Registration of amateur built kit cars and kit conversions.

Part 2          Kits built from New AND ‘Donor’ Parts

In the last article, we looked at kitcars built from all-new components. The other, more commonly occurring type of kit car is called a ‘kit conversion’ by the DVLA. This is what the kitcar industry would call a ‘donor-built’ kitcar and all are based on at least two, major secondhand components from a donor vehicle. The procedure for registering one of these cars is similar to that for registering a brand new kit car but there are some important differences. The steps you need to take and the paperwork that must be completed are outlined below. It is also important to understand that this article outlines the registration procedure as we at Totalkitcar.com see it. Due to the great degree of autonomy that the DVLA has allowed its Vehicle Registry Offices, many of them will tailor the process of applying for a registration document to suit their own systems of working. Accordingly, don’t be distressed if your particular registration doesn’t go exactly according to the procedure laid down here. If, however, you do feel you have been unfairly treated, please get in touch and we will do our best to help!

One of the areas where confusion most frequently arises is the question of whether or not you need an MOT certificate AS WELL AS an SVA certificate to register the car. The answer is ‘NO’. Just like a new ‘kit car’, a donor-built vehicle, (or ‘kit conversion’ as the DVLA calls them), will have a current ‘date of first registration’. The difference is that donor-built cars will have at least a few secondhand components on them. That said, the DVLA will still be awarding a ‘first registration’ and this means that in the eyes of the law, the car is NOT required to have an MoT certificate until three years after it is registered. Obviously, if you want to get an MoT certificate you may still do so but it is not a legal requirement.  We at Totalkitcar believe that an MoT test would be a sensible thing to do as it is always a good idea to have another pair of trained eyes look over the vehicle before you set off on what could be a 100 mile round-trip to the SVA station.

Regardless of whether or not you get an MOT certificate, you will need the following documents before you can register your donor-built kit with an age-related registration:

1.  A valid certificate of insurance.

2.  Proof of identity and address.  This is usually a DVLA photocard driving licence but a variety of alternative documents that are accepted by the DVLA are listed on their website.

See http://www.dvla.gov.uk/newrules/reg_vehicles.htm

3.  The payment for the road tax (6 or 12 months) and the first registration fee. This is currently £38.00 for a passenger car. 

4.  The original Minister’s Approval (SVA) Certificate. Please NOTE, you don’t get this back so you may wish to make a copy for yourself as a souvenir or for your own records. CLICK HERE if you want to see an example of a typical Minister’s Approval Certificate.

5.  A declaration of where all the major components came from. This is usually in the form of a ‘Built Up Vehicle Inspection Report’ – form V627/1. There is one in the ‘Forms’ section on the DVLA website as a ‘pdf’ document at http://www.dvla.gov.uk/forms/pdf/v627_1online.pdf if you want to download one. Sometimes, the DVLA Local Office Inspector fills in these forms when the car is inspected. The form is pretty straightforward and in most cases, there won’t be a current registration number, so leave that box empty. It will be filled in when the number is allocated. Remember that the make and model of the vehicle are NOT those of the donor vehicle. If the car is a ‘Westfield’, for example, you must put this on the form and NOT ‘Ford’ (or whatever the donor was). To see an example of the completed Built-up Vehicle Inspection form for a donor-built kit (V627/1) CLICK HERE. NOTE: The year of manufacture will be the year you passed the SVA test and NOT the year the donor was built! Also, the car will generally NOT be currently licenced, so don’t be afraid to tick the ‘no’ box on the form.

The rest of the V627/1 form consists of a table showing where each of the major components came from.  If, for instance, the engine came from the donor vehicle whose age you want to use to get your age-related plate, they would expect to see the engine number in the first column, the donor’s registration number in the second column, the donor’s make in the third column and a tick or cross in the fourth column depending on whether the receipt was available. Obviously, it would be a good idea to keep the donor’s V5 (or a copy if you have sold or scrapped the vehicle) showing that engine number as further evidence.

If you used for example the steering assembly from the donor vehicle, there will obviously be no serial number to record but the other three columns can be filled in.

