Driving a UK-registered car in Guernsey: the 14-day rule, what First Registration Duty costs, and when selling makes sense

How long can I keep it on UK plates?

If you take up residence in Guernsey, a car you bring may be driven for up to 14 days after you arrive; after that it must be kept on private land until it is registered. If you already live here and import a car, the limit is 48 hours after you take ownership. Visitors with no residence in the islands can bring a car in temporarily, usually for up to 6 months; it can't be hired out, sold or given away on the island. On the UK side, the DVLA treats a car taken to Guernsey for 12 months or more as permanently exported. Guernsey's advice is not to send the V5C itself to the DVLA, which may not return it and won't issue a Certificate of Export instead: send only the permanent export section and keep the rest for registration.

Can a right-hand-drive car be registered?

Yes. Guernsey drives on the left, so a right-hand-drive UK car needs no conversion. There is no MOT-style periodic test yet; the States expect one in 2027 at the earliest. For registration, the car's weight must be on its documents or it is weighed at a weighbridge, and a vehicle over 2.1 metres wide is measured.

What registering it involves

1. Keep the whole V5C and send only the permanent export section to the DVLA.
2. Find the car's weight (mass in service) on the V5C, the V55/1 or the handbook, or have it weighed at a local weighbridge; a vehicle over 2.1 metres wide is measured by Traffic Services.
3. Arrange Guernsey motor insurance.
4. Register the car, paying the £55 registration fee and First Registration Duty, and fit Guernsey plates.

What it costs

• Registration fee: £55.
• First Registration Duty for petrol and other non-diesel cars, including the £55 fee: £110 up to 110 g/km, £255 for 111–130, £665 for 131–140, £955 for 141–150, £1,245 for 151–165, £1,655 for 166–180, £2,055 for 181–230 and £2,555 above.
• First Registration Duty for diesel cars, including the £55 fee: £110 up to 100 g/km, £255 for 101–110, £665 for 111–120, £955 for 121–130, £1,245 for 131–140, £1,655 for 141–150, £2,055 for 151–200 and £2,555 above.
• If there is no CO2 figure, engine size is used instead.
• Measurement of a vehicle over 2.1 metres wide: £25.
• There is no annual road tax at present.

The alternative: sell it back to the UK

The alternative is to take the car back to the mainland and sell it there: the ferry, the drive to a buyer, the sale itself and the trip home, and only while the MOT and UK insurance are valid. Selling to us skips all of that: we buy the car as it stands, collect it free from your address, handle the export paperwork and pay in pounds sterling (£) on collection day.

Common questions

Rules, rates and thresholds change. This guide is a general summary as of October 2026, not legal or tax advice — check the current position with the registration authority before relying on it.

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