Re-registering a converted van as a motor caravan with DVLA

DVLA will change the body type on a converted van's V5C to motor caravan only if the van looks like a motor caravan in traffic from the outside and has the fixed living equipment inside. You apply by post with the V5C, a checklist and photographs. DVLA's guidance also says the body type does not affect the insurance category of the vehicle or its speed limits, and that the van can be used as a motor caravan without the change.

What the body type is for

DVLA says the body type on the vehicle record must describe what the vehicle looks like in traffic, so that the police and other enforcement agencies can identify it. In its words the body type "does not affect the insurance category of the vehicle, or have any effect on speed limits or other legislative requirements". A van whose record still says panel van can be used as a motor caravan as long as the keeper is satisfied it has the internal features below.

The three requirements

DVLA will only consider the change if the vehicle meets all three:

1. The current body type is on its list. The V5C, at point D.5, has to show one of: ambulance, box van, goods, insulated van, light goods, light van, livestock carrier, Luton van, minibus, MPV, panel van, specially fitted van, special mobile unit, or van with side windows. If it shows anything else, DVLA says not to apply, because it will not process the application.
2. It has the external features. See the list below.
3. It has the internal features. Seats and a table, sleeping accommodation (which may be converted from the seats), cooking facilities and storage facilities. They must be rigidly fixed to the living compartment, though the table may be made to come out easily.

External features DVLA expects to see

DVLA describes these as features commonly seen in motor caravans and as guidance on what it expects when it considers an application:

• 2 or more windows on at least one side of the main body, not counting the windows in the driver and passenger doors.
• A separate door into the living accommodation, other than the driver and passenger doors. A window in that door counts as a window on the main body.
• Motor caravan-style graphics on both sides.
• An awning bar attached to either side.
• A high-top roof. A pop-top elevating roof does not count.

It also says, flatly, that the body type will not be changed unless the exterior looks like a motor caravan in traffic.

What to send

• A completed motor caravan conversion checklist, which the guidance links to.
• The V5C, showing one of the body types above. On the new style with numbered coloured blocks on the cover you fill in section 1; on the older style, section 7.
• Interior photos of each required feature, with the bed and table in the use position. They must show the 2 or more windows letting daylight into the living area.
• Exterior photos from the front, both sides and the rear, with the registration plates clearly visible.
• A photo of the vehicle identification number or chassis number stamped on the plate on the original chassis or bodyshell.

On the back of each photo write what it shows, the date and the registration number. Photos are not returned unless you ask in the application. Everything goes to DVLA, Swansea, SA99 1BA.

What happens next

DVLA either leaves the body type as it is or allocates the description it thinks fits the outside of the vehicle. It may ask to inspect the van: DVLA covers the cost of the inspection but not of getting the vehicle there, and refuses the application if the vehicle cannot be inspected. The guidance gives no fee for the application and no time it takes.

What the body type does not settle

DVLA's statement is that the body type has no effect on the insurance category, speed limits or other legislative requirements, so none of those is settled by the words on the V5C. Ask your insurer what it needs to know about a conversion; the MOT classes are set out in the MOT guide. DVLA also says it is for the converter or keeper to make sure the alterations do not compromise the vehicle's safety. The Camping and Caravanning Club's advice to converters is that the V5C must classify the vehicle accurately, and to check that your licence covers the vehicle at its weight after conversion, which is covered in the licence guide.

If you are selling a conversion

Say in the advert what the V5C gives as the body type, whichever it is, so a buyer is not surprised by the log book. The campervan page covers the rest of what goes in the advert and the paperwork guide covers the log book on the day of sale.