If you have bought a reconditioned transmission, and it didn’t come out of the donor, you must write ‘reconditioned’ in the column marked ‘origin’. Note that if the donor vehicle happened to have been fitted with a reconditioned transmission before it was broken up to use as a donor, you would still regard the transmission as coming from the donor even though it is not necessarily the transmission the car was built with.  If the transmission was new or second-hand but not from the donor, you should write either ‘new’ or ‘secondhand’ in this column. Obviously, receipts to support your claims would be essential.

Please NOTE.  To get an age-related registration (one showing the same age as the donor) you need to have used at least TWO major components from THAT donor.  Failure to prove this will result in the allocation of a ‘Q’ plate!

If you are building a car with a motorcycle engine, you put the engine number and donor registration (if you have it) in the top table and not the lower one. The form relates to the built up CAR that you have completed. NOT the donor that you have raided for parts. Obviously, if you are building a kit motorcycle, you use the bottom table.

Finally, you must state how you disposed of the rest of the donor vehicle. In most cases, this will be by taking it to a scrapyard.

6.  You also need to complete a V55/5 – an “Application for a first licence for a motor vehicle and declaration for registration”. This is a daunting, blue two-sided form with a carbon paper in between the pages. It is not as bad as it first appears because most of the questions are ‘N/A’ as far as kits are concerned. You can get one from your DVLA Local Office. Unfortunately, because of the carbon paper, you can’t download them from the DVLA website but there are some guidance notes available from the DVLA to help you complete the V55/5. These are contained in form No. V355/5  “How to complete form V55/5” and it is essential that you also get one of these before attempting to fill the form in. You can get them from your DVLA Local Office but we have also scanned a copy of each and put it on the website for you. Remember it is four pages long! To see a copy of the V355/5, CLICK HERE. To see a completed example of a V55/5 form, CLICK HERE.

Finally, in addition to those notes on the V355/5 leaflet, we have also produced our own guidance notes as follows. In cases where the question is self-explanatory or no further clarification is needed beyond what is written on the V355/5, we have left that question out.

Question 2.       ‘Taxation class’. In the vast majority of cases, the answer in this box will be ‘PLG’ (Private / Light Goods) but the current DVLA instructions on the V355/4 leaflet tell you to leave this box blank.

Question 4.       …asks for the registration fee and duty payable. The registration fee for a private car is currently £38.00 and the ‘Duty’ is the ‘road tax’. This will depend on engine size and how long you want to tax the vehicle for. The current charges are given in form V149 – available from DVLA Local Offices or on the DVLA website: http://www.dvla.gov.uk/forms/online_leaflets.htm#start

Question 5.        …asks for the make. Be sure you give the kit make -NOT the donor make!

Question 6.        …asks for the model. Be sure you give the kit model -NOT the donor model!

Question 7.       …asks for the type of body/vehicle. The common choices are ‘2-door saloon’, ‘4-door saloon’, ‘convertible’, ‘estate’ or ‘coupé’. CLICK HERE if you want to see the full list of options on the DVLA computer.

Question 8.       …asks for the wheel plan. This will nearly always be ‘two axle rigid-body’ for a conventional four-wheeled car but CLICK HERE if you want to see the full list of options on the DVLA computer.

Question 9.       The DVLA have only 19 colours on their computer that they can use to describe a vehicle.  If your vehicle happens to be painted in Saharan Sandglow Passion, just call it yellow or orange – whichever is closest. It might not have the same panache, but it makes everyone’s life easier! CLICK HERE for the complete list on the DVLA’s computer.

Question 10.     The instructions on the DVLA’s V355/4 form tell you to leave this box blank and the Local Office will fill in the necessary information from your SVA certificate. Basically, these record what type of car it is and what emissions limits it will have to pass at future MOT tests.

Question 14.     …asks for the Hydrocarbon emissions figure. A box for this appears on the Minister’s Approval (SVA) Certificate but is not completed for an amateur builder. If the relevant box on the MAC is marked, ‘N/A’ you must put ‘N/A’ in the box on the V55/5.

Question 17.     …asks for the Maximum Net Power. This is a ‘Mandatory’ field so it must be filled in.  You can get the engine’s power output (‘at the flywheel’) from the kit manufacturer or your engine builder. As the registration forms are now the same across Europe, it should be expressed in kw (Kilowatts) rather than BHP).

