Registration

The DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency) website states:

A vehicle which is permanently imported for use in Great Britain must be registered and licensed as soon as possible after it arrives in this country. After arrival you are only entitled to drive the vehicle on foreign registration plates from the port of entry to your home address, place of destination or to a pre-arranged test. 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. N.B. Generally it is not possible to offer an "over the counter service".

You will need to provide the Vehicle Registration Office (VRO) with:

• The US registration documents.
• The US bill of sale to prove it is your car. Probably the Title would suffice, but if you bought it from a dealer then the sales documentation would probably be a good idea too. As mentioned earlier - some private importers have had permission from their US bank to bring a vehicle to the UK which is still being paid for. I suggest a letter from the bank confirming this would be useful at this stage.
• A copy of the customs form that you will receive on entry (either C&E386 or C&E388)
• Proof of UK insurance (I think a cover note will do but get the real thing in advance just to be on the safe side). Either way, you will need to contact a UK insurer before you can collect the car. Apparently the RAC and the AA can arrange temporary insurance at the port if you haven't.
• The MOT certificate if over three years old (the car - not you!). This means that between the port and the VRO part of getting there as 'soon as possible' includes a small diversion to the MOT test centre for cars over three years old or to the garage for light conversions and the SVA centre for testing! In practice there seems to be a little flexibility here - after all the chances of the police stopping you for driving on foreign plates during your first few days here is pretty slim. Even if they did they would probably not be familiar with the import rules and anyway, as long as you have a plan to do the conversions and SVA quickly then you do need to get the car from one to the other so you have a legitimate excuse. I would recommend that you plan these jobs for as soon as practically possible after you arrive though!
• £165 (about $280) for one year's registration!
• The VRO will ask you to complete a V55/5 form, which you can do on the spot but the Reading office mailed me one in advance.
• Proof of passing the Single Vehicle Approval test (see modifications).

In exchange you should receive a tax disk for your windscreen and a registration number for your number plate. Then you need to go and buy a number plate. If you are American, the way you get a number plate (licence plate) is different in the UK. Rather than having one made by prisoners and needing to go and order and collect it from the public department of safety, you buy it in a car parts shop while you wait. The interesting thing is that British number plates are long and thin and American ones are shorter and squat so you may need to get one that normally goes on a motorcycle.

By the way, although it is cheap and easy to buy a personalised number plate in the US, it is more complicated and dull in the UK.

It is expensive and explained on the DVLA Web site: www.dvla-som.co.uk.

I found the registration a fairly painless process, except we went on the last day of the month which had two dissadvantages. First you end up paying for the whole month's worth of tax even though you only get about 6 hours worth (that annoyed me) and second there was a queue about 100 people long that took an hour or so to get to the front of.

By the way, on the front of my Explorer I managed to get Ford to supply me a UK style number plate mounting, so I could put a UK number plate on properly. For the rear number plate there is no room in the bumper indent for a UK style one but I discovered that the Mildenhall folks can get US sized number plates with the UK numbers on. I got one from them for just £8.50 and it looks great.

Useful contacts

• DVLA Vehicles Helpdesk
  DVLC Swansea
  SA99 1BL
  Tel: +44-870-2400010 (0800-2030 Mon-Fri, 0800-1730 Sat)
  Fax: +44-1792-782793
  email: vehicles.dvla@gtnet.gov.uk

• DVLA Driver Helpdesk
  DVLC Swansea
  SA6 7JL
  Tel: +44-870-2400009 (0800-2030 Mon-Fri, 0800-1730 Sat)
  Fax: +44-1792-783071
  email: drivers.dvla@gtnet.gov.uk

• DVLA Import Page

• SVA Helpdesk
  Tel: +44-117-951-5151

• HM Customs and Excise Duty and Tax Helpline
  Tel: +44-845-010-9000

• Personal number plates
  Web: www.dvla-som.co.uk.

