# DVLA reclassification - Have I got what I need?



## Ron Bones (Mar 21, 2015)

Hey all.

Just insured my van yesterday through AIB, following recommendations on here and a fantastic quote! 

They've given me four weeks to get my van reclassified as a motor caravan on the V5. I'd actually forgotten that I needed to do so.

I've gone through the info online and taken the relevant pictures, or so I think, but just wondered if anyone would care to check that I have everything I need before I post them.

Thanks in advance.

























































Sorry they're all in portrait, I'd changed them for printing. 

I think I've covered everything;

Front and rear shots displaying number plates.
Back doors open
Fixed bed and fixed seating
Fold down fixed table
Cooker
Storage space
Water storage
Side door giving access to living area

Anything I missed?


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## Steve121 (Mar 21, 2015)

View the official requirements here.
Personally, I'd remove the blue light, especially as it's illegal unless you are licenced to operate an ambulance. I'd also cover the red crosses.


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## voyagerstan (Mar 21, 2015)

What steve said it has to look like a camping car to re classify :lol-049: sstan


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## Ron Bones (Mar 21, 2015)

Thanks Steve, pretty sure I meet al the requirements according to that list.

The blue light's an odd one, I did a lot of research when I imported the vehicle and according to the DVLA and the local police it is seen as a 'common sense law'. Clearly the van is not in service and as a vehicle of historic interest (to some people) it's ok to leave it on. I am going to have a sticker made that covers the majority of it saying 'not in service' just to be safe. But I like the history of the vehicle and don't want to take it off, or the crosses. I will crop the images that show the light though, just to be on the safe side.


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## voyagerstan (Mar 21, 2015)

Good call to edit out blue light and crosses apart fron that dont see a problem Stan


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## Ron Bones (Mar 21, 2015)

Thanks stan, I'm on the case!!


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## Norm De Plume (Mar 21, 2015)

Just to be safe, I'd take out the tool chests from the locker at the back and put in some more hobby looking stuff like bits of bikes or some rucksacks. You don't want to be accused of having a dual-purpose van. Yes, I know it's borderline, but it'll help if you get a jobsworth doing the assessment.


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## XOX (Mar 21, 2015)

I tried to get XOX reclassified but DVLA said that externally it did not look different enough from a standard Defender and would not do it even though the inertia met all of there qualifications. It appears that the police need to be able to see at a glance that it is not a standard vehicle. My insurance company (NFU) agreed after a bit of hassle to insure it for its true value but not without a lot of toing and froing.


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## Channelcrosser (Mar 21, 2015)

You definitely need a Wildcamping sticker!


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## Steve121 (Mar 21, 2015)

XOX said:


> I tried to get XOX reclassified but DVLA said that externally it did not look different enough from a standard Defender and would not do it even though the inertia met all of there qualifications. It appears that the police need to be able to see at a glance that it is not a standard vehicle. My insurance company (NFU) agreed after a bit of hassle to insure it for its true value but not without a lot of toing and froing.
> 
> View attachment 28806



The requirement to have the 'external appearance of a motor caravan' was dropped a few years ago. Mine is an ex-MOD Land Rover Defender ambulance and I had no trouble to get the V5C changed.


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## Teutone (Mar 21, 2015)

maybe you should remove the "german style" number plates? Not sure how DVLA is taking this if you display a registration mark not to the UK standard?


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## Steve121 (Mar 21, 2015)

Ron Bones said:


> Thanks Steve, pretty sure I meet al the requirements according to that list.
> 
> The blue light's an odd one, I did a lot of research when I imported the vehicle and according to the DVLA and the local police it is seen as a 'common sense law'. Clearly the van is not in service and as a vehicle of historic interest (to some people) it's ok to leave it on. I am going to have a sticker made that covers the majority of it saying 'not in service' just to be safe. But I like the history of the vehicle and don't want to take it off, or the crosses. I will crop the images that show the light though, just to be on the safe side.



The reason I believe it's illegal is that Witham SV, where I bought my Defender ambulance, say they have to remove all blue lights unless the vehicle is sold to a licenced ambulance operator. It's also against ebay rules to sell a vehicle with flashing blue lights attached.
I can fully understand you wishing to keep your ambulance as close as possible to original. Most blue lights are easily removed; I believe they are a push fit with some sort of spring clip to keep them from accidentally becoming detatched.
Recently it was reported in the media that a soldier was found guilty of impersonating a police officer, "using blue flashing lights he bought on eBay."


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## Steve121 (Mar 21, 2015)

Teutone said:


> maybe you should remove the "german style" number plates? Not sure how DVLA is taking this if you display a registration mark not to the UK standard?