Question 18.     …asks for the Technical Permissible Maximum Towable Mass of trailer (with and without brakes). This should be ‘N/A’ for most kit cars as they generally don’t tow trailers. If your kit can tow a trailer, you should get these two figures from the manufacturer. Typically it will be less than 500kg for an unbraked trailer but depending on the weight of the kit can be rather larger for a braked trailer. 

Question 23.     …asks for the Maximum Permissible Weight.  This is the ‘fully-loaded’ weight of the vehicle and will be on the SVA certificate as the ‘Gross Weight’.

Question 25.     …asks for the date of original registration. This form is the same one as used for registering cars imported from other countries so it could be that the date of first registration (in another country) is different from the date of registration in the UK. As far as a donor-built kit car is concerned, this is the first time your car will be receiving this particular age-related registration so you must put the CURRENT YEAR. – typically, the date you passed the SVA test.

Question 26.     …asks for the date of registration in the UK. Again, this form is the same one as used for registering cars imported from other countries so it could be that the date of first registration (in another country) is different from the date of registration in the UK. As far as a donor-built kit car is concerned, this is the first time your car will be receiving this particular age-related registration so you must put the CURRENT YEAR. – typically, the date you passed the SVA test.

Question 30.     …asks for the VIN number. Note that this is the VIN of the kit and NOT the VIN of the donor.

Question 33.     …asks for the CO₂ figure from the Minister’s Approval Certificate.  This is not recorded for amateur built cars. It is only used for vehicles that have been through the Enhanced SVA test. If ‘N/A’ is written on your Minister’s Approval Certificate, (or if it doesn’t appear at all) you should put ‘N/A’ on the V55/5.

Question 34.     …asks for the ‘Mass in service’ This is also mandatory so it must be filled in. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear on the Minister's Approval Certificate. Basically, it is just the weight of the empty car but with a full tank of fuel and a 75kg driver. Obviously it will be less than the Maximum Permissible Mass in Question 23. 

Question 36.     …is similar to Question 33 and asks for the CO figure. As with Question 14, if ‘N/A’ appears on your Minister’s Approval Certificate, this is what you must put on the V55/5.

Question 37.     …is also similar to Question 33 and asks for the HC + NOx figure. As with Question 14, if ‘N/A’ appears on your Minister’s Approval Certificate, this is what you must put on the V55/5.

Question 42.     …asks for the year the vehicle was built. This will be the CURRENT YEAR and NOT the year the donor car was built.

The rest of the questions are self-explanatory but remember to sign and date the form at the end. Please also be sure to remember the rest of the questions that appear on the back of the first page.

Once you have done all this, you should be in a position to register your vehicle. Some Vehicle Registration Offices will want to inspect the vehicle and some will not (see section 5). Of those that do, some will visit you at the place where the vehicle is kept, others will insist on it being brought to the VRO (remember to confirm whether or not they will allow you to drive it on the road at this stage!) and others use the local police to carry out the inspection. The purpose of the inspection is simply to check that the vehicle you want to register is what you say it is. If we assume the worst, you might be asked to fill in the Built-Up Vehicle inspection form mentioned in Section 5. 

In summary then, the process is relatively straightforward but can vary slightly between local vehicle Registration Offices. We advise discussing your vehicle with your local VRO at an early stage.

The following checklist may also be useful.

SVA certificate

Insurance Certificate

Money for road tax (depends on engine size and duration of tax) & first registration fee (£38).

Completed V55/5 form (both sides)

Built-Up Vehicle Inspection Form (sometimes completed by a VRO inspector)

Donor Vehicle’s V5 (or a copy if the vehicle has been scrapped).

All receipts.

In the next article, we will consider the case of a vehicle built using the original and unmodified chassis or monocoque shell from the donor. The DVLA also refers to such vehicles as ‘kit conversions’ but provided the original and unmodified chassis or monocoque shell AND at least two other major components from the donor are used, they can keep the donor vehicle’s registration AND therefore do not have to undergo an SVA test.