• DVLA Registration info
  Web: www.dvla.gov.uk/vehicles/vehicle.htm

• DVLA Licensing info
  Web: www.dvla.gov.uk/vehicles/vehlicnc.htm

List of Vehicle Registration offices

Bangor Penrhos Road, Penrhosgarnedd, Bangor, LL57 2JF Tel: 0870-850-0007	Beverley Crosskill House, Mill Lane, Beverley, HU17 9JB Tel: 0870-850-0007	Birmingham 2nd Floor, Edward House, Edward Street, Birmingham, B1 2RF Tel: 0870-850-0007
Bournemouth Ground Floor Bourne Gate, 25 Bourne Valley Road, Poole, BH12 1DX Tel: 0870-850-0007	Brighton 4th Floor Mocatta House Trafalgar Place Brighton, BN1 4UE Tel: 0870-850-0007	Bristol Northleigh House, Lime Kiln Close, Stoke Gifford, Bristol, BS34 8SR Tel: 0870-850-0007
Cardiff Archway House, 77 Ty Glas Avenue, Llanishen, Cardiff, CF14 5DX Tel: 0870-850-0007	Carlisle Ground Floor, 3 Merchants Drive, Parkhouse, Carlisle, CA3 0JW Tel: 0870-850-0007	Chelmsford 2nd Floor, Parkway House, 49 Baddow Road, Chelmsford, CM2 0XJ Tel: 0870-850-0007
Chester Norroy House, Nuns Road, Chester, CH1 2ND Tel: 0870-850-0007	CR Enforcement Centre Alhambra House 45 Waterloo Street Glasgow G2 6HE Tel: 0870-850-0007	Dundee Caledonian House, Greenmarket, Dundee, DD1 4QP Tel: 0870-850-0007
Edinburgh Department of Transport Saughton House, Broomhouse Drive, Edinburgh, EH11 3XE Tel: 0870-850-0007	Exeter Hanover House Manaton Close Matford Business Park, Marsh Barton, Exeter, EX2 8EF Tel: 0870-850-0007	Glasgow 46 West Campbell Street, Glasgow, G2 6TT Tel: 0870-850-0007
Inverness Longman House, 28 Longman Road, Inverness, IV1 1SF Tel: 0870-850-0007	Ipswich Podium Level, St Clare House, Greyfriars, Ipswich, IP1 1UT Tel: 0870-850-0007	Leeds 1st Floor 42 Eastgate, Leeds, LS2 7DQ Tel: 0870-850-0007
Lincoln Firth Court Firth Road, Lincoln, LN5 7WD Tel: 0870-850-0007	Luton 2 Dunstable Road, Luton, LU1 1EB Tel: 0870-850-0007	Maidstone Coronet House, 11 Queen Anne Road, Maidstone, ME14 1XB Tel: 0870-850-0007
Manchester Trafford House, Chester Road, Manchester, M32 0SL Tel: 0870-850-0007	Newcastle Upon Tyne Eagle Star House, Regent Farm Road, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE3 3QF Tel: 0870-850-0007	Northampton Ground Floor, Riverside House, Riverside Way, Bedford Road, Northampton NN1 5PE Tel: 0870-850-0007
Norwich 11 Prince of Wales Road, Norwich, NR1 1UP Tel: 0870-850-0007	Nottingham 5 Nottingham Business Park Orchard Place Nottingham NG8 6PX Tel: 0870-850-0007	Oxford Ground Floor, 3 Cambridge Terrace, Oxford, OX1 1RW Tel: 0870-850-0007
Peterborough 88 Lincoln Road, Peterborough, PE1 2ST Tel: 0870-850-0007	Portsmouth 5th Floor, The Connect Centre, Kingston Crescent, North End, Portsmouth PO2 8AH Tel: 0870-850-0007	Preston Fulwood Park, Caxton Road, Fulwood, Preston, PR2 9NZ Tel: 0870-850-0007
Reading 77 - 81 Basingstoke Road, Reading, RG2 0ER Tel: 0870-850-0007	Sheffield Cedar House, Hallamshire Court, 63 Napier Street, Sheffield, S11 8HA Tel: 0870-850-0007	Shrewsbury Whitehall, Monkmoor Road, Shrewsbury, SY2 5DR Tel: 0870-850-0007
Sidcup 12/18 Station Road, Sidcup, DA15 7EQ Tel: 0870-850-0007	Stanmore Government Building, Canon Park, Honeypot Lane, Stanmore, Middlesex, HA7 1BD Tel: 0870-850-0007	Stockton St Marks House St Marks Court Thornaby Stockton on Tees TS17 6QR Tel: 0870-850-0007
Swansea Heol Pentre Felen, Swansea, SA6 7HG Tel: 0870-850-0007	Truro Pydar House, Pydar Street, Truro, TR1 2TG Tel: 0870-850-0007	Wimbledon Ground Floor Connect House, 133-137 Alexandra Road, Wimbledon, SW19 7JY Tel: 0870-850-0007
Worcester Clerkenleap Barn, Broomhall, Worcester, WR5 3HR Tel: 0870-850-0007

If you have registration information I should add to this page, please post it on the discussion board.