Can you transfer the reg from a barn find?

[dazaaa]

I just bought a 77 Kawasaki wreck from a house clearance with a cool 5 digit reg on it. It's on the dvla system and hasn't been taxed since 86. Obviously no paperwork, so if I do a V62 application and get a V5 how difficult will it be to transfer the registration? The bike is basically scrap and only good for parts but the vin is present.

[droopsnoot]

The DVLA rules are here: www.gov.uk/personalised-vehicle-registration-numbers/take-private-number-off

It doesn't look good, unless you're prepared to transfer it to yourself, then keep it on SORN for five years and then take a chance on whether they will want to come and examine it.

[macgyver]

I have my very own 'barn find' Golf that was (still is) sat in my garage for 15+ years and SORN'd. No MOT, certainly doesn't move under it's own power although I could rectify that given enough time. I transferred the reg off using the online system and it was immediate to retention. Job done, no inspection or anything, so it's worth a try applying for V5 and maybe wait a while and try the online swap to retention?

[comfortablynumb]

IME DVLA are becoming more difficult to get a logbook from for vehicles that have been off the road for a while, certainly a mate who is a trader in these sorts of things has noticed a bit of a problem
They may want it inspected, or just refuse point blank unless it's restored 🙁

Edit - I mean for ownership changes, not for the same owner

[glenanderson]

What have you got to lose?

Send off a V62 to get a V5c, then stick it on your classic policy so you can tax it. Once it’s taxed see if it will go through online. I’m assuming, being a 77 it’s on an R plate? In my experience it’s the higher value dateless plates off of long defunct pre-63 cars that don’t actually exist that they get funny about, not 1970s stuff.

[The Transplanter]

Get a V5 in you name first.

The V5 will tell you if the number is not transferable in the comment section. If it doesnt then you should be goo to go.

Being a historic bike now you don't need tax or mot.

[bstardchild]

Unfortunately whilst it is now historic and doesn't need MOT or tax the reg doc won't say historic and to get it to be registered as historic you will need an MOT - just one to get it to that class and to be able to transfer the plate

Same with SORN for 5 years or more - to get the plate off a car or bike which has not been taxed for 5 years it will need an MOT and then to be taxed in order to transfer the plate

I know this because................ I've ridden this rodeo recently

[macgyver]

Oct 19, 2021 23:25:52 GMT bstardchild said:

Same with SORN for 5 years or more - to get the plate off a car or bike which has not been taxed for 5 years it will need an MOT and then to be taxed in order to transfer the plate.

Maybe this is a recent thing but I put mine on retention in Feb 2018 and the car had been SORN'd for many years without MOT. When I do a MOT history check on it it comes up as 'This vehicle hasn't had its first MOT.' presumably because the last one it had was done so long ago. Maybe that's why it let mine through - no MOT history is better some some? I have another one that's been SORN'd for over 20 years and that show's the same zero MOT history.

Send off the V62 and take it from there - you never know.

[misterm]

Macgyver,

Was your Golf registered Historic at the time you did it? And was it the car's original number, or a genuine "cherished" one that had been put on it? A couple of things I spotted in the wording of the DVLA form made me ask.

It says that the vehicle has to be "of a type that requires an MOT" i.e. not Historic taxation class, and that the "original" number will likely be re-assigned to it.

[dickie12]

i just tried one of mine online to see what would happen. I was planning on doing next year its historic no mot but taxed, says
This registration number cannot be retained online
need to fill in v317 and send it in to DVLA no point at the moment with how slow they are, i will do it next year after ive put a mot on it. So you will probably need to look for a doner kawasaki and build it into yours.

[macgyver]

Oct 20, 2021 15:16:45 GMT misterm said:

Macgyver,

Was your Golf registered Historic at the time you did it? And was it the car's original number, or a genuine "cherished" one that had been put on it? A couple of things I spotted in the wording of the DVLA form made me ask.

It says that the vehicle has to be "of a type that requires an MOT" i.e. not Historic taxation class, and that the "original" number will likely be re-assigned to it.

No, not Historic, it's an '85 cabriolet. Yes it was a cherished plate that I had put on it previously (now on retention) and it was re-assigned it's original '85 reg.
I think the last MOT was 2001 - at least that's the last one I can find a certificate for but it sounds about right and it had been SORN'd since then.
I guess I was just lucky!

[TessierAshpool]

As mentioned above, first up you need to get the V5. Until you have that you don't know where you stand - it's possible that the reg may be locked to the bike but you can't know until you get the V5, so get a V62 form sent off. Also include a V890 with the V62 to get it on SORN straight away. You can check that the SORN was done using the online vehicle tax checker.

Once you have the V5, print off and read thoroughly V317 which is the application to remove a reg to put on retention or another vehicle.

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/979947/v317-application-to-transfer-or-retain-a-vehicle-registration-number.pdf

There are no real downsides to sending a V317 that fails (they'll only cash your cheque if it succeeds), so at the stage you have a V5, it's worth a punt.

The 5-year rule they mention is not always enforced (and cannot be for vehicles less than 5yo for instance!), so worth rolling the dice. You can try the process online, but almost certainly you'll find "computer says no", so do the postal version anyway as humans are more flexible.

If you fail, look into a Historic tax class change, with an additional V112 form to declare MOT requirement exemption with it under category "r". This would make the bike taxed, although the bike should be roadworthy of course...... This may also be an advantage if you sell the bike as it saves the buyer paperwork and ongoing expense.

Edit: crossed out the SORN stuff. As the bike hasn't been taxed since before SORN existed (1998), THIS BIKE CANNOT BE SORNED!. The online and postal systems will accept the SORN application, but the status will never update from "Untaxed". You will also get one letter soon after the V5, telling you to SORN it (computers eh), even though you cannot. It will be Untaxed until the end of time, or until the day when you tax it, when it becomes part of the modern SORNable system. I've been through this personally.
This legal grey area may actually help your V317 application, but you won't know until you try. If you end up putting it on the Historic tax class, this will tax the bike and so drag the bike into the post-SORN world. DVLA used to mention this stuff on their website, but I guess removed it as it confused people and was only relevant to a very tiny portion of vehicles after 23 years of the SORN system.