40 year Mot exemption

Ive just had a ridiculous conversation with the DVLA , I called them and asked them why they had re issued my V5 with no changes . DVLA have advised me that they cannot confirm what date my vehicle was manufactured so they have had to assume it was December 1982 and it would be mot free from April 2023 , I then pointed out to them that my V5 (their document) states that it was registered in August 1982. They have then come back and stated that this means nothing and registered and manufactured are different.


I agreed , however I pointed out to them that a vehicle that was registered in August 1982 could not have been Manufactured in December 1982 .


Their response was , “im sorry , im unable to help you further “ , they then put the phone down on me!

Has anyone come across similar , is there a way that I can found out when it was manufactured and if there is why cant they view it?

I feel your pain
Must be newbies at dvla
The gov.uk guidance says you need either the build date or the registration date on the links earlier

neilc75 said:

Ive just had a ridiculous conversation with the DVLA , I called them and asked them why they had re issued my V5 with no changes . DVLA have advised me that they cannot confirm what date my vehicle was manufactured so they have had to assume it was December 1982 and it would be mot free from April 2023 , I then pointed out to them that my V5 (their document) states that it was registered in August 1982. They have then come back and stated that this means nothing and registered and manufactured are different.


I agreed , however I pointed out to them that a vehicle that was registered in August 1982 could not have been Manufactured in December 1982 .


Their response was , “im sorry , im unable to help you further “ , they then put the phone down on me!

Has anyone come across similar , is there a way that I can found out when it was manufactured and if there is why cant they view it?

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Update on Year of Manufacture:
I applied (and paid for) a Certified Copy of a Factory Record from the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust through the link as suggested by 300bhp/ton, https://www.britishmotormuseum.co.uk/archive/heritage-certificates
Turns out that my Series III was built in 1980, a year before it was first registered.
I contacted DVLA and sent of all relevant paperwork (V5C, V10, V112, Cert from BMIHT and cover letter) asking that they amend records and note that the vehicle should be registered as an Historic Vehicle and therefore now be Tax and MoT exempt.
I received V5 back from DVLA 5 weeks later with vehicle classed as 'Historic Vehicle'
Sounds like you got through to a rather unhelpful 'computer says no' person.

I contacted the DVLA again last night, they were less helpful than before they seem to have an issue getting their heads around the Mot/ tax guidelines and get them confused, this woman said they had nothing to do with Mots ( previous person seemed to think they did) and I had to contact DVSA, I spoke to them this morning and they said that my landy doesn't require an mot if it was registered over 40 years ago and that was that but shouldnt I have something in writing regarding this in case it's ever questioned? or I'm pulled over?

Well you need form V112 which declares it’s over 40 years old and you could keep in car , you need this form for the free tax
The police cars ANPR camera would be linked to the MOT database and that would have its registration date on too so can’t see them pulling you over just for that
As below, note it mentions DVSA too!

Sorry to dig up an old thread, I'm going through the motions to get my 1974 model classed as historic (don't ask me why PO hadn't done it, I think he liked to live life with his head in the clouds). Anyway, wondering how long it takes the geniuses at DVLA to re-issue the V5? I know they're speedy when it comes to new owners but perhaps the historic process flow requires a few more keypresses?

And once I've got that it looks like I'll have to apply to TFL for LEZ/ULEZ exemption too, since they have me down to pay the charge.

the dvla advise that you wait 6 weeks after they recieve your application before contacting them, proof of posting and with tracking from a post office counter is a must for anything that goes to SA99 1BA. if you contact them before the 6 weeks you just get told to wait til the 6 weeks from their reciept have passed, they will ask you for proof of delivery before progressing,
After 6 provable weeks of them having your application are up and the v5 has not arrived you will get told to wait for a couple of more weeks, you may recieve an acknowledgement letter saying your application is being processed,
When two weeks pass and you ring them you may get an excuse such as i had, "its the bank holidays", generally it may turn up fairly shortly afterwards,
The mot is a simple declaration on a form from the post office but it is checked later by dvla.
Sometimes the whole process goes smoothly but the dvla can be deliberately intransigent and will cover each others backs once they have messed things up.
Good luck with it.

JoMo1974 said:

Sorry to dig up an old thread, I'm going through the motions to get my 1974 model classed as historic (don't ask me why PO hadn't done it, I think he liked to live life with his head in the clouds). Anyway, wondering how long it takes the geniuses at DVLA to re-issue the V5? I know they're speedy when it comes to new owners but perhaps the historic process flow requires a few more keypresses?

And once I've got that it looks like I'll have to apply to TFL for LEZ/ULEZ exemption too, since they have me down to pay the charge.

