Registering

After the excitement of SVA comes the excitement of registering your car.   It should be straightforward, but it is not always the case. To register your car you need to complete the following forms.
 

  1. V55/5 Application for a First Licence for a Motor Vehicle and Declaration for Registration

  2. V627/1 Vehicle Build up Report.

You will need the appropriate VED (Vehicle Excise Duty), plus £25.00 registration fee, and invoices or receipts for the basic kit and major components used on the car.  Your hard earned MAC is attached to your application, never to be seen again.  You may also need a certificate of newness if applying for a current registration

 There are three different categories you car may be classified under.   

  1. If you embarked on a modular build sourcing all the parts from Westfield, then Westfield will provide a certificate of newness,  or  if you fitted reconditioned or new parts for which you have documentary proof that they are as new.  You can apply, and may be awarded a “New” (current registration).
     

  2. If you use a single donor vehicle (unlikely in the case of most Westfield’s) using sufficient and significant parts, suspension, engine, gearbox, etc (points are awarded for how much of the original vehicle is used), with documentary proof (log book) you may apply and be awarded an age related registration.
     

  3. For a traditional build, If you use parts from multiple donor vehicles, or cannot prove that refurbished parts are to as new standard you can apply and be awarded a “Q” registration.  Once awarded a “Q” registration it is retained for the life of the vehicle.  It cannot be changed for a personalised or custom registration or retained for use on another vehicle.

     

All of this looks cut and dried, but is at the discretion of your local VRO (Vehicle Registration Office).  Part of the process of registration is yet another inspection by the DVLA and here policy varies widely depending on the category of registration you are applying for and the area in which you live.  (It is not widely known but you can register the vehicle at any VRO).  The inspection is physical in the sense that chassis and serial numbers are checked against the declared registration form, and by inference against a register of stolen parts.  Some VRO’s will ask the Police to carry out this inspection, others carry out the inspection themselves.  Either way this can introduce a frustrating delay whilst waiting for an appointment. (we have heard of up to 3 weeks). Whilst other VRO’s will not  require an inspection of the car if you are applying for a “Q” registration.

 

To find out the policy that your local VRO operates you need to contact them. Here you can find yourself in a “catch 22” situation.

The DVLA (Swansea) Website lists “0845” numbers for all the VRO’s, but it actually directs you to the DVLA call centre in Swansea.  You can order forms and information packs but that’s all.  The local telephone directory may list a number for the VRO in your area. Dial that number and you are like to be re-directed back to the  “0845” call centre.  So your local VRO is un-contactable. The way to defeat this wall of silence is to ring the call centre and refuse all the voice / touch phone options until you get an operative on the line.  Explain you need to talk to the VRO in person and arrange for the VRO to call you back.  

On the Monday following our SVA I made contact with Mr Jepson in the Reading VRO.  I explained that we wished to register a kit car and that we had used new parts, and multiple donors for some refurbished parts and thus expected to be awarded a “Q” registration.  On the basis of this information he agreed a “Q” registration was most likely.  He indicated that he would not want to inspect the vehicle but that he would want to see the major receipts for the starter kit and the engine in support of the application.  Also he would not deal with the application over the counter but it would only take a couple of days for a postal application providing all was in order.

I had made out all the forms over the weekend and gathered together the required receipts.  Photocopied the MAC for our records, wrote the cheque and put it all in the post.  2 days was optimistic but the tax disc and number plate regulations for “Q146ACF” duly arrived on Friday Morning. 

The next stop was “Halfords”.  Andrew and I had had some discussions on the style and size of  number plates.  Because we had a “1” in our number we could have a Euro-Style rear number plate incorporating the country code and keep to a standard size plate. We also opted to personalize the number plate with   “E.M Engineering” incorporated in to the bottom of the plate.  For the front we chose a standard plate.  A mini plate would have taken 48hrs to manufacture and would probably have been illegal anyway