Provision of Vehicle Inspection Services

The DVLA is an Executive Agency of the Department for Transport (DfT), based in Swansea. The DVLA’s primary aims are to facilitate road safety and general law enforcement by maintaining accurate registers of drivers and vehicle keepers and to collect Vehicle Excise Duty (VED). 2.1 The Authority has the right to inspect a vehicle in certain circumstances and is provided for in law by: i. The Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) Regulations 2002 (http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2002/2742/regulation/10/made), and ii. The Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 (http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1994/22/section/22) 2.2 The purpose of an inspection is to confirm specific information about a vehicle that can only be verified with the vehicle physically present. Some vehicles may require a more in-depth inspection than others, depending on what information the Authority needs to confirm. Inspections may take place pre- or post-registration and for a number of reasons, often but not exclusively as a result of an application made to the Authority regarding the vehicle. The basis of the Authority’s decision to inspect a vehicle is usually one of the following: i. To confirm that the vehicle exists; ii. To confirm that the vehicle is what it purports to be, either on the Authority’s records or on the application received, by confirming the presence of identifying features particular to the make and model; iii. To confirm that the applicant is in possession of the vehicle.