Vehicle registration certificate
A vehicle registration certificate is an official document providing proof of registration of a vehicle. It is used primarily by governments as a means of ensuring that all road vehicles are on the national vehicle register, but is also used as a form of law enforcement and to facilitate change of ownership when buying and selling a vehicle.
European Union and European Economic Area
In the European Economic Area (EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway), vehicle registration certificates are governed by the European directive 1999/37/EC.[1] The information contained in these registration certificates includes:
- Vehicle registration number
- Personal data of the individual to whom the vehicle is registered
- Vehicle identification number (VIN)
- Engine specifications
- Exhaust emissions
United Kingdom
In the UK the document (V5C) was previously referred to as the "log book",[2] and this name is still common usage. The document is issued by the DVLA and tracks the registered keeper of the vehicle, rather than the owner. When a vehicle is transferred, exported, scrapped or had major modification (new engine, chassis or factors affecting the taxation class) the form is returned to the DVLA, who issue a new document, if appropriate, with the amended details.
2001 redesign
A new design was issued in 2001 to comply with EC directive 2001/127/EC? (or 2003/127/EC), not as a result of a theft of blank forms in the same year.[3]
Red forms
In 2011 and 2012, a programme was launched to replace the previous blue forms with new red forms as a result of "theft of a number of blank V5Cs".[4] The theft may have been of several hundred thousand forms in 2007 and 2008,[5] or the loss of over two million forms reported in 2008.[6] Both or either incidents may relate to blank forms returned to a supplier in 2006 for overprinting which were eventually sent to be destroyed.[7]
The police (NVCIS) launched "Operation Drift" to recover stolen forms, over a thousand being recovered.[8] The relevant serial numbers of the illegal V5Cs are either (according to the police):
- BG 8407501 – BG 8431000
- BG 9167501 – BG 9214000
- BG 9282001 – BG 9305000
- BI 2305501 – BI 2800000[8]
or, according to the DVLA reported in Parker's:
- BG 8229501 - BG 9999030
- BI 2305501 - BI 2800000[6]
See also
- Vehicle title (or Pink slip)
- Electric vehicle conversion
- Vehicle registration
References
- European Directive 1999/37/EC - Europa
- "Get a vehicle log book (V5C)".
- Paul Jeffreys. "Freedom of information response".
- "Your new, red Vehicle Registration Certificate (V5C)" (PDF). DVLA. 2011. INS215 7/11. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
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(help) - "Fake number plates, fake Vin plates and fake V5Cs". The Consumers Association. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
- "DVLA in stolen documents scandal". 19 August 2008. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
- "DVLA Annual Report and Accounts 2010-11: Specific Control Issues".
- "Operation Drift" (PDF) (1). January–March 2009. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
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