IVA, MOT and registration
Gulf plates off. UK plates on.
Between customs and your driveway sit three jobs: making the car right for UK roads, testing it and registering it. We do all three ourselves, on one site, without the waiting lists.
Which test
It depends on the year.
- Under 10 years
IVA test
The Individual Vehicle Approval test checks a car built for another market against UK standards. It is more thorough than an MOT, and it is the test most recent Gulf cars take.
- 10 to 40 years
MOT
An MOT, plus the conversions the car needs for UK roads. Usually that means the headlights, the speedometer and a rear fog light.
- Over 40 years
No test before registration
Cars over 40 years old do not need an MOT before they are registered, and they may qualify for the historic vehicle tax class.
Our own test lanes
No queue for someone else's lane.
We were the first privately owned IVA testing centre for passenger vehicles in the UK. It means we can offer IVA, MSVA and MOT testing on site, and we book the test date and time ourselves.
So the car never leaves us to sit in a queue at a government test centre, and if something small needs putting right after the test, our workshop is a few metres away. That is time and money saved for you.
What usually needs changing
Adjusted or converted so they dip to the left and do not dazzle oncoming drivers.
Reading in miles per hour, or showing both. Most Gulf cars read in kilometres only.
Required in the UK and missing from plenty of cars built for a climate that rarely sees fog.
UK rules on front windows are stricter than the Gulf’s, so heavy front tint usually has to come off.
Registration
Ten working days, not twelve weeks.
With the test passed, the car is registered through our dealer-level account with the DVLA, usually in around 10 working days. Going the standard route can take a great deal longer.
We are specialists in registering cars regardless of age, type or style of registration. For older cars we know what extra paperwork the DVLA wants and can source it, which matters with classics that have spent forty years in Kuwait or Oman.
Your car is already in the UK
Perhaps you shipped it yourself, or it came over with a removal company and is now at a port or on your drive. Either way, we pick it up from wherever it has got to.
- Not cleared through customs yet? Our customs team makes the import entry and applies any relief.
- Cleared but not registered? It comes to us for conversions and testing.
- Need it collected? We have open and enclosed trailers and can fit around your plans.
HMRC must be told about an imported car within 14 days of it arriving. If you are not sure whether that has happened, call us and we will check before it becomes a problem.
More on cars that are already here, including what to send us.
Registration questions
Does my Gulf car need an IVA test?
If it is under ten years old, yes in most cases. Older cars take an MOT instead, and cars over 40 years old need no test before registration. We were the first privately owned IVA testing centre for passenger vehicles in the UK, so the test happens on our own site.
How long does DVLA registration take?
Through our dealer-level DVLA account, usually around 10 working days once the car has passed its test and the paperwork is complete.
Can you register a Gulf car I shipped myself?
Yes. Bring it to us or we collect it, and we take it from wherever it has got to: customs, conversions, testing or registration.
My car was UK-registered before it went to the Gulf. Is that easier?
Usually, yes. A car that has been registered here before can often go back onto its old registration or a related one, with less to prove. Tell us on the quote form and we will check its history.
Ready when you are.
Tell us about the car and where it is. A real person at My Car Import builds your quote around your car, and there is no obligation to go ahead.