A Victory for Common Sense in Classic Car Preservation
For years now, classic car owners have walked a tightrope when it comes to DVLA registration rules. Don’t be careful with your upgrades and restoration, and you risk losing your car’s identity. Upgrade too little, and you risk being left behind by modern road expectations. At last, common sense has prevailed.
The DVLA has announced sweeping policy changes that finally recognise what we in the heritage sector have been saying all along: restoration, sympathetic modification and practical upgrades are not crimes - they’re acts of preservation.
Thanks in no small part to the relentless campaigning of the Historic & Classic Vehicles Alliance (HCVA), the old “radically altered” points system has been scrapped in favour of far clearer categories for Repairs & Restorations and Structural Modifications. In plain English, that means many popular upgrades — disc brakes, improved cooling, even some suspension tweaks — no longer require DVLA notification at all.
More substantial changes, including electric conversions, now fall under a new ‘Structurally Modified’ category. Crucially, your car keeps its original or age-related registration so long as its identity remains clear — no dreaded IVA test or Q-plate in sight. The only trade-off is that MOT exemption is removed for heavily altered cars over 40 years old, which is hardly unfair when you’ve modified beyond factory spec.
Perhaps most significantly, owners who previously lost or failed to secure an age-related registration can now reapply under the new system — with no time limit.
This is a watershed moment. It shows that when our industry speaks with one voice, government listens. Credit where it’s due: the DVLA has worked collaboratively and pragmatically.
At Twyford Moors, we welcome these changes wholeheartedly. They protect history without freezing it in aspic. Our heritage should be driven — not mothballed.
If you’re unsure how the new rules affect your Jaguar, give us a ring. We’re here to help.