the Government of the Republic of Armenia No 864-N of 30 July 2015 "On approving the procedure for qualification of a tourist bus, the process, standards thereof, the forms of the certificate and the sign".

Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia	N. Pashinyan
Yerevan

8.12.2025 CERTIFIED BY ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE

Annex No 1 to Decision of the Government of the Republic of Armenia No 1765-N of 4 December 2025

CERTIFIED BY ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE PROCEDURE FOR QUALIFICATION OF A TOURIST BUS, VALIDITY PERIOD  OF THE QUALIFICATION CERTIFICATE, PROCEDURE FOR GRANTING  A CERTIFICATE AND GROUNDS FOR TERMINATION OF QUALIFICATION

1. GENERAL PROVISIONS

1. This Procedure shall regulate the relations pertaining to qualification of tourist buses.

2. The following main concepts are used in this Annex, which are defined within the context of the Law "On Tourism" and other legal acts regulating the field, ensuring the practical applicability and the legal certainty of the Procedure:

(1) Law — Law “On Tourism”;

(2) Committee — competent state body having powers in the field of tourism as prescribed by Article 6 of the Law “On Tourism”;

(3) Commission — a multilateral commission to be established in the composition determined by the Committee, the main objective whereof shall be to conduct compliance assessment of the bus represented within the scope of tourist bus qualification process according to the established standards, technical requirements;

(4) Applicant — a legal person or an individual entrepreneur engaged in passenger transportation by tourist buses applying for the qualification category established by this Annex;

(5) Qualification — official confirmation of the compliance of a tourist bus, which is carried out by the Committee in accordance with the approved standards, technical requirements and the procedure based on the positive opinion of the Commission;

(6) Qualification certificate — an official document issued in an established form by the Committee, proving the compliance of the tourist bus with the established technical and quality requirements and confirming the eligibility thereof to be considered a tourist bus;

(7) Qualification sign — a visible distinctive emblem made according to the model form approved by this Procedure and issued by the Committee, which is placed on the windshield of a tourist bus and confirms its qualification;

(8) Seat — a section located in the passenger compartment of a tourist bus and designed as a separate accommodation for sitting, calculated to determine the total number of passengers;

(9) Platform — a Platform with access via tourism.gov.am website and equipped with a set of information technology tools, through which the tourist bus qualification process is carried out.

3. The qualification shall be carried out by the Committee based on the positive opinion of the Commission established in accordance with this Procedure.

4. In case of a negative opinion of the Commission, the Committee shall not qualify the tourist bus.

2. DOCUMENTS NECESSARY FOR OBTAINING QUALIFICATION OF A TOURIST BUS

5. For the purpose of obtaining qualification, the applicant shall submit to the Committee a relevant electronic application containing the information provided for by point 7 of this Procedure.

6. The process of submitting and accepting an electronic application shall be as follows:

(1) After verification of identity, the applicant shall fill out and submit an application through the Platform, attaching to it the documents provided for by point 8 of this Annex, which shall be submitted through automatic instructions of the Platform;

(2) The application shall be deemed accepted from the date of its entry as described above, provided that, following its entry through the Platform toolkit, the automated system thereof displays an automatic notification confirming the successful completion of the process;

(3) The applicant may track the progress of the application using the identification data provided thereby as a result of identification on the Platform.

7. The following shall be indicated in the application:

(1) for an applicant that is a legal person — the name, the organisational and legal form, the state registration number, the taxpayer identification number and the country of residence, and for an applicant that is an individual entrepreneur — the first name, the last name, the state registration number and the taxpayer identification number;

(2) the make of the tourist bus, the registration number, the year of manufacture, the number of seats and the type of fuel (including petrol, diesel, gas, electric or hybrid engine);

(3) the main route of operation of the tourist bus;

(4) the date of the last technical inspection of the tourist bus and the name of the organisation having conducted the technical inspection.

