A car sold new in the UK was approved for UK roads before it left the factory. A car built for the Gulf wasn't. So before the DVLA will register it, someone has to check that it meets UK safety and environmental standards. For most cars under ten years old, that check is the IVA test.
IVA stands for Individual Vehicle Approval. As the name suggests, it looks at your car on its own, rather than the model as a whole. Pass it, and the IVA certificate is what the car is registered with.
Who needs one
Age is the deciding factor. Cars under ten years old usually take the IVA test. Cars between 10 and 40 years old take an MOT instead, after the usual conversions, and cars over 40 do not need a test before registration. Our guide to how old your car is covers each band.
The specification matters too. A GCC spec car can differ from the European version in places, and that affects what the test needs. We check the car from its VIN before it ships, so you know what is involved before you commit.
What the examiner checks
The test is carried out by an examiner from the DVSA, the government agency responsible for vehicle standards. Broadly, they look at:
- Identity: that the car matches its paperwork and its VIN
- Structure: that the car is sound
- Lighting and signalling: that every light works and sits where UK rules want it
- Emissions and noise
- Brakes and suspension
- Tyres and wheels
- Mirrors, seat belts and their anchorages
Depending on the car, the fuel system, electrics or bodywork may be looked at as well.
Where cars commonly fail
Most failures are predictable, which is good news, because predictable means preventable. These are the things we see most often on imports:
- Paperwork or VIN details that don't match the car
- Headlamps, indicators, brake lights or rear fog lamps in the wrong position, or not working as UK rules expect
- Tyres of the wrong size or type, or without enough tread
- Mirrors that are missing or placed so they don't give the view required
- Seat belts or anchorages that are faulty or weak
- Brakes that are uneven or a handbrake that isn't up to it
- Worn steering or suspension parts
- Emissions that don't meet the standard
Some of these are typical of Gulf cars in particular. Most read in kilometres and lack a rear fog light, and tyres can look perfect while being many years old after a few Gulf summers. Our guides to left-hand drive and heat, sand and your car explain why.
Prepared before it is tested
We don't send cars in to see what happens. Our in-house technicians prepare most cars before the test, doing the conversions and any work needed for compliance. If a car arrives with something on the list above, we tell you and quote to put it right first.
That matters, because a fail costs time and there is a fee for the retest. Getting it right once is better for everyone.
Tested on our own site
For a private owner, the usual route is to book a test at a government test centre, and waiting times there can run from a few days to several weeks or more, depending on demand. Then the car has to get there and back.
We were the first privately owned IVA testing centre for passenger vehicles in the UK. DVSA examiners visit our site in Castle Donington every week to test our customers' cars. The car never leaves us: it is unloaded, converted, tested and registered in one place. That's time and money saved for you.
If it fails
It happens, even to well-prepared cars. You are told the reasons, our technicians carry out the remedial work, and the car goes back in for a retest here. Because the examiners come to us every week, a fail costs days rather than another long wait.
After the pass
With the IVA certificate in hand, we register the car through our dealer-level DVLA account, and UK plates go on. Our registration page covers that last step, and how long does it take? puts it in the context of the whole import.
If you are not sure whether your car will need an IVA test, or what it will need doing to pass, send us the details when you ask for a quote. We will tell you before anything is shipped.
Questions people ask
Does my Gulf car need an IVA test?
If it is under ten years old, in most cases yes. The IVA test checks a car built for another market against UK standards. Older cars take an MOT instead, and cars over 40 years old need no test before registration.
Where is the IVA test done?
On our own site in Castle Donington. We were the first privately owned IVA testing centre for passenger vehicles in the UK, and DVSA examiners visit every week to test our customers’ cars, so the car never has to travel to a government test centre.
What happens if the car fails?
You are told why. The car stays with us, our technicians do the work needed, and it goes back in for a retest. There is a fee for the retest, which is one reason we prepare cars properly before the first test.
What makes a Gulf car fail the IVA?
Usually the same things as any import: lights in the wrong position or pattern, a missing rear fog lamp, the wrong tyres, mirrors, seat belts, or paperwork and VIN details that do not match the car. We check for these before the test, not after.