It’s a well known fact that when a vehicle is modified, the changes must be notified to DVLA.

Looking at a V5c, there is a section to notify a change to the Wheelplan, Body Type, Chassis number, CC Engine etc.
What doesn’t appear on the V5c is the requirement to notify any changes to the Suspension, Axles, Steering or modifications to the body or chassis.

The requirement to notify these changes is contained in the INF26 document, which describes the DVLA 8-point rules, the number of points allocated to each component and the various outcomes should the vehicle scores less than 8 points.

If you are building a new car, or starting on the modification of a standard one, it is a simple matter of notifying DVLA of the changes and having the vehicle inspected under the rules and they will issue an appropriate registration mark.

However, this brings the spectre of BIVA into the equation.

With a new build, it is a matter of reading the BIVA manual and ensuring that the vehicle is built in a way that will pass this ‘supplementary’ test.

But what if you have just bought an already modified vehicle, should you contact DVLA and let them know about all the changes, and what happens if you do?

DVLA will inspect the vehicle and decide whether it ‘No longer represents the vehicle as originally registered’.
If this is the decision and it falls below the 8-points threshold, it is likely to fall within the BIVA test requirement.

So, logic says to just keep quiet and they won’t notice.

In many instances this has been the case, but there are an increasing number of vehicles that are being inspected for various reasons, VRM sales, Engine changes etc, which have had log books suspended, until a BIVA pass has been achieved.

This creates further problems as BIVA is very specific about certain things, particularly the type of glass used for the windows and what approval marks should be on them. With many existing vehicles, replacement glass is impossible or, at the very least, prohibitively expensive to obtain.

Also, existing vehicles are unlikely to have been built with BIVA in mind, so there can be many areas that need to be changed or ‘adjusted’ to comply with the regulations.

ACE believes that this is an unfair process.

If a vehicle has been registered on the DVLA system for a number of years and has been legitimately used on the road and passed the annual MOT test, the current owner should be assured that their right to use the vehicle could not be arbitrarily removed simply because the original builder did not notify DVLA of the changes made and submit the vehicle for inspection.

We believe that it should be possible for owners of vehicles that have been registered in their current form and have had MOT tests for at least two years, to be able to notify DVLA of the modifications that may cause the vehicle to fall below 8-poimts on the INF26 scale and have their vehicles inspected and, if required, issued with a new VRM, without having to submit the vehicle for BIVA.

We recently contacted Mike Penning MP, The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport for his opinion and he told us:

‘The DVLA assess each vehicle on its own merits based on the documentary evidence provided and a physical inspection of the vehicle.
The requirement to notify the DVLA of any changes to a vehicle’s details has been in place for many years.
The DVLA relies on vehicle keepers to comply with this requirement. The DVLA cannot consider waiving the current requirements by simply amending the vehicle registration certificates of those vehicles whose keepers have failed to notify changes.
However, DVLA officials will consider notifications which are supported by substantial evidence that the vehicles were constructed prior to January 1998.’

Unfortunately, this does not address the main point, that existing vehicles have been accepted by DVLA at registration, without an inspection, and by VOSA at MOT tests without the need for BIVA and, if DVLA rely on owners notifying them of changes; they should not expect such a vehicle to undergo BIVA retrospectively.

ACE has responded to the Minister with this point and several others and currently, we are awaiting a reply.