Home Build

 NG Kit Car 

Site

22. SVA & Registration

Minister's Approval Certificate

SVA Preparation

The Single Vehicle Approval (SVA) test is administered by the Vehicle & Operator Services Agency (VOSA) for the purpose of obtaining a Minister's Approval Certificate (MAC) which is required to register the vehicle. The test is concerned with standards of construction (unlike the MOT test, which is concerned with condition). These standards are outlined in the SVA Inspection Manual (obtainable direct from VOSA) which I recommend kit car builders obtain (cost £35 at time of writing).

The SVA test is an obstacle which all kit car builders must tackle. In principle, it is good that these construction standards exist or we could have all sorts of lethal concoctions on our roads. There are, however, some mind numbingly curious regulations.

The current NG designs are basically SVA friendly but there are a few things to watch out for. Most of these are highlighted in the build manual but different test centres may interpret the regulations a little differently. What I have outlined here, therefore, is only my experience and is issued with a health warning! Care and attention to detail is the key.

  • Spare wheel cover - click for larger size Front suspension wishbone covers as mentioned in section 5.
  • Front suspension nut covers
  • Wheel hubs
  • Spare Wheel - This was acceptable as it had a proper vinyl wheel cover on it (see photo). No edges should be detectable.
  • Bonnet & catches
  • Mirrors
  • Switches
  • Front Spot Lamps - The Cibie Oscar lamps did not pose any problem. They were wired to only come on with main beam headlamps and this was checked. I took the opportunity of adjusting them using their beam setter although this was not a requirement.
  • Exhaust trim - click for larger size Rear fog lamp
  • Running Board Treads - I had finished the ends as detailed in the build manual and these were no problem.
  • Exhaust Trim - As this protrudes substantially beyond the body, a chrome trim is needed to comply with the radius of curvature requirement (see photo).
  • Petrol Cap - As I had chosen the flush fitting kind, there was no problem here either. Care must be taken with some of the "Aston" style ones though.
  • Hood - To avoid any controversy with the "lift the dot" studs, I left these off (and thus the hood). The only problem then is if it rains hard on the way to the test. We were lucky, it only rained lightly!
Unloading after MOT - click for larger size

Pre-SVA Check

As I did not want the car's first journey to be to the SVA test centre, I took it on a trailer to some private land and drove it a few miles. I then also obtained an MOT certificate for it. This preparation gave me a bit of confidence - it was then just the weather to worry about!

SVA Test

SVA test - click for larger size You are allowed to drive to the pre-arranged test without number plates or tax but you MUST, of course, have insurance. This can be issued temporarily on your chassis number.

The test took around 3 hours (including tea, coffee and burger breaks!). It was mainly conducted indoors but with outside tests for steering self-centring, brake skid test and mirror fields of view. The only attention needed to the car during the test was a slight re-alignment of the headlamps.

Note that SVA and registration procedures should be checked with VOSA and DVLA as they may be subject to change.

Documentation for SVA (submitted to VOSA)

  Required documents Available from
1 Application for Minister's Approval Certificate (SVA1) Vehicle & Operator Services Agency (downloadable from www.vosa.gov.uk)
2 Amateur Built Declaration form Unexpectedly sent by VOSA to confirm Amateur Built status (just a couple of tick boxes)

The VOSA test centre then issued a test appointment. Incidentally, if you have any questions, I found the test centre (in my case Yeading) to be very helpful.

NG also provided the following but in my case they were not requested for SVA:

  • Notification of chassis number
  • Confirmation of braided brake reservoir hose suitability
  • Certificate of seat belt anchorage strength
  • Assessment report on collapsible steering wheel boss

Documentation for Registration (submitted to local DVLA Office)

  Required documents Available from
1 Application for a First Licence for a Used Motor Vehicle (V55/5) DVLA Office
2 Minister's Approval Certificate (MAC) VOSA Test Centre (when SVA passed)
3* MOT Certificate (VT20) possibly not required MOT Test Centre
4* Insurance Certificate or Cover Note Insurance Company
5 Built Up Vehicle Inspection Report (V627/1) DVLA Office (downloadable from www.dvla.gov.uk)
6 Donor Vehicle Registration Document (V5 or V5C) Seller of Donor Vehicle
7* Invoice for Donor Vehicle Seller of Donor Vehicle
8* Invoice for Chassis NG
9* Notification of Chassis Number NG
10 Road Tax (Vehicle Excise Duty for 1yr) £165
11 Registration Fee £38
12* Means of Identification E.g. Photocard Driving Licence

(* indicates documents returned)

The local DVLA Office required me to return with the vehicle for an inspection (OK to drive it without plates, etc. as it was pre-arranged).


« Previous   Next »