Dear Mr Derby,

Thank you for your e-mail of 6 December to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) about foreign registered vehicle circulating in the Birmingham area. I have been asked to reply.

It may help if I first explain that foreign registered vehicles that are temporarily brought into the United Kingdom by overseas residents are usually exempt from UK registration and licensing. The exemptions state that a vehicle which is properly registered and taxed in its home country may be used by the visitor for up to six months in twelve without being subject to domestic registration and licensing requirements. To qualify for the exemption, the visitor must have their normal residence outside the country they are visiting.

Any vehicle used in this country for more than six months in any twelve has to be registered and licensed in the normal way. If at any time a vehicle displaying foreign registration plates is stopped by the police, the keeper is responsible for demonstrating that they are eligible to use the vehicle in the UK without registering and licensing it in this country.

Some individuals are clearly failing to comply with these conditions and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is working with other EU authorities to help tackle the problem. The registration and licensing rules in the UK need to be fully understood by the drivers of foreign registered vehicles and a scheme involving all EU member states is already under way, providing an education message via presentations to community leaders, articles in the media, leaflets and warning notices placed on vehicle windscreens. However, those that continue to flout the law are subject to enforcement action including, where appropriate, the wheel clamping and impounding of the vehicle, where it is sighted on the public road.

To support the scheme, DVLA records the details of sightings of foreign registered vehicles. This allows the length of time a vehicle is likely to have been circulating in the UK to be calculated.

Sightings are received from Transport for London, the police service, local authorities and DVLA's own enforcement staff in the field. At this point where possible a warning notice is put on the vehicle explaining the UK's vehicle registration and licensing rules. As you know, we also accept sightings from members of the public at their nearest DVLA Local Office. The Birmingham Local Office would not respond to individual reports of sightings of foreign registered vehicles but would pass the information on to the DVLA central office in Swansea who in turn inform enforcement partners to take direct enforcement action once the 6 month period has elapsed. The Agency does not keep statistics on foreign registered vehicles subject to direct enforcement action by individual postcode area reports.

I can confirm that when the same vehicle is sighted again after 6 months (thereby breaching the six month rule) or when confirmation is received that the vehicle is unlicensed in its home state, direct enforcement action, including the wheel clamping and impounding of the vehicle can take place.

I hope this clarifies the position.

Yours sincerely

Jennifer Thomas

Crime Policy

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