Once you have passed the IVA, you get given an IVA Certificate. The below process is specific to the UK.
To get the car registered you need to send this certificate and a bunch of documents in the post to the DVLA.
This process can take 4-6 weeks, but it only took a couple of weeks for me in December 2020. I included the following:
- Proof of address – I used a colour photocopy of a water bill (within last three months)
- Proof of name – I used a colour photocopy of driving licence
- IVA Certificate – you receive this at the IVA centre after a pass
- Certificate of newness – should have been included in your pack from Caterham
- Insurance certificate – chicken before egg, but you need to be insured before you register the car. I got cover with Footman James for what I consider a very reasonable price. You’ll need to speak to providers on the phone because you don’t have a registration plate/number yet – however they can insure you based on your chassis number and then you just give the insurer your registration number when you get assigned one by the DVLA. It’s not like you’re going to be driving it without a number plate! Obviously get a few different quotes… The quote I dealt on was less than half what I got quoted by one insurer, and about 30pc cheaper than a third quote!!
- Invoices for parts – this was included from Caterham. I had two invoices here – one from Titan Motorsport (axle) and one from Power Torque Engineering (engine)
- Invoice for car from Williams – because I didn’t buy this car direct from Caterham, I also included the original invoice from Williams, the dealer I used. If you buy from Caterham direct, they will include their invoice in their pack.
- V627/1 Built Up Vehicle Report – Government form partially completed by Caterham. Add your name, address, phone number and sign – leave the rest of the second page blank.
- V55/4 Application for first vehicle tax and registration of a new motor vehicle – Government form partially completed by Caterham. Complete section 59, 60, 61 and 65.
- Payment – you can verify amount needed section 4 of the V55/4 form. In my case it was registration fee of 55 GBP and Tax of 265 GBP, so a total of 320 GBP. I paid this via cheque, very 1990s in the UK!
- Self Addressed Envelope – I just put a second class stamp on this
After a few weeks you will receive a V5C log book from the DVLA back in the post. They will also give you a V948 form which tells you the registration number they have assigned you, eg AA20 AAA.
Number Plates
Now, with the number plate you have two options – keep the one assigned by DVLA, or go for a personalised one.
I was fairly relaxed about this, but I got encouraged to get a personalised plate by a few people and I could see the point. It’s a bit like a finishing touch on the car. I did a compromise where I personalised a plate, but not with my initials.
You can apparently get the personalised plate fitted immediately, so if that suits you more, just be aware of that. However, I wanted to fit the plate afterwards, so I let DVLA assign a plate for me. I wanted a randomly assigned licence plate number because if I ever sell (or realistically trade up to another Caterham) then it’s easy to keep the personalised plate and sell the car with the original random licence plate put back on.
I bought my personalised plate in August 2020 from DVLA Personalised Registrations, months before I finished the car. 250 quid. There are many other brokers available. You get sent a paper certificate for the personalised plate (V750) in the post that is proof you have the right to use that number plate. You then have ten years to ‘assign it’ to a car.
To assign a number plate, just fill in the online form on gov.uk. Very easy. This then pairs it up in all the various government systems. Once that is done, you can phone your insurance company and give them your registration number so they can add that to your policy documents.
Then you need to get some licence plates made to put on the car. Beware here, technically speaking you’re supposed to follow legal guidelines and have the licence plate made by someone who is registered to do so. I went with UK Reg Plates who were fully registered to make licence plates and this cost about 25 quid. I had to scan and upload a copy of my driving licence, and also the V750 proving I had the right to use the personalised registration. I also got my DVLA assigned registration number plate made up in a seperate order (attaching the V948 the DVLA give when they assign your reg). Just beware that you get 6 weeks to use the V948.
Now I have my personalised plate fitted to the car, and I’ve got the original plates in a cupboard.
To fit the plate to the car I used 3M Dual Lock. Take the time to measure it up center the plates and get it right!