8. The following documents shall be attached to the application:

(1) An electronic extract from the State Register of Legal Entities of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia regarding the tourist passenger carrier, issued no more than 7 (seven) days prior to the submission of the application downloaded from the website www.e-register.am;

(2) a copy of the technical passport of the tourist bus;

(3) a copy of the document confirming the payment of the state fee to be paid for qualification;

(4) for a tourist bus that is easy to access for persons with disabilities or adapted for transportation thereof and complies with the requirements of GOST 30478-96, the application shall be accompanied by a statement submitted by the applicant, as well as a document confirming the lawfulness of re-equipment of the tourist bus (if available).

3. GRANTING QUALIFICATION, VALIDITY PERIODS OF QUALIFICATION CERTIFICATE AND GROUNDS FOR TERMINATION OF QUALIFICATION CERTIFICATE

9. The Committee shall examine the application and the documents attached thereto within 3 working days following the receipt thereof, rendering a decision on acceptance or rejection of acceptance of the application.

10. Following the examination, the Committee shall reject the application, if:

(1) at least one of the documents or information provided for by points 7 and 8 of this Procedure is missing;

(2) in the case set forth in point 12 of this Procedure, the applicant has failed to eliminate the deficiencies within the prescribed time period;

(3) the submitted documents do not comply with the legislation of the Republic of Armenia.

11. Within 2 (two) working days following the rendering of the decision the Committee shall notify the applicant via the e-mail address provided by the latter through the Platform whether any of the decisions provided for by point 9 of this Procedure are rendered. Where the application is rejected, the Committee shall also indicate the grounds for rejection when notifying the applicant of the relevant decision.

12. Where the application or the submitted documents contain insignificant deficiencies meeting the criteria prescribed in point 13 of this Procedure, the time period set forth in point 9 of this Annex shall be suspended, and the Committee shall, within 3 (three) working days following the receipt of the application, notify the applicant thereof by sending a message to the e-mail address provided by the applicant through the Platform. The notification shall invite the applicant to eliminate the said deficiencies within 5 (five) working days after sending the message to the e-mail address indicated in this point. In case the deficiencies have been eliminated, the Committee shall render a decision on accepting the application.

13. An insignificant deficiency shall include misprints, inaccuracy or omission of a formal or technical nature found in the application or submitted documents that do not affect the material content of the application, the objectivity of assessment or on ensuring equal competitive conditions. In particular, the following may be deemed as insignificant deficiencies:

(1) technical misprints, including minor deviations in numbers, formatting irregularities, or misspellings, which require clarification to ensure unambiguous understanding of the content;

(2) obvious technical or formatting errors made in information transmitted via the Platform or the e-mail (for example, an insignificant deviation in the title of the document or an inaccuracy in the name of the document), which do not impair understanding of the content of the document or its legal force, may be considered an insignificant incorrect message, provided that they are identified and corrected by simply clarifying or identifying a new document without the need for additional legal actions.

14. The deficiency shall not be deemed as insignificant, if:

(1) it entails distortion or ambiguity of the content of the document;

(2) it disrupts the equal conditions for competition;

(3) as a result, the Committee may not determine with certainty the purpose and the legal force of the given document;

(4) it is related to full or partial non-compliance with the prescribed conditions, standards, or requirements.

15. For the purpose of assessing the compliance of a tourist bus with the requirements, specifications and standards prescribed by this Decision, the Committee shall establish a Commission and appoint a chairperson from among its members.

16. The Commission shall be a body operating on a non-permanent basis.

17. The initial composition of the Commission shall be approved by the order of the Minister of Economy of the Republic of Armenia within 1 month following the entry into force of this Decision. The order shall indicate the term of appointment of each member of the Commission. The members of the Commission shall perform their duties without compensation.

18. The term of appointment of a member of the Commission may not exceed 1 year, except for the chairperson of the Committee or the person ex officio substituting him or her, or employees of the Committee to whom restriction of the term of appointment does not apply.

19. The composition of the Commission, the term of appointment of members and other changes shall be approved by the order of the Minister of Economy of the Republic of Armenia.

20. The chairperson of the Commission shall lead the activities of the Commission, ensure the effective organisation of sittings and coordinate the ongoing work of the Commission through the secretary of the Commission.

