How to register an imported motorcycle with the DVLA

To register an imported motorcycle with the DVLA, you clear customs and pay any duty and VAT, notify HMRC on NOVA within 14 days of arrival, get an MSVA approval test only if the bike is under 10 years old and has no recognised type approval, get an MOT if the bike needs one, and then send the registration application with the bike's documents. The DVLA issues a UK registration number and the V5C, and you get plates made up. Here is each step in order.

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The order that matters

Registering an imported motorcycle is a sequence. The DVLA will not register the bike until the duty and VAT are paid, the NOVA has been processed and, where the bike needs it, there is proof of approval. The usual order is: customs and tax, then NOVA, then any approval test and MOT, then the registration application itself.

1. Clear customs and pay the tax

When the bike arrives in the UK it has to be declared to customs, and any duty and VAT settled before it is released. A bike that is not a qualifying classic pays 8% duty up to 250cc or 6% above, or 0% with proof of EU, Japanese or Indian origin (there is no preferential rate for bikes built in Thailand), plus 20% VAT. A bike over 30 years old, in its original state and of a model no longer in production pays 0% duty and 5% VAT. The full rates are in our guide to importing a motorcycle to the UK.

2. Notify HMRC

Within 14 days of arrival, HMRC has to be told the bike is here. This is the NOVA step, and the DVLA cannot register the bike until the NOVA has been processed. Only machines of 48cc or less can be registered without it. We cover the process in our guide to getting a NOVA on an imported vehicle.

3. The approval test, if the bike needs one

Not every imported motorcycle needs an approval test. GOV.UK limits Motorcycle Single Vehicle Approval (MSVA) to vehicles under 10 years old that have not been registered in the UK before and have no EU or provisional GB type approval. A bike over 10 years old is outside the scheme. Where MSVA does apply, the DVSA inspects the bike at an approved test station, for a fee of £85 for a full MSVA or £12 for a partial MSVA, and a pass produces a Minister's Approval Certificate for the DVLA application. Our guide to importing a motorcycle over 10 years old explains the difference.

4. The MOT, if the bike needs one

The bike needs a UK MOT if it needs one under the normal rules. A bike built or first registered more than 40 years ago with no substantial changes is exempt, and you sign a V112 declaration instead; a bike under 3 years old does not need one. The bike can be ridden to a pre-booked MOT or approval test before it is registered. The rules are the same as for cars, covered in our guide to whether an imported car needs an MOT.

Customs, then NOVA, then any test and MOT, then the DVLA. Each step is the gate for the next one.

5. Send the registration application

We prepare and pre-fill the V55/5 and the covering paperwork. You sign it and post it to the DVLA with the original foreign registration document (the DVLA keeps it), proof of purchase, the NOVA confirmation, any approval certificate, the MOT certificate or V112, photo ID, proof of your UK address, the £55 first registration fee and the road tax. If the original foreign registration document is missing, the DVLA may accept a dating letter to prove the bike's age, and we obtain it for you. The document list has the same shape as for a car, which we walk through in our guide to registering an imported car with the DVLA.

6. V5C, tax and plates

Once the DVLA approves the application, it issues a UK registration number and the V5C; GOV.UK says the V5C can take up to 6 weeks to arrive. With the V5C you can get number plates made up. From 1 April 2026, bikes built before 1 January 1986 can go into the historic vehicle tax class, which carries a £0 rate. It has to be applied for and is not automatic, and it is a separate rule from the 40 year MOT exemption.