Thinking of exporting your MOKE?

We get many questions from customers who wish to purchase a MOKE and are looking to export to a country where MOKE is currently not available.

It’s worth letting us know which country you are looking to export your MOKE to as there may be an agent coming on line there soon.

But if not, or you can’t wait, hopefully the following information will be useful.

Who ships from the UK

A number of companies have been used by some of our customers and ship from our local port of Southampton as well as Bristol.

Costs vary as you would expect, but as an example Southampton to Valencia starts from £645 on one of their roll on/roll off ferries.

For further information visit their web site by clicking on the below link, where you will find much more information and can even get a free quote:

Car Shipping | International Vehicle Shipping Services | Ship Cars*

You could also try Auto Shippers on the following link:

International Car Shipping. Export advice for Car Shipping from the UK (autoshippers.co.uk )*

Both companies are also able to arrange collection from your home or business to the port. Which would be an additional cost.

Any shipping company will advise you on what paperwork they need to ship your vehicle, which is likely to include :

V5C (or title document) for the vehicle
Photo page of the consignees passport
Purchase/Sales Invoice of the vehicle

We quite often get asked to provide a Certificate of Conformity (CoC). A manufacture with European Type Approval supplies this with a new vehicle. If you have purchased a used vehicle copies can be supplied by the manufacturer.

In the case of MOKE, being a hand built vehicle with low production volume, MOKE receive an Individual Vehicle Approval (IVA), certificate as well as a certificate of Newness to enable us to register a vehicle. Re printed copies of these can be supplied if needed. The registration for MOKE is paper based and it can take between 8 and 12 weeks for you to receive the registration document direct from DVLA.

Please note: that the above and following information has been obtained from the DVLA and above named company web sites to help our customers who are in the early stages of purchase when considering export, and we assume that this information is accurate and up to date as of 26th February 2024. Hendy Group Ltd are not a vehicle exporter and accept no liability for any inaccuracies within this information as rules and regulations change on a regular basis. We would always recommend you seek the appropriate advise from a specialist exporter of vehicles.

Taking a vehicle out of the UK for 12 months or more

You must tell DVLA if you’re taking your vehicle out of the UK, including to the Channel Islands (Jersey and Guernsey), Isle of Man or Ireland, for 12 months or more. This is known as permanent export.

You’ll need to:

Fill in the ‘permanent export’ section of your vehicle log book (V5C) and detach it from the log book.
Send the completed ‘permanent export’ section to DVLA, Swansea, SA99 1BD. Include a letter if you’ve moved abroad and want your vehicle tax refund (if you’re entitled to one) sent to your new address.
Keep the rest of your log book (V5C) - you need it to register your vehicle in the country you’re taking it to.
Update the address on your driving licence if you’re moving home.

If you’re due a refund, you’ll usually get it within 4 to 6 weeks. The refund is worked out from the date DVLA gets your ‘permanent export’ section.

If you’re buying a vehicle to take abroad, make sure the seller follows the correct process for vehicles that will be registered in another country. They must give you the full log book (V5C) - not just the new keeper slip.

If you do not have a vehicle log book (V5C)

Before you leave the UK

You need to get a vehicle log book (V5C) before you leave the UK. DVLA cannot send a vehicle log book to an address outside the UK.

It can take up to:

5 days if you apply online

4 to 6 weeks if you apply by post or if you’ve changed your address or name

When you get your log book, fill in and send the ‘permanent export’ section to DVLA.

If you do not receive it before you leave the UK, contact the driving authority of the country you’re travelling to. They’ll tell you what documents you need.

If you’ve already left the UK

Contact the driving authority of the country you’re taking the vehicle to. They’ll tell you what documents you’ll need to provide to register the vehicle there.

You also need to send a letter to DVLA to tell them you’ve taken the vehicle out of the country. Include:

your name and address

the make, model and if possible, the vehicle identification number of the vehicle

the date you took the vehicle out of the country

DVLA Swansea SA99 1BA

If the ‘permanent export’ section is missing

If the ‘permanent export’ section is not in the log book, send a letter to DVLA to tell them you’ve taken the vehicle out of the country. Include:

your name and address

the date you took the vehicle out of the country

DVLA Swansea SA99 1BA

Personalised registrations

You’ll need to transfer or retain your personalised registration before exporting your vehicle. Otherwise you’ll lose your right to the registration number.

Export your vehicle with the Personal Export Scheme

You may be able to use the Personal Export Scheme to take a new or used vehicle:

from Great Britain to anywhere outside the UK

from Northern Ireland to a non-EU country

When you buy a new vehicle and export under the scheme, you do not pay UK VAT. But you still have to pay vehicle taxes and the registration fee.

You must be planning to leave the UK for at least 6 months with the vehicle. You usually have to be personally driving your vehicle.

What you need to do

Fill in form VAT 410 (your supplier will give you a copy) and give it to your supplier.

You can drive the vehicle in the UK for up to 6 months after the delivery date (or 12 months for non-UK and non-EU residents) - it must then be exported.

The date for export of the vehicle is shown on the VX302 (for new cars) or the VAT 410 (for used cars).

After export send the DVLA the:

VX302 - new vehicles

vehicle log book (V5C) - second-hand vehicles.

If you do not export the vehicle on time you’ll have to pay the UK VAT.