They look like standard EU style ones to me, complete with 'GB'.


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## invalid (Mar 21, 2015)

You might want to cover up the vegan and I love tofu sign's, they might think you are rent a mob, we all know how narrow minded some people are? :lol-053::lol-053::lol-053:


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## Channelcrosser (Mar 21, 2015)

When we took our LHD Burstner for its first MoT last September it was a failure because the front headlights dipped the wrong way and the rear fog light was on the wrong side. For UK the fog light must be on the right hand side of the vehicle.

Whilst these MoT issues are "important" they should not cause you any problems with the reclassification.


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## Wooie1958 (Mar 21, 2015)

Channelcrosser said:


> When we took our LHD Burstner for its first MoT last September it was a failure because the front headlights dipped the wrong way and the rear fog light was on the wrong side. For UK the fog light must be on the right hand side of the vehicle.
> 
> Whilst these MoT issues are "important" they should not cause you any problems with the reclassification.




If you bought it new from a UK dealer then it should never have been sold to you without the necessary alterations being done to make it UK legal.

If you imported it yourself or bought it secondhand then the problem is yours i`m afraid.


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## Teutone (Mar 21, 2015)

Steve121 said:


> They look like standard EU style ones to me, complete with 'GB'.



They are german aluminium plates and the letters are the wrong font. I am not saying that this will cause an issue but some picky DVLA jobsworth may not like it that it's shows "foreign" lettering

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/359317/INF104_160914.pdf


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## Steve121 (Mar 21, 2015)

Teutone said:


> They are german aluminium plates and the letters are the wrong font. I am not saying that this will cause an issue but some picky DVLA jobsworth may not like it that it's shows "foreign" lettering
> 
> https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/359317/INF104_160914.pdf



No specific font is stipulated, other than 'standard', but I grant you the font doesn't appear to meet the requirements, particularly item 3:


Characters must be 79mm tall
Characters (except the number 1 or letter I) must be 50mm wide
The character stroke (the thickness of the black print) must be 14mm
The space between characters must be 11mm
The space between the age identifier and the random letters must be 33mm
The margins at the top, bottom and side of the plate must be 11mm
Vertical space between the age identifier and the random numbers must be 19mm

I see several vehicles each day with number plates that don't meet the exact requirements, so it's unlikely to be an issue.


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## Deleted member 5816 (Mar 21, 2015)

That may be correct for current regulations but these number plates would have been correct at the time of the original registration. So I would think the should be OK and left as they are they suit the age of the vehicle.

Alf





Steve121 said:


> No specific font is stipulated, other than 'standard', but I grant you the font doesn't appear to meet the requirements, particularly item 3:
> 
> 
> Characters must be 79mm tall
> ...


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## n brown (Mar 21, 2015)

looks fine,and as i assume you have an MOT on it,then VOSA think so too. i imported a big 4wd german army lorry,sent 6 photos with a note saying'' this vehicle has now been converted to a motorhome,as shown in the pics, please change the v5 accordingly, thank you'' sorted


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## K9d (Mar 21, 2015)

Don't know anything about reclassification, but I'm seriously impressed by your handbrake.


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## Ron Bones (Mar 21, 2015)

K9d said:


> Don't know anything about reclassification, but I'm seriously impressed by your handbrake.



Haha, you got me scratching my head for a minute there!! 

Thanks for all the replies, I will get on photoshop this evening just to get rid of the blue light and red crosses, hopefully everything else will be fine.

The plates are German style ones I had made when I imported it, not strictly legal but I wanted it to look right! 

It's not got an MOT at the moment, it's had one whilst ive owned it and went straight through without issue, hopefully it will again next week. I needed the insurance first to drive it there!


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## Steve121 (Mar 21, 2015)

Ron Bones said:


> It's not got an MOT at the moment, it's had one whilst ive owned it and went straight through without issue, hopefully it will again next week. I needed the insurance first to drive it there!



Make sure it's tested as a motor caravan.


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## trevskoda (Mar 21, 2015)

XOX said:


> I tried to get XOX reclassified but DVLA said that externally it did not look different enough from a standard Defender and would not do it even though the inertia met all of there qualifications. It appears that the police need to be able to see at a glance that it is not a standard vehicle. My insurance company (NFU) agreed after a bit of hassle to insure it for its true value but not without a lot of toing and froing.
> 
> View attachment 28806



that rule has now been revolked,so it does not require to look like a c/van but must meet the other requirements.


