How To Register A Home-Built Car With The DVLA
Before any vehicle can be used or kept on the road, it must be properly registered, taxed and insured. When a new vehicle is registered for the first time, the DVLA assigns it a registration number, which has to be clearly displayed on the vehicle’s number plate. Some people like to build their own car at home using a kit, and the same rules apply for that car to become legal to keep and use on the road. Here’s the information you need to register your home-built car.
Why Build A Kit Car?
With kit-built cars, all the parts of the vehicle are supplied brand new by the manufacturer. With these parts and all the right tools, you can put the car together yourself to get a finished product that you made from scratch. There are various reasons people do this. Some do it as a hobby because they are interested in engineering and cars in general. Some do it as a challenge, to test their skills and see if they can achieve the finished product. There are also people who do it because a car built this way costs less than simply buying a new vehicle from a dealer.
Whatever your reasons for building a car from a kit, there is one difficulty you will encounter once it is complete: a car built from a kit is not registered for the road. The DVLA will not register a car that isn’t insured, but insurance companies won’t insure a car that is not registered with the DVLA. It’s a challenging situation that causes a real headache for some. Fortunately, there is a way around it.
A Simple Solution
Many insurers will offer chassis number insurance (sometimes known as VIN number insurance). This will help you get DVLA kit car registration because having your vehicle insured makes it eligible for a current registration number. You will also need to provide satisfactory receipts for all the parts of your car, and a Certificate of Newness. If you have modified no more than one component of the car, you will need to demonstrate that it has been reconditioned to an ‘as-new’ standard.
It doesn’t have to be a nightmare to get your kit-built car registered and road legal. Crowthorne Insurance can provide chassis number insurance to help you get your registration and start driving your new home-built car. Contact us today and we can answer your questions on getting on the road.
