Proof of Manufacture date req'd

Hi Chris, I know this answer is late but I have just been through similar and it may be of interest:

DVLA seem to have no way of accepting information received regarding serial No's and the manufacture date of a vehicle as proof of age.

 My SR500 was manufactured in 1982 according to the serial number  but my date of first registration is 20th July 1983 and that is what they will go by.  Even though my bike is now 41 or 40 yo if you go by first registration date, I have still payed road tax this year (2023) because they will not let me register the vehicle as historic until January 2024.

That apparently is how their system works, I think it is because they want to implement this change to all of the vehicles that turned 40 yo in the previous year at the same time rather than one here and one there as they all have their individual "birthdays".

GOOD NEWS:

One bit of good news is that since a change of law in 2018 vehicles for us in the UK become MOT exempt on the very same day the vehicle turns 40 years old. (from date of first registration).

So pick up a form V112 which will allow you to tax it without an MOT certificate.  I did this and am now MOT free and next year I will register my SR500

as an historic vehicle.

Cheers John