To import a car to the UK you need documents that prove three things: that the car is yours, what it is worth, and what it is. In practice that means proof of ownership and purchase, the car's foreign registration, evidence of its age and origin, your identification, and the shipping and customs paperwork, plus, for the DVLA, an MOT if the car needs one, vehicle approval on a car under 10 years old and the £55 first registration fee. Each one supports a specific step of the import. Here is the full list, and why each matters.
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Proof you own the car
The starting point is showing the car is yours. A bill of sale or purchase invoice, and any transfer of ownership document from the seller, establishes that you are the person importing it. This underpins the whole process, since everything else is done in your name.
Proof of what you paid
The duty and VAT are worked out on the value of the car, so you need to be able to show what you paid. The purchase invoice does double duty here: it proves both ownership and value. A clear, genuine price is important, because it is the figure the tax is based on, and an unrealistic one invites HMRC to question it.
The car's foreign paperwork
The car will have registration documents from the country it is coming from. These identify the vehicle, confirm its details, and are needed both to clear it and, later, to register it here. Keep them with the car; they are part of its identity until it gets its UK registration.
Alongside these sit the shipping and customs paperwork generated when the car is moved and declared. Your agent handles the customs side, but the foreign registration is something you need to have from the seller.
Evidence of age and origin
Two things can save you a lot of tax, and both rest on documents. Age, because a car that is over 30 years old, in its original state and of a model no longer in production pays 0% duty and just 5% VAT, so evidence of the exact build date matters. Origin, because a valid origin declaration secures 0% duty on a car built in the EU or Japan.
The build date can come from the car's records, or from a dating letter, which we obtain for you, and the origin from the right declaration. Getting these in order is exactly how you avoid overpaying, as we set out in our guide to avoiding overpaying tax.
Evidence of age and origin are the documents most worth chasing down. One can drop your VAT from 20% to 5%, the other your duty from 10% to 0%. They are worth the effort to get right.
Your own documents
Finally, you need to identify yourself: proof of who you are and, for registration, your UK address. These let the car be registered in your name with the DVLA once the customs and tax side is done.
For the DVLA registration itself you also need a UK MOT certificate if the car needs one (cars under 3 years old, and vehicles built or first registered more than 40 years ago with no substantial changes, do not), proof of vehicle approval for a car under 10 years old, usually through a certificate of conformity, and the £55 first registration fee plus road tax. We obtain the certificate of conformity for you when one is needed.
The particular forms for the customs declaration, the HMRC arrival notification and the DVLA registration are all part of the process too. We prepare and submit the customs declaration and the HMRC notification, and we prepare and pre-fill every DVLA form, which you sign and post. Your job is to supply the documents above. The full process is in our guide to the requirements for importing a car.
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