Compliance & Compatibility

Last Updated: 16 August 2026

This is the page we take most seriously, because it covers the most sensitive part of this business: modifying emissions-related functions in an engine control unit. What follows is not a disclaimer written to make a problem disappear. It is a plain description of what our software does, what it does not do, who decides whether a modification is legal, and what a professional has to do to work safely.

1. What the software actually does

Our catalogue covers 1,400+ ECU families and modules, and it grows every week as new solutions are added. We publish the live list rather than freeze a number into a legal page — it is in the supported ECU list (PDF). What matters on this page is that the services in it are not all the same thing, legally or technically, so we separate them here instead of lumping them together under the word “tuning”.

1.1 Emissions and aftertreatment — the regulated group

These services change or disable functions that exist because of emissions legislation. They are the reason this page exists.

• DPF and GPF/OPF — diesel and petrol particulate filter functions
• EGR — exhaust gas recirculation
• AdBlue / DEF (SCR) and NOx — selective catalytic reduction and NOx monitoring
• Lambda (front and rear O₂ sensors) and CAT/KAT — catalyst monitoring
• SAP (secondary air pump) and EVAP — evaporative emissions
• Readiness calibration — OBD readiness monitors
• FLAPS (swirl), TVA (throttle valve actuator), MAF and Start-Stop — not aftertreatment devices in themselves, but they sit on emissions-relevant hardware or its monitoring, so we treat them in this group and you should too

By volume, EGR, DPF and AdBlue are the three largest emissions groups in our catalogue. That is a fact about our data, not an invitation. Read section 2 before you apply any of them.

1.2 Performance and driveability

These change how the engine delivers power or behaves, without removing an emissions control device.

• Stage 1 and Stage 1+ — the largest single group in the catalogue
• VMAX (speed limiter), RPM soft limiter removal, HardCut, Launch Control
• Torque monitor adjustment — required so the ECU accepts a raised torque request instead of faulting
• Pops & Bangs (fixed and switchable) — petrol engines only. It is an ignition-side effect. It does not exist on diesel, and we will tell you so rather than sell you something that cannot work
• E85 conversion, Cylinder-on-Demand OFF, Exhaust valve, Active grill shutter, Hotstart, Oil pressure fix, Water pump, Eco tune, Sport displays calibration

Performance work is not automatically legal either. In many countries any change that moves the vehicle away from its approved configuration has to be declared, inspected or entered in the vehicle documents. A Stage 1 map is a modification, even though no filter was removed.

1.3 Diagnostics and file work — no emissions change

• ECU identification from the file itself — manufacturer, family, software and hardware numbers
• DTC reading and description lookup — trouble codes and code ranges mapped to specific ECUs in our coverage data, published in full as our supported DTC list (PDF)
• DTC OFF — disabling the storage or illumination of specific fault codes
• Checksum and CVN recalculation, plus file structure analysis and comparison against a known stock file

Reading, identifying and comparing a file is diagnostic work and carries no emissions implication. DTC OFF does. Switching off a code does not repair the fault behind it — it hides the evidence. Used properly it is a legitimate tool: silencing a code for a component that has been legally removed on a track car, or that has been diagnosed and physically repaired. Used to make a warning light go away before a sale or an inspection, it is misleading at best and fraud at worst. That distinction is on you, not on the software.

1.4 Immobiliser and protection functions — restricted use

The catalogue includes Immo Off (flash and EPROM), Immo Virgin and TPROT. These exist for genuine repair situations: a donor ECU, a failed immobiliser module, a bench repair on a vehicle whose owner is standing in front of you.

2. Intended use, and who decides what is legal

Softechpro is supplied for use on:

• Dynamometer and bench work, including development and validation
• Competition and motorsport vehicles used on closed courses
• Off-highway, off-road and non-road vehicles not registered for public road use
• Export markets whose emissions requirements differ from the vehicle's original market
• Professional diagnostics and repair — reading, identifying, comparing and restoring files

You are a professional, so we will not lecture you. We will be direct instead.

In the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and most other markets we sell into, removing, disabling or defeating an emissions control device on a vehicle used on public roads is not permitted. Inspection regimes — ITV in Spain, TÜV and HU in Germany, contrôle technique in France, revisione in Italy, MOT in the UK — increasingly read the ECU rather than only sampling the tailpipe, and several of them now flag a software version that does not match the type-approved one. Enforcement has tightened year on year, and it varies enormously between countries and even between regions.

What that means in practice: the legality of any specific modification, on any specific vehicle, in your country, is a decision only you can make. You are the one who sees the vehicle, knows its registration status and its intended use, and signs the job off. We do not see any of that. We supply a file-editing tool; you supply the judgement, and you carry the responsibility for the outcome — including toward your own customer, who should be told in writing what was changed on their vehicle.

This page is not legal advice and cannot be. Rules change, and they differ by country, by vehicle category and by registration date. If you are unsure whether a modification is permitted where you operate, ask your national type-approval or transport authority, or a lawyer in your jurisdiction. We would rather you asked and walked away from a job than guessed.

