A car that is already in the UK on foreign plates but was never registered still counts as an import. You need to notify HMRC through NOVA, settle any VAT or duty, and register it with the DVLA before you can legally use it. Being physically in the country changes nothing: the paperwork was simply never done.
Why the car still needs importing
This situation is more common than people think. Someone buys a classic that has sat in a UK garage for years, or picks up a car here that a previous owner drove over from Europe and never registered. The car is in Britain, but in the eyes of HMRC and the DVLA it was never formally imported.
For a UK resident, driving on foreign plates is not a long-term option. You can generally only use foreign plates for up to 6 months in total as a visitor. Once you live here, or the car has been in the UK longer than that, it must be registered.
The car being on your driveway is not the same as the car being registered. Until the DVLA issues a V5C, it cannot legally go on the road.
The steps to put it right
- File NOVA with HMRC. This notifies HMRC the vehicle is in the UK. It should be within 14 days of arrival, but if that window passed long ago it can still be done.
- Settle any VAT or duty. A classic over 30 years old, in its original state and of a model no longer in production, pays just 5% VAT and no duty. HMRC confirms what is owed, then issues confirmation the NOVA is cleared.
- Sort the MOT or approval. The car needs a UK MOT if it needs one: vehicles built or first registered more than 40 years ago with no substantial changes are exempt (a V112 declaration is used instead), and cars under 3 years old do not need one. Some cars under 10 years old also need an IVA test.
- Register with the DVLA. We prepare and pre-fill the V55/5 form; you sign it and post it to the DVLA with the supporting documents and the £55 fee. The DVLA issues a UK number and a V5C logbook.
No original foreign logbook? The DVLA may accept other proof of the manufacture date, such as a dating letter, which we obtain for you. Send originals only, never photocopies. The DVLA keeps the foreign registration document and does not return it.
Got a car stuck in limbo?
We sort the NOVA and any VAT or duty, and we prepare every DVLA form, you just sign and post. From £95.
Get a free quote to register itThe special case: a formerly UK car
If the car was originally UK-registered, was exported, and is now back, the DVLA record may show it as permanently exported. In that case the old V5C is effectively just a piece of paper, and the car has to be re-registered. You may still avoid duty and VAT under Returned Goods Relief if the car comes back within 3 years of being exported and the other conditions are met (HMRC can waive the time limit only in certain circumstances), but the registration has to be redone.
Driving it in London in the meantime? A car on foreign plates pays the Ultra Low Emission Zone charge like any other if it does not meet the standard. Our free ULEZ checker for imported cars shows whether yours does.
How long it takes
Once everything is submitted, the DVLA takes a few weeks to issue the V5C, and you cannot order number plates until it arrives. Getting NOVA and any tax cleared first is what keeps that timeline on track.
Since Brexit we have cleared over 1,500 vehicles into the UK. If your car is in this position, talk to a specialist and we will tell you exactly what it needs.