GOV.UK
1. Overview
The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) and Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) have merged to form the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA).
All vehicles need to be approved to make sure they meet certain safety and environmental standards.
Normally, the manufacturer or importer will take care of this.
However, your vehicle might not have approval, and you might need to apply for it. Examples of when this might happen include if you’ve:
- built a vehicle
- rebuilt a vehicle
- radically altered a vehicle
- reconstructed a classic vehicle
- imported a vehicle
There are different ways you can get approval for a single or small number of vehicles:
- Individual Vehicle Approval (IVA) - if you’re making or importing a single vehicle or a very small number of vehicles
- Single Vehicle Approval (SVA) - if you’re making or importing a single special purpose goods vehicle of 3,500kgs or less
- 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 European Union
Type approval
This is to get approval for a type of vehicle instead of having each individual vehicle approved.
- European Community Whole Vehicle Type Approval (ECWVTA) – used by manufacturers or importers of large numbers of vehicles or those selling in Europe
- European Small Series Type Approval (ESSTA) – 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
Help with type approval enquiries
Contact the DVSA if you need help or information about:
- IVA
- SVA
- MSVA
DVSA
enquiries@vosa.gov.uk
Telephone: 0300 123 9000
Contact the Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) if you need help or information about:
- ECWVTA
- ESSTA
- NSSTA
- Mutual Recognition scheme
VCA
enquiries@vca.gov.uk
Telephone: 0300 330 5797
Find out about call charges.