3. What we provide, and what we explicitly do not

We provide software, a solution catalogue, technical support on file and ECU questions, and an honest answer when something is not covered.

We do not provide, and no statement anywhere on this site should be read as providing:

• Homologation, type approval or a certificate of conformity of any kind, for any modification
• Emissions certificates, e-marks, exemption documents or engineering sign-off
• Any guarantee that a vehicle will pass an ITV, TÜV, HU, contrôle technique, revisione, MOT, OBD readiness check or roadside emissions test
• Any confirmation that a modification is road-legal in your country, or in any country
• Insurance, warranty or roadworthiness cover. Modifying an ECU will normally void the vehicle manufacturer's powertrain warranty and may affect the owner's insurance. Tell your customer that before you start, not after

We are an independent software company. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by or licensed by any vehicle manufacturer, and not by any tool manufacturer. Where we name a manufacturer, an ECU family or a third-party bench tool on this site, it is for technical identification only; those names and trademarks belong to their respective owners.

4. Vehicles in scope — and out of scope

Softechpro is built for passenger cars and light commercial vans. Our coverage is strongest on European diesel and petrol families — Bosch EDC15, EDC16 and EDC17, MD1, MG1, MED17, MEDC17 and MEVD17, Siemens/Continental SID and SIMOS, Delphi DCM and CRD — across VAG, BMW, Mercedes, PSA, Renault-Nissan, Ford, FCA, Opel, Volvo, Land Rover and Jaguar, with lighter coverage elsewhere.

5. Compatibility — a covered family is not your exact version

This is where most disappointment comes from, so we say it on every page it touches. An ECU family appearing on our supported list does not mean your specific software version is matched. Within one family there are hundreds of software versions, hardware revisions and calibration structures, and they differ far more than the family name suggests.

We only apply a solution when it matches your file exactly, at the correct addresses. If your version is not matched, the software says so and no credit is charged. We never force a solution built for a neighbouring version onto your file — that is how engines end up not starting. Full detail, including what happens next and how your version gets added, is in the ECU Coverage Policy.

6. System and operating requirements

• Windows 10 or Windows 11, 64-bit. Earlier Windows versions are not supported
• One physical PC. The licence is bound to a fingerprint of the machine you first launch it on. Virtual machines and emulators are not supported — a VM reports different hardware, so it reads as a separate computer rather than as your bench PC. Remote-support tools are fine: reaching your own licensed machine over TeamViewer, AnyDesk, Chrome Remote Desktop or RDP does not change its fingerprint and breaks nothing. What is not allowed is using a remote session so that several people share one licence — that is a licensing question, set out in the Acceptable Use Policy, not a technical block
• One licence, one PC. If you replace or rebuild the machine, contact us for a hardware ID change rather than trying to work around it
• An internet connection is required for licence validation and for cloud-served solutions

7. Working safely — the part that protects your customer's vehicle

Writing a file to an ECU always carries risk, whatever tool you use. Low battery voltage, a poor-quality interface, a background process on the PC or an interrupted session can leave a unit unrecoverable. Nothing in our software removes that risk, and nothing in anyone else's does either. What reduces it is method.

• Always keep the untouched original read of every ECU you work on, archived per vehicle. It is your only true rollback. Never overwrite it with a modified file
• Use the correct read and write method for the ECU. Where a family requires bench or boot access, do it on the bench. Forcing an OBD write on a unit that needs boot mode is the single most common way a good job turns into a dead ECU
• Stable power throughout. A proper charger or stabiliser on the vehicle, and a stable supply on the bench
• Checksums. On most ECUs we correct the checksum automatically and the file is ready to write. On manufacturer security-signed units — MD1, MG1, MDG1 and signed MEDC17 families — the checksum and signature cannot be recalculated on our side. We apply your tune, deliver the file, and state plainly that the checksum is not applied. You must run checksum and signature correction with your own bench or boot tool before writing. Writing such a file uncorrected will not start the engine and can damage the ECU
• Verify before you deliver. Check the reported byte changes, confirm the vehicle starts and runs cleanly, and read the fault memory afterwards
• Document the job. Record what was changed and give your customer a written statement of it. It protects them, and it protects you

8. Abuse, and what we will not support

We will not knowingly assist in preparing a vehicle to deceive an inspection or a buyer, in defeating an anti-theft system on a vehicle you do not own or are not authorised to work on, or in any use we are told by a competent authority is unlawful. Accounts used for those purposes are closed, and closure for abuse is not refundable. This is stated the same way in our Refund Policy and Terms, and we apply it consistently.

9. Liability

SOFTTECHPRO SOLUTIONS LLC supplies modified file data and diagnostic software. We are not liable for mechanical failure, ECU damage, recovery or towing costs, lost business, regulatory penalties, failed inspections or third-party claims arising from how a file is used, on which vehicle, or in which jurisdiction. Those choices sit with the professional performing the work. The limits and exclusions in our Terms of Service apply in full to this page.

Not sure whether a specific job falls inside the intended use above, or whether an ECU is covered? Write to support@softechpro-solutions.com with the brand, ECU type, software number and what the vehicle is used for. We would much rather answer that question before the job than after it.