21. The ongoing work of the Commission shall be organised by the secretary of the Commission (hereinafter referred to as “the Secretary”).

22. The Commission shall consist of 9 members, with representatives involved from:

(1) Tourism Committee (3 representatives);

(2) Patrol Service of the Police of the Republic of Armenia (2 representatives);

(3) Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of the Republic of Armenia (1 representative);

(4) Ministry of Environment (1 representative);

(5) representatives of associations of persons providing tourism services (1 representative upon consent);

(6) non-governmental organisations engaged in protection of consumer interests (1 representative upon consent).

23. The representatives provided for by sub-points 5 and 6 of point 22 of this Annex, persons nominated by associations of persons providing tourism services and non-governmental organisations engaged in protection of consumer interests respectively, shall be involved in the Commission by the principle of rotation. Within the meaning of this Procedure, the principle of rotation implies that each of the said institutions shall have the opportunity to be represented in the Commission for a limited time period and with the precondition of rotation, without the right to long-term or permanent participation of any organisation (representative of the organisation). The procedure for engaging these representatives in the Commission shall be established by the Committee through a transparent and a balanced procedure.

24. The Commission shall:

(1) assess the compliance of the tourist bus with the technical requirements for qualification, specifications, and standards;

(2) provide an opinion on the compliance of the tourist bus with the technical requirements for qualification, specifications, and standards.

25. The Commission shall conduct the qualification assessment based on objective principles of transparency and neutrality at a location chosen at the suggestion of the Committee. The assessment shall be carried out through an external and internal inspection of the tourist bus, both parked and in motion. The Commission may use technical means of documentation.

26. The Secretary shall notify the applicant of the date, time and place of presenting the tourist bus for assessment of the Commission via the e-mail address at least 3 (three) working days before the date of assessment. Moreover, the assessment date shall be no later than within 25 (twenty-five) working days following the day of rendering of the decision provided for by point 9 of this Procedure.

27. The Commission shall organise its activities by convening a sitting. The sitting of the Commission shall have a quorum where it is attended by at least 5 members.

28. Each member of the Commission shall be entitled to one vote. The decisions of the Commission shall be adopted by the simple majority of votes of the members present at the sitting. In case of a tie, the chairperson of the Commission shall have the casting vote.

29. Minutes of the sitting of the Commission shall be taken. Minutes, to which an opinion shall also be attached in case the compliance with the qualification conditions is under consideration, shall be drawn up in 2 copies and signed by the chairperson of the Commission and the members of the Commission having participated in the sitting.

30. The photocopy of the minutes including that of the opinion shall be delivered to the applicant via the e-mail address, the receipt whereof shall be confirmed by a return notification.

31. Where the opinion of the Commission is positive, the Committee shall, within 3 working days following the receipt of the minutes of the Commission, adopt a decision on granting the application and issuing a tourist bus qualification, and shall, within 3 working days, provide a relevant electronic qualification certificate to the applicant.

32. Depending on the year of manufacture of the tourist bus, the qualification certificate shall be issued for the following time periods:

(1) for a period of 3 (three) years — for tourist buses with a year of manufacture of up to 10 years;

(2) for a period of 2 (two) years — for tourist buses with a year of manufacture from 11 to 15 years;

(3) for a period of 1 (one) year — for tourist buses with a year of manufacture of 15 years and more.

33. Where the certificate is issued for a period exceeding one year, the applicant shall be obliged to pay the relevant state fee for the second and subsequent years and, by the second working day of the reporting calendar year, submit to the Committee, through the Platform, documents confirming such payment.

34. Where the opinion of the Commission is negative, the Committee shall, within 3 working days, render a decision on rejecting the application, and within 2 further working days make it available on the Platform, as well as notify via the e-mail address provided by the applicant through the Platform.

35. Following the rejection of a qualification, the applicant shall have the right to submit, within the same year, a new qualification application for the same tourist bus. For this purpose, the application shall be submitted under the same procedure.

