I was prompted to do this by a similar discussion on the Laverda Club forum. A member posted a guide posted on the ‘Air Cooled RD Club’ by their dating officer Paul Dawkins and I have used this as the basis for this guide. I hope he doesn’t mind me using his advice.
Firstly. Given the stick that government departments get, I was pleasantly surprised at how approachable the DVLA is. Advice was good and they were very helpful in guiding me on how to fill the form in where I couldn’t get my head round what to do. When you look at the V55/5, there’s so many boxes, it all looks a bit daunting. MANY OF THESE BOXES DO NOT NEED TO BE FILLED IN AT ALL.
FILLING OUT FORM V55/5.
You will have to complete a V55/5 form and supply a current MOT certificate and current certificate of insurance, so the bike needs to be ready for the road before starting the process. I sent off to the DVLA for a pack that includes the V55/5 a month before I was going through the process and it arrived about a week later. The insurance company will unconditionally insure your vehicle on it’s frame number for a month, but they wanted the registration number issued by the DVLA within that time, otherwise there would be limited cover after that time. So timing is important.
On page one of the V55/5: Only complete sections 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 (45 if known). In 46, put the date that you are applying.
Box 2 Taxation Class. If your machine was manufactured pre 1/1/1975 (at time of writing) write 'historic'. If not write motorcycle (This includes motor tricycles under 450kg). I originally put exempt, but a quick phone call to DVLA advised me to put the correct term.
Box 3 Say whether you want to tax the vehicle for six months or 12 months. Easy if it’s Historic as it’s free!
Box 4. Only enter the tax payable here, not the amount you are sending a cheque for. Registration fee at the time for me was £55, so that’s all I needed to send.
Box 8 Motorcycle (or motor tricycle as appropriate).
Box 9 Two wheel
Boxes 31 & 32 Please ensure you enter the numbers that are on your machine rather than the numbers on any paperwork. (Advice from Paul Dawkins).
On page two of the V55/5: Only complete section 48, 49, 50
Box 50 Write - Exempt by age
Sign and date the declaration
You will be asked to tax the vehicle. This will be free of charge if the machine was manufactured pre 01/01/1975 (at time of writing).
DOCUMENTATION TO GO WITH THE FORM.
There’s a self-explanatory and comprehensive list of documents that accompany the V55/5 that you can supply to confirm proof of identity. I sent a covering note with my documents just to help whoever opened the envelope and processed the application. I scanned in and stored a copy of everything that I had sent to DVLA. Make sure you send the originals, not copies, where required.
I sent it off by registered post (just to confirm that it had got to DVLA if there were problems) and got the V5C back 10 days later. The original documents that I had sent came back a couple of days after I received the registration document. The DVLA also sent a form V948 Number Plate Authorisation Certificate which is required in order to get a number plate made.
JOB DONE!
Ironically, the DVLA screwed up when issuing a number plate and issued me with a K reg PREFIX rather than suffix. I phoned DVLA straight away and was advised to send the V5C back with a covering letter. I also sent a further copy of my Dating Certificate as I considered that my documents may well be going through the system. Less than a week later, I received a telephone call from a nice lady at the DVLA who advised me that my new registration document was on it’s way and this duly arrived seven days after I had returned the incorrect V5c.
HMRC comments.
The bike was imported before the NOVA system came in so I had to contact HMRC to stamp the old C&E 389 customs form. I can’t comment on what forms are sent with the new NOVA system, but I’m sure that it’s straightforward.
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