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I have just done this with mine. As much as I am usually an advocate for doing everything remotely and avoiding as much human contact as possible if you go to the post office rather than just send it off to the dvla they will sort everything. I went in with my v5, and the mot exemption declaration (v112). They registered it as historic, taxed it (free historic), filled in my v5 and posted it to the dvla. They said they didn't need the v112 as that is effectively a self declaration. Having done that I was then good to go and continue using the vehicle while I waited for the replacement v5 with the new historic class. That took about 8 weeks to come through form the DVLA. I belive you cannot tax it without the new v5 if you try and do everything online.

Just an update regarding this , Apologies I know how annoying a post without an update is!!
I literally just filled the V112 in and put a covering note in with the V5 , sent it off recorded to DVLA and V5 came back with historic written on it , now when I check TAX on DVLA website it states it expires 06/24 , im not sure if i need to declare it as no tax every year? However so far all good

neilc75 said:

Just an update regarding this , Apologies I know how annoying a post without an update is!!
I literally just filled the V112 in and put a covering note in with the V5 , sent it off recorded to DVLA and V5 came back with historic written on it , now when I check TAX on DVLA website it states it expires 06/24 , im not sure if i need to declare it as no tax every year? However so far all good

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Yes, you (irritatingly) still need to go through the taxing process every year, but the cost should now be £0 so it's just an exercise in button clicking.

neilc75 said:

Just an update regarding this , Apologies I know how annoying a post without an update is!!
I literally just filled the V112 in and put a covering note in with the V5 , sent it off recorded to DVLA and V5 came back with historic written on it , now when I check TAX on DVLA website it states it expires 06/24 , im not sure if i need to declare it as no tax every year? However so far all good

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You do need to tax it every year, by any of the usual means. But the tax charged for a historic vehicle is Zero.

neilc75 said:

Just an update regarding this , Apologies I know how annoying a post without an update is!!
I literally just filled the V112 in and put a covering note in with the V5 , sent it off recorded to DVLA and V5 came back with historic written on it , now when I check TAX on DVLA website it states it expires 06/24 , im not sure if i need to declare it as no tax every year? However so far all good

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It is exempt from payment, i.e. it is £0.00 or being examined, but you still need to declare it is or isn't on the road. There is no such class a 'no tax'.

I really don't know why people struggle with this. It is all written in plain English on the .gov sites and is elementary easy to follow.

I struggle because it's pointless. The purpose is to raise money. If there is no fee/tax due, what is the point? It's like standing in line at the deli counter to pay for your free sample of cheese

kermit_rr said:

I struggle because it's pointless. The purpose is to raise money. If there is no fee/tax due, what is the point? It's like standing in line at the deli counter to pay for your free sample of cheese

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That is very much looking at the narrow picture.

Without collecting information there would be no way of knowing how many vehicles are registered for road use. Where do you think sites like: https://www.howmanyleft.co.uk/

Get their data from....

Also YOU personally have to make a declaration each year that the vehicle is:
a) Roadworthy
b) Conforms to the standards for exemption

MoT exemption doesn't mean the vehicle can't be maintained or roadworthy, it just means you aren't "forced" to have it inspected. Should you be in an accident and found to have a non roadworthy vehicle. MoT exemption would be no defence.

Likewise, there are standards that need to be met for Road Tax exemption. And it is possible that your vehicle specification may change (modifications) that would no longer make it valid for exemptions. Hence YOU have to sign and declare every year that it does conform to the requirements.

kermit_rr said:

I struggle because it's pointless. The purpose is to raise money. If there is no fee/tax due, what is the point? It's like standing in line at the deli counter to pay for your free sample of cheese

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It is because they want to be able to check that the vehicle is insured, a MID check is part of the VED renewal process.

I always kept my old reg docs, just said they had been misplaced, imo they are an important bit of the vehicles history.

Turboman said:

It is because they want to be able to check that the vehicle is insured, a MID check is part of the VED renewal process.

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Rubbish, you can get tax the day before the insurance runs out and essentially be uninsured for 12 months with valid tax

kermit_rr said:

Rubbish, you can get tax the day before the insurance runs out and essentially be uninsured for 12 months with valid tax

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Not sure if they accept policies with a day to run, but if that is the case, I imagine they will tighten it up soon, as they have with passports.

It will also encourage people who aren't insured, and don't intend to get insured, to declare SORN, in which case they don't need insurance.

Turboman said:

Not sure if they accept policies with a day to run, but if that is the case, I imagine they will tighten it up soon, as they have with passports.

It will also encourage people who aren't insured, and don't intend to get insured, to declare SORN, in which case they don't need insurance.

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I've done it today on my bike which has 7 days to run