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## Ron Bones (Apr 4, 2015)

Thanks for the advice everyone, I did everything you said and today my v5 came back with the body type changed to motorcaravan!!  

Really pleased, I can get on and MOT and tax it again now and start using it very soon!


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## trickydicky59 (May 7, 2015)

As of today Ihave been refused reclassification as motor caravan on my Mercedes vario althouggt they said all the work has been done inside 12 pics sent, came back as van with side windows, they said in a phone conversation that the exterior had not changed, pissed off now. Years work, its even mot'd as a motor caravan.


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## witzend (May 7, 2015)

Teutone said:


> They are german aluminium plates and the letters are the wrong font. I am not saying that this will cause an issue but some picky DVLA jobsworth may not like it that it's shows "foreign" lettering]



I should think its already passed its mot at some time as there's a road tax disc in the window and to get its registration doc on import dosen't it require a mot


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## vwalan (May 7, 2015)

hi. they need some pics with m,home type stripes etc even a motorhome sticker in big letters like ALANS M.HOME . or your name . its so it can be visually seen to be a m.home on the road .make it look like one and later remove the stripes etc . 
its a game they play.


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## trickydicky59 (May 7, 2015)

Thanks, but didn't they change that a year or so ago, didn't think it had to look like a motor home any more, dvla are no help and won't say what needs doing.


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## vwalan (May 7, 2015)

all i know is if you make it look like a m,home it gets done . 
did two last year easily 
.a friend tried a white truck with a box and windows got refused . added some stripes and a m,home logo. sent back in .it came back  motor caravan . 
just do what works . like i said its a game they play.


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## trickydicky59 (May 7, 2015)

Cheers, will give it a go.


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## n brown (May 7, 2015)

sometimes it seems you come up against a jobsworth who wants you to jump through a few hoops ! try re-applying with the original pics etc  while you wait for your new decals, hopefully it'll go to a different clerk !


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## Teutone (May 8, 2015)

witzend said:


> I should think its already passed its mot at some time as there's a road tax disc in the window and to get its registration doc on import dosen't it require a mot



when you import a vehicle you will need an MOT before you even get a UK registration mark. That's a requirement to register a vehicle in UK


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## trickydicky59 (Jun 29, 2015)

Here we go again, after an appeal to the dvla, which took a month, its still a van with side windows, and not only that, its not even on the insurance data base anymore, no one will insure it as they don't know what it is, ask if a mini bus, or van, so not been on the road in months now, as can't insure it. Totally pissed off, one thing did come from a conversation with dvla, was if you convert anything that was previously a bus, will be a van with side windows, get this, even a double decker, mine has never been a bus, but was a computer classroom.


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## trevskoda (Jun 29, 2015)

my camper was classed as a iris bus and now in log book as motorcaravan,dont see why they will not reclass it. Have you got a six foot bed and side window which is a must ,i see you have a 2 ring cooker which is correct but the table may not be correct,ask them why.also you require a wardrobe.


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## Fazerloz (Jun 29, 2015)

trickydicky59 said:


> Thanks, but didn't they change that a year or so ago, didn't think it had to look like a motor home any more, dvla are no help and won't say what needs doing.



Take a picture of it dropping grey water on a car park, then they will have no doubts. 
tongue in cheek. before you start.


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## Claire (Oct 3, 2015)

*I don't understand WHY*

Can anyone explain to me why it has to have all of these features? We have been done twice now for speeding (doing 70mph on a dual carriageway) because we remain classed as a van (T5). We are somewhat basic when we hit the hills - we have a bed, a really effective cool box, large water bottles (removable) and a camping stove. So we fail almost all of their criteria, but we use it as a camper - maddening!


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## hextal (Oct 4, 2015)

Claire said:


> Can anyone explain to me why it has to have all of these features? We have been done twice now for speeding (doing 70mph on a dual carriageway) because we remain classed as a van (T5). We are somewhat basic when we hit the hills - we have a bed, a really effective cool box, large water bottles (removable) and a camping stove. So we fail almost all of their criteria, but we use it as a camper - maddening!



My understanding is that it is to demonstrate that it clearly cannot be used as a van. Otherwise many van owners may potentially reregister their vans in order to make use of the lower insurance and higher speed limits. 

From my experience there is a certain amount of movement in relation to the stipulated requirements if it is very obvious a permanent motorhome conversion. Without seeing photos of your van it's difficult to comment further, but at the end of the day it should be registered based on what it is rather than how it's used. 

Probably a bad analogy but I'd say sleeping in a van no more makes it a motorhome than driving it fast makes it a racecar.


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