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Apologies if this topic's been discussed before
A colleague who lives in Belfast has a 3 year old company car with NI plates – but the registered keeper (the company) is in England.
The DVLC in England is saying that he cannot drive the car without and MOT – but he is unable to book an MOT in NI as his car is not 4 years old.
Should he try to phone or just rock up at an MOT testing station in Belfast and see if he can make a booking? Would he need to take the ferry to Birkenhead and get an MOT there? Would his insurance be void?
We're looking for a quick solution, and would be happy to pay for the ferry over to Birkenhead if necessary.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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We're looking for a quick solution, and would be happy to pay for the ferry over to Birkenhead if necessary.
Surely that would make it one very expensive MOT. There must be a simpler solution.
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Agreed. It would be as a last resort, but he seems to be stuck in a 'computer says no' loop, as the Northern Ireland MOT and Vehicle Testing website will not let him book an MOT as his car is 11 months short of its 4th birthday.
A simpler solution would be great if he could find one.
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Presumably this car is legal in NI, needing no MoT yet. Assuming your current insurance covers Britain as well as NI, you may be able to book an MoT test in England ahead of your arrival, as It is OK to drive a car to a booked test - hoping it will pass, of course ....
But a test can be done at any time, rather than waiting for the due date, so getting it tested just before leaving NI looks like the sensible answer.
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I suspect that as the car's NI registered, it doesn't need an MOT until it's 4 years old, so that would apply in the rest of GB/UK. If it's planned to bring it this side of the water, then I suggest you wait until the NI MOT expires and then get it tested here.
I'm believe the 4 year rule applied in NI due to covid.
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It's a car registered in NI and on NI plates. NI rules therefore apply.
Why are DVLC(A), ie Swansea, involved?
Is this proper written advice or just a clerk, with no real understanding of the 'politics' going of on a tangent.
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The car's registered keeper's address is in England. The DVLC(A) has sent a notice that the (3 year old) car has no MOT so in effect it is illegal for it to be driven on the road. We phoned DVLC(A) and the 'customer service agent' was sympathetic, but confirmed that the car couldn't be driven on the road without a valid MOT. It's possible that he wasn't an expert, but we're of course concerned that the insurance is void, even if the car remains in Northern Ireland. We're hoping that someone in the know can offer some clarity.
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So, in Northern Ireland, do you have to use the system to book the MOT? Can't you just rock up at a garage and ask them to do it?
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So, in Northern Ireland, do you have to use the system to book the MOT? Can't you just rock up at a garage and ask them to do it?
I've Googled the answer to my own question. In short, yes
The problem here is that the car is registered in the wrong nation. The most simple solution would be to transfer the registration from England to NI. That wouldn't transfer ownership, but would have it in the right place. If the company are concerned, they could always register it to themselves at.your friend's address (or the NI office that they presumably have).
If they won't play ball with that, I suggest your friend tells them to come and collect their car and reimburse him for one that he buys in NI.
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‘So, in Northern Ireland, do you have to use the system to book the MOT? Can't you just rock up at a garage and ask them to do it?’
I think they’re all done at government test stations, rather than independent garages as in GB.
I know they’ve had a massive backlog to catch up on, which is why I heard of someone taking their car for a test on a Saturday evening.
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Is there any reason why the car might actually come over to GB?
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The rules seem quite clear:
Importing vehicles into the UK: Temporary imports - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Basically you have 6 months grace provided the vehicle is "legal" in its country of origin. Then I assume it needs to be UK registered and compliant with UK law re insurance, MOT etc.
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It's legal to drive a car with no MOT on the road, as long as you are driving to a pre booked MOT. So book one in Birkenhead.
Owning a car with a NI number registered in England is totally fine. My car sports a NI number and it lives here in Essex.
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The rules seem quite clear for non-UK residents:
Importing vehicles into the UK: Temporary imports - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Basically you have 6 months grace provided the vehicle is "legal" in its country of origin. Then I assume it needs to be UK registered and compliant with UK law re insurance, MOT etc.
