Vehicle approval

1. Overview

The manufacturer or importer will usually take care of vehicle approval. You must apply for vehicle approval if you’ve:

You can get a single vehicle or small number of vehicles approved through:

Individual Vehicle Approval (IVA)
Motorcycle Single Vehicle Approval (MSVA) if you’re making or importing a single 2, 3 or smaller 4-wheeled vehicle
Mutual Recognition scheme if you’re importing a vehicle that’s been approved and registered in the EU

From August 2015, you can’t apply for a Pre-Registration Inspection (PRI). You’ll need to get your vehicle approved instead.

You can get approval for a type of vehicle (rather than each individual vehicle) through:

European Community Whole Vehicle Type Approval (ECWVTA) - used by manufacturers or importers of large numbers of vehicles or those selling in Europe
European Community Small Series Type Approval (ECSSTA) - used by manufacturers or importers of very low numbers of specific cars
National Small Series Type Approval (NSSTA) scheme - used by manufacturers or importers of modest numbers of vehicles

Contact the Driving and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) if you need help about IVA or MSVA.

DVSA
enquiries@dvsa.gov.uk
Telephone: 0300 123 9000
Find out about call charges

Contact the Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) if you need help or information about:

VCA
enquiries@vca.gov.uk
Telephone: 0300 330 5797
Find out about call charges

Print entire guide