Police Clarify Their Stance on Historic Vehicle MOT Exemptions

Following a recent incident where the driver of an historic vehicle was erroneously given notice of intended prosecution by a police officer, The Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs (The Federation) has made efforts to avoid similar incidents by contacting the parties responsible seeking clarifications.

We have already made available to our members through the website (www.fbhvc.co.uk) a letter from the Department for Transport clarifying the position on exemptions, but it was still the case that enforcing officers had no access to a database of declarations by owners of VHIs as this data when supplied by owners is not recorded.

We therefore have sought and have just received assurances from Chief Constable Anthony Bangham, Lead on Roads Policing of the National Police Chiefs’ Council that they are in agreement with the Department for Transport’s letter of 11 January, which we shared with you earlier and now repeat.

Chief Constable Bangham has confirmed that police recognise that there is a presumption that where a vehicle meets the criteria as laid out by the Department of Transport (DfT) it does not require an MOT Certificate and any person using such a vehicle cannot commit an offence. Officers will not rely on declarations made at relicensing times to police this matter.

We are pleased now on the eve of Drive it Day, probably the largest national assemblage of historic vehicles of the year, to provide this confirmation to all members. Our advice for anyone who remains concerned is simply to print a copy of the Department for Transport letter of 11 January and carry it with your other documents.

Copy DfT letter attached [Letter is available from Club Documents in the Members' Area]

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For media enquiries, please contact:
• Geoff Lancaster, 07860 562659, commsdirector@fbhvc.co.uk

Editor’s notes
The Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs exists to maintain the freedom of its members to use historic vehicles on the UK’s roads, hence its campaign message: ‘Yesterday’s Vehicles on Tomorrow’s Roads’. The FBHVC has over 550 member clubs representing over 251,000 individual owners.