Notes and Guidelines for Vehicle Inspectors
Background
These guidelines have been drafted for the benefit of someone who is new to the procedures for registering old vehicles but who has been asked to inspect a vehicle on behalf of a club.
Old vehicles that are not currently UK registered fall into two categories: those that were once registered in UK, but whose numbers were not transferred to the centralised Swansea computer before it was closed to dormant records in 1983, and those that have never been UK registered.
Owners of the former group may reclaim their vehicle’s original number by using what is known as the V765 scheme, providing (1) they have acceptable documentary evidence and (2) the application is approved by an authorised signatory, such as an officer of an appropriate club. If there is no documentary evidence, the vehicle will be treated as if it has never been UK registered.
Owners of vehicles that have never been UK registered, or that lack the necessary evidence to reclaim an original number, will be registered under an ‘age-related’ number, but before this can be done, the owner will need a document confirming the year of manufacture of the vehicle. Such dating confirmation may also be provided by authorised signatories.
Before approving a V765 application, or providing evidence of dating, an authorised signatory should either inspect the vehicle personally or arrange for someone with appropriate knowledge to do so. The notes that follow are for the benefit of such a person.
Preliminary work
Prior to the inspection, the owner should have provided the club’s authorised signatory with details of the vehicle, including copies of documentation relating to the vehicle, e.g. an old style logbook, plus a recent photograph, together with a completed V765 application, and V55/5 form.
The signatory should have examined the material to determine a year of manufacture, possibly using other relevant documentation such as Glass’s Vehicle Checkbook. This will have made it possible to complete some items on the form in advance, such as the registration number being claimed, the date of first registration, or year of manufacture.
The club’s signatory should have briefed you on the characteristics of this particular vehicle model, in particular the details of where chassis/frame and engine numbers are likely to be found.
When making the appointment for the inspection, either you or the club’s signatory should obtain agreement from the owner that your reasonable travelling expenses will be reimbursed to you at a pre-agreed rate. In general, it is your responsibility to collect these expenses at the time of the visit.
Inspection
The object of inspection is to confirm the identity of the vehicle and check that it matches the description in any documentation that may have accompanied the application.
The vehicle should be ‘substantially complete’, with all major mechanical components being present, having the outward appearance of a more or less assembled vehicle, although possibly in a decayed condition. The vehicle won’t necessarily be roadworthy. If it is totally disassembled, or if more than one major assembly is missing, this should be stated clearly on the form. (Re-inspection may be necessary in these cases.)
Extra care needs to be taken with vehicles which are said to be manufactured just before January 1973 (the breakpoint for historic vehicle status) and commercial vehicles said to be in use before January 1960 (the breakpoint for permissible exemption for the plating and testing regulations), because DVLA is likely to question the status of these vehicles more closely.
When completed, the form should be returned without delay to [club to insert name, address and telephone number of V765 signatory].
Most importantly, please note down the actual chassis and engine numbers displayed on the vehicle, including any lettered prefixes or suffixes. In cases where the chassis/frame number may be stamped in and repeated on a makers’ plate, it is important to inspect and record both numbers.
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