Dating letters and Certificates of Conformity

Every car registered in the UK gets a number that matches when it was built or first registered. For a car sold new here, that is simple. For an import, the DVLA has to be shown the date, and it wants it in writing.

Two documents come up when that writing is missing or not enough: a dating letter and a Certificate of Conformity. They are often confused, and they do different jobs.

The best proof is the paperwork you already have

The original foreign registration document is the strongest evidence of a car's age. For a Gulf car, that is the registration card, such as the Mulkiya in the UAE or the Istimara in Saudi Arabia, along with the export paperwork from deregistering it. If those show a clear first registration date, the DVLA usually needs nothing more.

The DVLA keeps the original once the car is registered, so hold on to it and send it to us rather than a copy. Our guide to the documents you need lists the rest.

When a dating letter is needed

We arrange dating evidence when:

• The registration document is lost, or the car was never registered
• The document doesn't show a first registration or build date
• The DVLA has queried the car's age or rejected the application
• A classic needs its true age proved, to get an age-related number rather than a Q plate

This is more common with older cars from the Gulf. A Chevrolet Caprice or an early Land Cruiser may have had several owners and registration cards over the years, and the trail is not always complete.

Who writes one

It depends on the make and the age of the car.

• Manufacturers. For a modern car, the manufacturer's UK team can usually confirm the build date from the VIN.
• Heritage archives. For many British classics, a heritage certificate from the manufacturer's archive does the same job, and for some makes it is the better document.
• Owners' clubs. Where the manufacturer can't help, a club on the DVLA's list of recognised owners' clubs can issue a dating letter the DVLA accepts.

We know which to approach for most makes, and we handle the request. Some want photos of the car and its VIN, which we take when the car is with us.

What a good letter looks like

We check every letter before it goes to the DVLA. A good one is:

• On the manufacturer's or club's letterhead, signed and dated
• Quoting the full VIN or chassis number exactly as it appears on the car
• Stating a clear date of manufacture, or of first registration
• Ideally giving the model, colour and the market the car was built for

The Q plate

If there is no evidence of age at all, the DVLA issues a Q plate: a registration beginning with the letter Q. The car is legal to drive, but the number doesn't show its age, and some buyers are wary of it later. Proper dating evidence is how it is avoided. Our guide to which UK number plate your car will get explains the age-related number in full.

Certificates of Conformity

A Certificate of Conformity, or CoC, is the manufacturer's confirmation that a car matches its European type approval. For a car under ten years old coming from the EU, it can replace the physical IVA test with a paper approval, once the lights and speedometer are converted.

For a Gulf car, it rarely applies. A car built for the GCC market was built to that market's rules, not to European type approval, so a European CoC is usually not available for it, even if the same model is sold in Europe. Most Gulf cars under ten years old take the IVA test instead, on our own site. A CoC does often show a build date, so where one exists it can double as dating evidence.

If your car's paperwork is incomplete, or you are not sure what you hold, tell us when you ask for a quote. We will say what the DVLA will need before the car ships.