36. The validity of qualification certificate shall terminate:

(1) upon the expiration of the validity period;

(2) on the ground of the application of the right holder on termination of qualification certificate, starting from the following day of filing the application with the Committee, unless a later time period is specified in the application. The time period specified in the application may not exceed the established validity period of the certificate;

(3) by a decision of the Committee on the grounds set forth in paragraph 44 of this Procedure.

4. ENSURING COMPLIANCE WITH QUALIFICATION CONDITIONS AND EARLY TERMINATION OF THE QUALIFICATION CERTIFICATE

37. If, during the validity of the qualification certificate, a tourist bus gets involved in a traffic accident, or an offence provided for by parts 1 or 2 of Article 123 of the Administrative Offences Code of the Republic of Armenia is recorded during its operation, the Committee shall be authorised to initiate an additional assessment of compliance of the tourist bus with the qualification conditions. The applicant shall be notified of such a decision through the Platform and via the e-mail address provided by the applicant on the Platform, and concurrently he or she shall be notified of the date, time and place of the assessment, at least 20 working days prior to the assessment date.

38. The additional assessment provided for by point 37 of this Annex shall be carried out in accordance with the general procedure for assessing the compliance of a tourist bus with the qualification conditions. If the applicant fails to present the tourist bus for compliance assessment, or the Commission issues a negative opinion following the assessment, the certificate shall be terminated. In this case, the applicant may again present the tourist bus for assessment in the same year. For this purpose, the application shall be submitted through the Platform.

39. Where the right of ownership in respect of a qualified tourist bus fully or partially terminates, the validity of the qualification certificate shall not terminate.

40. The validity of the certificate shall be suspended, and the qualification of the tourist bus shall be considered as suspended if the applicant has failed to provide proof of payment of the state fee as prescribed and within the time period established by point 33 of this Annex.

41. The suspension of the validity of the certificate shall not affect the expiration of the validity of the certificate.

42. Where the certificate is suspended in accordance with point 40 of this Annex, the applicant (and in the cases provided for by point 39, the new owner or user, if he or she is a tourist passenger carrier) may submit an application to cancel the suspension of the certificate through the relevant subsection of the Platform, attaching thereto the copy of the technical passport of the tourist bus, and where he or she is not the owner of the tourist bus, also the copy of the document confirming his or her right to use the tourist bus. Where the ground for the suspension was non-payment of the state fee, proof of payment of the state fee shall also be attached.

43. The Committee shall examine the application on cancelling the suspension of the certificate and the documents attached to the application within 3 working days following the receipt thereof, adopting a decision to cancel the suspension or reject the application, of which the applicant shall be notified through the Platform and via the e-mail within 3 working days.

44. The Committee shall, by its decision, suspend the validity of the tourist bus qualification certificate, if:

(1) based on the results of the additional assessment provided for by point 37 of this Annex, a negative opinion on compliance of the tourist bus with the qualification conditions has been issued;

(2) the tourist bus:

a. within 20 working days after the expiration of the established time period, has not undergone a mandatory technical inspection as prescribed by the legislation of the Republic of Armenia;

b. according to the results of the technical inspection, has been declared as being out of order and inoperable;

c. according to the results of the additional assessment, has not complied with the requirements of the appearance or the passenger compartment of the bus, approved by Annex No 2 to this Decision;

(3) it has received information on a case recorded as prescribed by the legislation of the Republic of Armenia, of driving a tourist bus on motor roads of common use in the territory of the Republic of Armenia without a valid contract on compulsory insurance against liability arising from the use of a motor vehicle.

Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia

A. HARUTYUNYAN

9.12.2025 CERTIFIED BY ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS, SPECIFICATIONS AND STANDARDS OF QUALIFICATION OF A TOURIST BUS

1. Qualification standards for a tourist bus (standards marked with a "+" or indicated as mandatory shall be applicable):

