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DVLA GUIDE - Unofficial Guide to the DVLA Register Imported Vehicle

For helpful and convenient driving licence and vehicle advice:

Telephone : 0905 801 7211

Calls cost £1.53 per minute from a BT Landline.


Advice provided is available free of charge from DVLA

Advice you can trust, when you need it
We provide helpful and convenient advice regarding United Kingdom driving licence, vehicles, MOT, SORN and tax disc including advice on the following:

  • Change of address of UK driving licence
  • Renewals of UK driving licence
  • Lost or stolen of UK driving licence
  • Learner and new driver information
  • Register a vehicle
  • Who to notify when you buy or sell a vehicle
  • Making changes to your registration
  • Taxing your vehicle
  • MOT Certificates
  • SORN a vehicle
  • Locations and Hours

Helping you make the right choice
All callers must be aged 16+, please ensure that you have the billpayers permission before entering this service. Calls cost £1.53 on connection + £1.53 per minute from a BT Landline, calls from other networks may vary and calls from mobiles may cost considerably more. This service is provided by Chris Snow t/a Online Guides HX7 6AH. helpline 01614086460. For full service terms and condition goto http://dvlaguide.co.uk/index.php/site/terms_of_use

If you need to apply for, renew or replace a licence, or have any other vehicle enquiry, you may also contact Drivers' Customer Services, Correspondence Team, DVLA, SA6 7JL or the Vehicle Customer Services, DVLA, SA99 1AR. You also may be able to use the vehicle and licensing services at a Post Office®.

You are in the Drivers License & ID. If you are looking for Drivers License & ID information dvlaguide.com is the right site for you. In this section you’ll find out how to apply, renew and replace your drivers license, how to update any name or address changes, how to apply motorcycle license, or what medical rules apply to drivers

This site, dvlaguide.com, also covers the specifics for learners and new drivers, vehicle registration, taxing your vehicle, MOTs, how to SORN a vehicle, what forms you need and DVLA hours and locations.





Register Imported Vehicle

A vehicle that is permanently imported for use in Great Britain (GB) must be registered and taxed as soon as possible after it arrives in the country.

If the vehicle needs to have a single vehicle approval (SVA) or MOT test in order to be registered, the vehicle may be driven to and from the pre-arranged test appointment. Thereafter, the vehicle must be kept off the road until the registration formalities have taken place.

Application for registration should be made to your nearest Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) local office. It is not possible to offer an ‘over the counter service’, registration usually takes between 48 and 72 hours.

UK law requires a vehicle to be UK taxed and registered for road use. To avoid difficulties, importers are advised to transport, rather than drive their vehicles from the port to home or first destination and to keep them off the road until they have been properly licensed and registered.

Vehicle Registration

The following documents will need to be submitted to the DVLA local office, photocopies are not acceptable.

  • completed application form V55/4 (for new vehicles) or V55/5 (for used vehicles) a £55.00 registration fee (if applicable)
  • the required fee for the licence
  • a current British certificate of insurance
  • foreign registration document and any other papers you have relating to the vehicle
  • evidence showing the date the vehicle was collected (normally the invoice from the supplier)
  • evidence of type approval
  • the appropriate HM Revenue and Customs form

Registration and licensing will not take place unless you have the necessary documentation. In some cases the DVLA local office may wish to see the vehicle to check its identity.

Import Information Pack

The DVLA provides all the necessary information and forms required to register an imported vehicle in an ‘import pack’ which is available on DVLA's form ordering service.