Driving a UK-registered car in Jersey: when it must be registered, what VED and the DVS inspection cost, and when selling makes sense

How long can I keep it on UK plates?

If you are moving to Jersey and plan to live here for more than 12 months, or you already live here and import a car, it must be registered immediately. Until it is, an imported car may only be driven straight from the point it enters Jersey to where it will be kept, or to DVS for registration, and it needs insurance. In 2021 the government reminded islanders that road checks had found UK-registered cars driven by residents; those cars were taken off the road, and driving an unregistered vehicle carries a fine of up to £10,000 or up to six months' imprisonment. On the UK side, the DVLA treats a car taken to Jersey for 12 months or more as permanently exported: you fill in the permanent export section of the V5C and send it to the DVLA, and keep the rest, because DVS needs it. The DVLA no longer issues export certificates and won't send a V5C to an address outside the UK.

Can a right-hand-drive car be registered?

Yes. Jersey drives on the left, so a right-hand-drive UK car needs no conversion. Every car previously registered elsewhere is inspected by DVS before it is registered; a car without EU or UK whole-vehicle type approval gets a fuller and dearer inspection.

What registering it involves

1. Pay the Vehicle Emissions Duty due on first registration, or claim the movers' exemption; the V5C shows the CO2 figure it is based on.
2. Book the DVS inspection with form VRD17, by email or in person, attaching the registration document.
3. Get a Jersey driving licence and Jersey motor insurance; DVS wants the original certificate or cover note.
4. Register the car at DVS, La Collette, with form VRD2, the complete V5C and the invoice or bill of sale. Originals only.
5. Fit Jersey plates.

What it costs

• Vehicle Emissions Duty on first registration, by CO2 (2026): £252 for 76–100 g/km, £464 for 101–125, £787 for 126–150, £1,650 for 151–175, £5,796 for 176–200 and £12,401 above 201. A car with no CO2 data pays by engine size; electric cars pay nothing.
• DVS inspection: £46.10 with EU or UK whole-vehicle type approval, £511.50 without.
• Registration fee: £37.70.
• Worked example (assumed values): a car with 135 g/km pays £787 VED and £83.80 in DVS fees (the inspection with type approval, plus registration), £870.80 in all before plates and insurance. With the movers' exemption from VED, only the DVS fees.

Moving home with the car?

If you are moving to Jersey after living outside the island continuously for at least 12 months, and you have had and used the car for at least 6 months, you can usually register it without paying Vehicle Emissions Duty, as long as you declare that you won't sell, hire or transfer it for 12 months after registration. The exemption doesn't cover the DVS inspection, the registration fee, plates or insurance.

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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