Registering a US import 101

[gridgway]

First daft question for my 75 914 from Florida...

Which cert do I need from Porsche? cert of conformity or letter of origin or both?

Cheers
Graham

[Tosh]

Yours is a mongrel
So you cannot register it and so you should give it to me

[Nick Moss]

As long as you have a bill of sale and the title with the correct date of first use/registration you don't need anything else

[Kenyon]

I submitted a Letter of Origin. I don't think a Certificate of Conformity is relevant to early cars - extracts below cut and pasted from Porsche's website about the 2 certificates. DVLA sent back the original Letter of Origin after registration.

When I was filling out the V55, if I didn't have the information to hand - like various specifications and exhaust outputs I just put N/A. It seemed to work as the car was registered in quick time. DVLA hotline were actually quite helpful when I called to ask about which boxes I could put N/A.

"Certificate of Conformity - ( COC) When a customer registers their car abroad, or is importing a vehicle into the UK, a Certificate of Conformity or Letter of Origin/dating letter is required. For all vehicles that have been produced for the European markets after 1997, a Certificate of Conformity is required.

"Letter of Origin - (LoO) When a customer registers their car abroad, or is importing a vehicle into the UK, a Letter of Origin/dating letter is required. For all European vehicles pre 1997 and for all other markets worldwide, a Letter or Origin./Dating letter is required."

[Kenyon]

Nick's post and mine crossed. Sure he know better than me as to whether you need a Letter of Origin. Above extract is from Porsche not DVLA so... The other thing is DVLA kept the foreign registration documents I submitted (as I expected). So keep a scan or colour photocopy for the file!

[70sThrowback]

I have just sent off my documents for an imported 912E. I only sent off the bill of sale and car title. I didn't have a letter of origin, as mentioned above a certificate of conformity is not required. I did phone the DVLA but the person I got through to was next to useless, I was told to send what I had and if anything was missing they would reject it with an explanation.

Other documents I sent were Insurance Cert, MOT, proof of shipping and HMRC NOVA confirmation. Think that was it.

That was sent on the 6th May, so I will let you know how I get on.

[CQuest8]

I've just had my application rejected for registering my 1975 911S imported from Japan.

Despite having the Letter of Origin from Porsche, they also wanted a Dating Certificate from Porsche Club GB. I spoke to them and the rationale seemed to be that they need to make sure the car exists and that someone who is on their approved list (i.e. Steve Kevlin from Porsche Club GB) can verify this. All the Letter of Origin says is the details of that chassis number when it was new.

I should add that I do not have the Japanese V5 for the car and this maybe the reason others were able to register an import with just the Letter of Origin and I was not.

Good luck!

[70sThrowback]

To update my previous post I got my V5C back from the DVLA on Wednesday so that was a turnaround in just over a week, to say I am pleased and impressed would be an understatement. More to the point I can now get some plates on my 912E and drive it...

So just to confirm I had neither a letter of origin or certificate of conformity. I did have the original California title, which dates the car as 1976 albeit not the exact date. The date on my V5C is 1/1/1976, but there is a note on the front page saying registered overseas, declared manufactured 1976.

[Kenyon]

I think the note on the front page of the V5: "declared manufactured 1976" is usual. This was on my V5 even when DVLA were presented with Letter of Origin and Certificate of Authenticity.

Good news that the registration went without a hitch and you can get the plates pressed. Hope you got a good reg number too!

[Darren C]

Just a thought...I've registered a few cars now, some with old titles, some without, some with Certificates of Authenticity (not origin. The COA technically is not valid, but sent in the folder with the letter from Porsche they seem to do the trick & saved me £70) and some without.
All had Nova's and bill of sale.
I think the only issue is where the date of manufacture falls close to the Taxation class dates (ie historic or taxable) when DVLA seem pedantic on proof of manufacture dates.
Anything a few years either side of the cut off date for Historic tax they seem more relaxed about.

[gridgway]

Just got the LoO back from Porsche with Dec 74 as the manufacture date (75 MY). The MoT place wanted a specific date. Is Dec 74 specific enough or do they need an actual date? If so, will 1/12/74 do?
Graham

[KS]

You can insert any date, really. Mine was entered as 1/1/66 but actual build date is 15 November 1965. Doesn't make any difference – it's just that the MOT computer system needs a day/month/year to work.

[gridgway]

Thanks!