As a UK resident any vehicle you import permanently needs to be registered - with other imports form (say) Japan I believe the test and documentation needs to be sorted before it is road legal.
Whether there is an exemption for NI vehicles given they will previously have paid VAT, import duties, cleared type approval etc it open to question.
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The rules seem quite clear for non-UK residents:
Importing vehicles into the UK: Temporary imports - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Basically you have 6 months grace provided the vehicle is "legal" in its country of origin. Then I assume it needs to be UK registered and compliant with UK law re insurance, MOT etc.
As a UK resident any vehicle you import permanently needs to be registered - with other imports form (say) Japan I believe the test and documentation needs to be sorted before it is road legal.
Whether there is an exemption for NI vehicles given they will previously have paid VAT, import duties, cleared type approval etc it open to question.
But he doesn't want to import anything. He is a UK resident living in the UK. The issue is that his V5C has the registered keeper at an address in (presumably) England, not where it is actually.kept in NI.
The English and Welsh DVLA are saying it needs an MOT because it's registered in England, but the NI DVA won't MOT it because it's not old enough yet.
It could MOTd.in England, at great expense and hassle, it could be transferred to an address in NI,.or.the whole situation could.be ignored as it is probably ot an issue as long as it stays in MI. The potential problem is an insurer saying it's not covered because the MOT has expired. Given that this is apparently a company car, I don't really understand why the company isn't responsible for insurance and indeed the registration and MOT.
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Thank you for all the suggestions.
The company that owns the car is located in England. They are indeed responsible for the vehicle’s MOT and insurance, and are trying to find the best way to deal with the situation, but are also confused and at a loss.
The company has no registered office in Northern Ireland.
My colleague will need to drive over to GB at some point, and would pre-book an MOT in Wirral if needs be before taking the ferry.
I guess the real question is, in view of the DVLA’s stance that without an MOT it is illegal to drive the vehicle, is his insurance void even in NI, and does he need to get an MOT in Belfast urgently (and if so, how does he arrange it, seeing that the vehicle is seemingly not eligible yet according to the on-line booking system)?
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I always thought Northern Ireland was not a foreign country.
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Does the driver intend driving it this side of the water? If not, then there's no problem. If they do, then all they have to do if stopped, is point out to the BIBs (who probably won't be clued up) that it's NI registered and legal there.
The penalty for no MOT is a fine, no points.
My car is currently showing uninsured, as I changed insurers today. Haven't been stopped and if I am I've evidence it's covered. Told it can take up to seven days to appear on the MID database.
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I always thought Northern Ireland was not a foreign country.
That's a whole different can of worms.
However, it does (sometimes) have its own devolved parliament / assembly and slightly different laws from the other parts.of.the UK.
Edited by Adampr on 10/10/2023 at 23:31
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2 choices -
1) Run around NI OK with no MoT needed but road tax renewal not possible as it has no MoT.
2) Day trip to Cairnryan with an MoT booked at a Scottish MoT station and hope it passes!
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Thank you for the clear and succinct advice.
He has now booked his MOT at a Scottish MOT station and will be taking a day trip to Cairnryan.
The chap at the Scottish MOT station commented that "this happens every week"! (So it's a 'thing', albeit a bit of a bonkers 'thing'.)
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Surely the simplest solution is to register the car's keeper in Ireland.
If necessary, have the employee sign some document acknowledging that the car belongs to the company, and that they will forward any communication received about it.
Edited to add: As long as the car is roadworthy, not having an MOT is a small fine and no points - ie. it is treated as an administrative oversight. So one option is simply to do nothing until the car needs its MOT in NI. However, it will not be possible to renew the road tax without an MOT showing.
Edited by Will deBeast on 11/10/2023 at 07:49
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He took a day trip to Scotland and his vehicle now has its MoT – so all's well.
Thank you for all the comment and advice.
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