Is there a way in the UK to register a newly-purchased (previously-owned) vehicle without having to wait several weeks for the registration materials to be returned to the new keeper? E.g., new owner (yours truly) purchases a bike in the UK, applies for new registration in his name, tours the UK for a couple of weeks, then needs the new documents in order to continue his tour on the continent (France, Spain, Italy, etc.) but according to DVLA it can take six weeks or more for the registration documents in the new name to be returned to the new keeper - by which time, according to plan, he (I) will be gone and, therefore will not have valid registration documents before leaving the UK.

As a comparison, here in New York one can go to the local Motor Vehicle office with the old registration, bill of sale or other evidence of transfer of ownership and get a new registration in the new name, right then and there (paying the fee, of course), after which he has ten days to get the vehicle inspected ("MOT"d).

PS I've corresponded with DVLA but they have not answered this question, even though they have responded to my e-mails. I get the feeling that they don't WANT to answer it.

email (option): jonny.rudge@verizon.net

Hi John...As far as I know you can't make the system go any faster unfortunately. In the UK the seller is responsible for sending the registration document back to the DVLA at change of ownership....The buyer also retains one part of the registration document (signed by the seller)at that point as proof he now owns the vehicle...What you need to find out is whether this, along with perhaps a photo copy of the registration document would serve as proof of ownership in another country.
If that was OK you would just need a UK address for the new document to be sent to and you could retrieve that at a later date.
However, another potential problem if you don't use a UK address to register the vehicle to is that, as a foriegn citizen buying a vehicle in the UK and then taking it to europe it would just be classed as an export...and as you are not registering it in another country it would then effectively be 'stateless' and not registered anywhere.
As an American citizen you can buy and register a vehicle to a UK address..you being the owner but the address being the location it is registered to...Then you can take it to Europe (temporarily) as it is not being 'exported' but just 'going on holiday' from a UK address, to which it will at least theoretically return.
Of course that still relies on a photocopy of the registration document (in the old owners name) and the slip from the same original document made out as proof of your ownership being valid in the EU. As far as an MOT certificate is concerned you will have to have one before driving on the road in the UK (apart from driving directly to and from an MOT test station from your address to have a test carried out).Also you need a valid UK MOT certificate which is effective for the entire duration of your EU trip to satisfy the legal requirements. So, you will have to buy a vehicle with a current certificate which does not run out for the duration of your trip. (unless you export the vehicle from the UK to another EU country at which point it will become subject to the laws of THAT country....Ian

Thank you, Ian. Looks like it's do-able with the copy of the papers of the prior owner and the transfer document, subject to being able to obtain insuarance, of course, without needing an oil well to pay for it. If some french gendarme doesn't accept them and throws me into jail, well, they'll be feeding me french food and probably french wine while I await the arrival of the US consul, won't they?

email (option): jonny.rudge@verizon.net

Someone like Carole Nash should be able to provide a pretty competetive insurance quote on a classic bike, but you may need some sort of proof of "no claims" from your present insurer, I've found Carole Nash pretty helpful, you probably wouldn't be able to use the free phone number if you call them from outside the UK, but if you email them and ask for a phone number they should give you one to ring. They always seem very helpful on the phone and you can get things sorted a bit quicker than to-ing and fro-ing of emails, they also offer a green card insurance for use abroad, so it would probably be better if you used a UK address for the duration of the trip
As for the DVLA, it would probably be worth ringing them too, it's an automated system that can be pretty hard to find a person to speak to, but when you get hold of one they are usually pretty helpful. I know this costs money to ring them, but in the long run I think you'd get it sorted quicker

email (option): davmax@ntlworld.com

talking about carole nash i now have my insurance documents on line now they have told me that some post offices will not except the cover note you have printed off when i go to re tax my bike i will have a print out and take my laptop with me also i wonder what problems i might have when i take the document for my B31 in november(with no MOT) which has been on a sorn

email (option): roger.beck@node6.com

Thank you all for the info. I think that MOT and tax will not be a problem as long as, when I buy the bike, the MOT and tax are still valid for some time (and the bike is not on SORN). As I understand it, both MOT and tax are valid for a year even if, during that year, ownership is transferred. Here in NY inspection ("MOT") does not survive transfer of the vehicle and a new owner must re-inspect within 10 days of transfer, even if the prior owner had it inspected just before the transfer. And private vehicles here are not subject to any annual tax or excise tax or separate road tax, so tax is never an issue here - just a one-time sales tax of about 8%, which can be paid at the same time and place as the new registration is issued.

email (option): jonny.rudge@verizon.net

You are correct in that the tax is available for both 6 and 12 months, but because it is an "Historic" vehicle and the tax is free, it will probably be taxed for a year. This applies to vehicles registered before 1972 (the registration date is critical as some vehicles may be made in the 1940's, but not registered before 1972 as some army bikes were!) The MOT is transferrable and lasts for a year. If you aren't planning to come before November you will find that the vehicle if registered or declared manufactured before 1960 it will be MOT exempt.
Hope this helps

email (option): davmax@ntlworld.com