Vehicle Registration
Vehicle Registration
All motor vehicles used or kept on any public road in the Isle of Man must be registered in the Island and be licensed. Licences are issued for periods of 12 months.
At present there is no requirement for trailers to be registered, but draw-bar road-haulage trailers, and most other kinds of non-agricultural draw-bar trailers exceeding 2,000kg maximum laden weight, are nevertheless required to be licensed annually.
The initial registration and licensing of cars and motorcycles can be undertaken at any Post Office. The Department of Transport, based at the Sea Terminal, Douglas registers goods vehicles and plant and vehicles imported from countries outside the European Community. Goods vehicles and public passenger vehicles are subject to testing prior to registration. After initial registration of a vehicle, reminders for the annual renewal of the licence disc are sent out to owners and the licence can be renewed at any Post Office.
Vehicle Duty is charged for the issue of a Vehicle Licence to enable a motor vehicle or large draw-bar trailer that is kept in the Island may be used on public roads. This charge is sometimes known as "Vehicle Tax" or "Vehicle Licence Fee".
All United Kingdom, Channel Island, Irish or foreign registered motor vehicles brought into the Isle of Man from the United Kingdom, Ireland or any other country must be re-registered in the Island at the earliest opportunity if the owner is already resident in the Island, or as soon as possible after the owner takes up residence in the Island.
A vehicle registered elsewhere which accompanies a visiting driver during his/her visit here may remain for up to 12 months without being re-registered in the Island, provided that the visitor remains in charge of the vehicle and does not become resident here.
In order to register and licence a vehicle in the Isle of Man the following documents must be submitted to any Post Office along with completed Application Forms for both registration of the vehicle and its first licence:-
- The current vehicle registration documents supplied by the manufacturer or his import concessionaire if the vehicle is new, or the appropriate registration documents from the country where the vehicle was most-recently registered. If any such documentation is not available or is incomplete the vehicle will be inspected and there will be a delay while the particulars of the vehicle are being established to ascertain whether it may be registered. (The documentation must include type-approval information for passenger-cars and goods vehicles under 10-years old). The Licensing Office may refuse to register a vehicle if it is not satisfied that the vehicle will be mainly used and maintained in the Island or the owner is a Manx resident student.
- A current certificate of motor insurance for the vehicle.
- If the vehicle is more than 3 years old at the time of the application for its first licence in the Island, or if it is an "annually-certifiable vehicle", it will also be necessary to produce a road-worthiness test certificate.
There is no periodic "MOT" for vehicles in general, though annual road-worthiness tests are required for "annually-certifiable vehicles" which include all articulated goods vehicles, large goods vehicles having more than 3 axles, goods vehicles over 7500kg, buses, minibuses, passenger-cars that are to be used as public passenger vehicles (taxis or private hire cars), and hire-and-drive vehicles which are over 3-years old. Vehicle tests are undertaken by the Vehicle Testing Centre, Ballafletcher Road, Tromode, Braddan, Douglas.
An Application for the examination of a motor vehicle is available in downloadable forms.
Registration of Vehicles used by IOM Students in the UK
To ensure that an Isle of Man student does not become eligible to register and licence their vehicle in the UK, or need to exchange their driving licence for a UK licence, the student should return to the Island with their vehicle, at least once a year and check that it is correctly registered and licensed and that their vehicle insurance covers them for use in the UK.
Further information provided by the UK Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) regarding students from the Isle of Man temporarily importing a vehicle into the UK for the duration of their studies is available in the document called “Registration of Vehicles used by Isle of Man Students in the UK” in downloadable forms.
For enquiries regarding the testing of vehicles contact the Vehicle and Driver Testing Centre.
