How to register an imported motorcycle with DVLA

As part of my Honda CB550 cafe racer / brat build I had to register the bike with the DVLA as mine was a U.S. import. It turns out that it's pretty simple if you follow the process.

Dating letter

Firstly you need to get a dating letter from an official owners club. For Honda I used Vintage Japanese Motorcycle Club (www.vjmc.com). The bike has to be intact or pretty close to it as opposed to a frame and box of parts. Follow the instructions and send in what they ask. It's basically photo's of the bike, engine & VIN numbers + the form and payment. I paid £35 online via PayPal.

Top tip: if the stamped engine and frame numbers aren't obvious, rub some chalk on them and rub it in.

DVLA V55/5 form

I had to order a form online that got delivered but it looks like you can just download it from the DVLA website now. The form has loads of fields that seem a little daunting but VJMC give you a checklist of what fields to fill in and what documents to include when sending to the DVLA. These are:

• Fill in V55/5 form, only these fields:

  • 2 - Taxation Class: "Historic" for vehicles 40+ years old.

  • 3 - Period of tax: 12 months.

  • 4 - Registration fee: £55 when I did it.

  • 5 - Manufacturer: Honda etc - whatever is on the dating letter.

  • 6 - Make: CB550 etc - whatever is on the dating letter.

  • 7 - Model: K0 etc - whatever is on the dating letter.

  • 8 - Type of body / vehicle: Motorcycle

  • 10- Colour(s): main colour of vehicle.

  • 30 - Type of fuel: petrol.

  • 31 - VIN / chassis / frame no: as-per dating letter.

  • 32 - Engine number: as-per dating letter.

  • 33 - CC: as-per dating letter.

  • 27 - Year of manufacture: as-per dating letter.

  • On the back write your contact details and sign & date it. No need for speedo value etc.

• Dating letter.

• VOSA letter (proof of import tax paid) that you should have got one with the bike.

• ID - I used a scan of my driving licence.

• Photo's of the bike: I took both sides, front & back then pasted into Word and printed 2 pages of 2 pictures.

• Proof of address: I scanned a council tax letter.

• Payment: £55 when I did it and I had to find a cheque book!

Best use some form of tracked delivery as it's not a 5 minute job to get all this stuff together.

I've read that you need a valid MOT and insurance but I didn't have any of those and still got it registered. My bike was a '74 model so MOT exempt when I applied in August 2018.

Top tip: triple check the contents before sending to DVLA as it can take some time to turn things around. I took out my V55/5 form and scanned it so I had a record of what I'd sent then forgot to put it back in the envelope. School boy error that took a good few weeks to find out and another round of envelope stuffing and postage costs.

All going well, in a few weeks you'll get a new V5 in the post with an age related plate allocated - simple!