I drove to mt DVLA inspection today following my SVA pass last week. On the way back I drove past a manned police number plate recognition camera and got pulled. I explained that I had to go to the inspection before I was given a number plate and that is it legal to drive to and from SVA and MOT etc but he didn't look like he believed me. He looked at my DVLA apointment and it does actually say that you cant drive there.

He was going to give me a £30 fine but after radioing in my details he let me off with a caution. He said that they were after "dodgy" cars and he believed that I thought I was doing the right thing. He did warn me that I might get pulled again before I got home and that I might not get away with it a second time.

Is it legal to drive to a DVLA inspection or not?

I'm glad you didn't get done!

I had my SVA then drove to the DVLA the following day so theoretically I could have got picked up too.

Having said that, the DVLA office's initial suggestion was to have the SVA in the morning and go to thw DVLA in the afternoon, which would have also been illegal according that that rule??

once again I thik this is going to be one person will say one thing one person will say another

get it straight from the horses mouth and ask the dvla

It is legal so long as you are going for a new reg if you are going for age related or Q plate it is not legal.

[Edited on 15/12/05 by cosworth]

I was told to drive the car to Peterborough DVLA for inspection , as long as I had appointment yhey told me it was OK. Also got pulled on way back from SVA I had my licence insurance and mac certificate After checking docs all he said was nice car your bound to get pulled again before you get home. They are not all b-----ds

were all going of what our mates say or what the woman says at the reception at the dvla or well me mate did it etc etc

hes just stated it says on the paperwork you cant drive to the dvla

thats all the police would be interested in if they felt like it
Im not trying ot be wrong or right but I would like to see i in writing first!

It's not exactly joined up government is it? You can drive to and from an SVA even if it fails, but once it passes you can't drive to the DVLA. Beaurocrisy.

From another forum
an email posted to the DVLA

Original Email To DVLA, Sent 07/09/2005

To: "'vehicles.dvla@gtnet.gov.uk'" <vehicles.dvla@gtnet.gov.uk>
Subject: Legal Question - Driving Unlicenced Vehicle to DVLA inspection.

Dear Sir or Madam,
Please could you provide a definitive answer to a question which different local DVLA offices, and even the people who work at them, seem unable able to give a consistent response to.
Question: Can I drive an unregistered Kit Car to the DVLA vehicle inspection?
Background: The registration of a Kit-Car or Kit-Conversion requires the parts used in the vehicle, the chassis number and the engine number to be assessed by a Local DVLA office before a decision is made whether to allocate a new, age related, or 'Q' prefixed registration. Where a local office requires that the vehicle be inspected at their own premises the vehicle can either be driven (as allowed by some) or transported at considerable cost. Is it legal to drive there, accepting that this inspection is necessary to get licenced, providing adequate insurance cover is obtained? Is the situation covered by the clause in the V100 booklet which states you are NOT allowed to drive an unlicenced vehicle, EXCEPT... "You can drive an unlicensed vehicle to and from a testing station for a pre-arranged compulsory test eg MoT test as long as the vehicle is insured." This is an pre-arranged inspection for which I have an appointment time, and it is compulsory. I would like to point out that it is apparently universally acceptable for the unregistered vehicle to be driven to the earlier SVA test providing adequate insurance cover is supplied, at which time the vehicle is not approved or confirmed as being roadworthy. It would seem a nonsense therefore that a vehicle which is certified as safe during an SVA test is not then allowed to be driven to the subsequent compulsory inspection by the DVLA. Please could you confirm that it is ok to drive, or if not allowed why this is the case. If different DVLA offices say different things it would seem unlikely to me that any conviction for unlicenced/untaxed driving under these circumstances would be upheld at an appeal. I look forward to your reply

and the reply

16/09/05 From vehicles.dvla@gtnet.gov.uk
----------------------------------------------------------
RE: Legal Question - Driving Unlicenced Vehicle to DVLA inspection.

Thank you for your email.

Referring to page 10 of the V100, you are correct in assuming that the vehicle described in your email comes under this exemption.

Provided you have a pre-arranged appointment for inspection at the Local Office, you are able to drive the vehicle to the test centre.

Regards

Marc Randell, Email Team.
www.dvla.gov.uk


Hope this helps

Keith
Suffolk