Table

No s/n	Technical requirements and specifications	Standards
		Tourist bus with 22 and more seats	Tourist bus with 12-21 seats	Tourist bus with up to 11 seats
1	2	3	4	5
	I. External appearance of a tourist bus
1.	No visible scratches and damages on the body of the vehicle (except for scuffs up to 20 mm long and 2 mm wide and other damages with a maximum diameter of up to 5 mm)	+	+	+
2.	Integrity of exterior baffle paint (no rust under the paint, except for the rust with a maximum diameter of up to 5 mm)	+	+	+
3.	No damages on the windows within the direct field of vision of the driver and passengers (except for scuffs of up to 150 mm long and 1 mm wide and other damages with a maximum diameter of up to 20 mm)	+	+	+
	II. Passenger compartment of a tourist bus
4.	No tearing, cracking and other damages on all seats upholstery	+	+	+
5.	No damages on the roof lining and the floor covering material	+	+	+
6.	No floor surface irregularities	+	+	+
7.	Seat levers (if any) - free of damages and in an operating condition	+	+	+
8.	Folding armrests of seats (if any) — free of damages and in an operating condition	+	+
9.	Minimum width of the seat designed for one person (cm)	43	40	37
10	Minimum distance from the front seat (cm)	70	70	60
11.	Minimum distance between the two seat rows (cm)	50	50	40
12.	Minimum height of seat backs (cm)	68	60	50
13.	Folding backs for all seats (with a tilt angle of at least 10 degrees)	+	No requirement	No requirement
14.	Availability of seat-back pockets for information materials	+	+	No requirement
15.	Availability of a hygienic cover on the upper part of the seat backs (not required if the seat or the upper part of its back is upholstered in leather, artificial leather or other easily washable material)	+	+	No requirement
16.	Absence of an additional seat and other design modifications not envisaged by the manufacturing plant	+	+	+
17.	Operational refrigerator	+	+	+
18.	Interior lighting, including individual lighting for each seat	+	+	+
19.	Curtains (movable, window blinds)	+	+	+
20.	Windows: double-layered, glazed, without sealing failure	+	+	No requirement
21.	The tourist bus is adapted for transportation of persons with disabilities (availability of a ramp, entrance for wheelchairs, a locking system, appropriate signage and a document confirming the lawfulness of re-equipment)	+	+	+
22.	A medical first aid kit, the contents of which complies with the requirements prescribed by Order of the Minister of Health of the Republic of Armenia No 4938-L of 20 October 2022 "On approving the list of mandatory medicines and medical supplies contained in the medical first-aid kit of vehicles"	+	+	+
	III. Acoustics
23.	Microphone for the driver and the tour guide (connected to the vehicle loudspeaker system)	+	+	No requirement
24.	Player	+	+	+
25.	Video equipment — at least 1 monitor for every 6 rows	+	+	No requirement
	IV. Ventilation system
26.	Ventilation or air conditioning system that is operational even when the vehicle is not in motion	+	+	+
27.	Heating system that is operational even when the vehicle is not in motion	+	+	+
	V. Luggage
28.	Minimum height of hand luggage compartment-cabin (cm)	15	No requirement	No requirement
29.	Minimum capacity of luggage compartment (dm3per 1 passenger)	60	45	40
	VI. Safety systems
30.	Secondary braking system (retarder, intarder, TELMA or equivalent)	Mandatory requirement	No requirement	No requirement

2. A tourist bus shall be considered as complying with the qualification conditions if it meets at least 75 percent of the requirements established for that type of tourist bus and, at the same time, meets all the requirements designated as mandatory.

3. Tourist buses must comply with the requirements of the Technical Regulation TR CU 018/2011 "On Safety of Wheeled Vehicles".

Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia

A. HARUTYUNYAN

9.12.2025 CERTIFIED BY ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE

Annex No 3 to Decision of the Government of the Republic of Armenia No 1765-N of 4 December 2025

FORM

FOR TOURIST BUS QUALIFICATION CERTIFICATE

Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia

A. HARUTYUNYAN

9.12.2025 CERTIFIED BY ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE

Annex No 4 to Decision of the Government of the Republic of Armenia No 1765-N of 4 December 2025

FORM

OF TOURIST BUS QUALIFICATION SIGN TOURIST BUS

Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia

A. HARUTYUNYAN

9.12.2025 CERTIFIED BY ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE

Date of official promulgation: 9 December 2025.

Translation published on a joint site 26 June 2026.