Hi folks I hope I'm putting this in the right place, not very experienced with forums. Anyway, I'm recently arrived in Belfast, retired and I wanted to do a lot more cycling. So I bought an electric bike - a Kudos Stealth - which seemed to be well made and simple and about the right price. I knew I needed a moped licence but I wasn't too bothered about that having passed my bike test in 1981 and owned an eclectic collection of classic bikes ever since. Then I found out I needed to register the bike as well. or ride it illegally. I'm law-abiding, and I'd registered a few old motorbikes before, so I thought I'd give it a shot. So about a month ago I sent off an application V55/4 together with insurance info, passport copy, and a cheque for £55. The V55/4 is a bit daunting because it's used for registering everything up to an artic, but lots of it doesn't apply (like 'technical permissable towable mass of the trailer') so you can leave it blank. I had a response from DVLA today, rejecting the application on the following grounds: Insurance certificate is not enclosed; Certificate/Declaration of Newness is not enclosed; original type approval is not enclosed; NOVA certificate is not enclosed. Now I'd enclosed all the insurance documentation from Yellow Jersey Insurance, which does not include a 'Certificate of Insurance' like you would get with a motor vehicle insurance. I've got back in touch with Yellow Jersey to see if they will concoct one. The Certificate of Newness is a DVLA form V267 which must be completed by the dealer, so I've been in touch with Kudos bikes in the hope that they will give me one - it's only half a side of A4. Type approval is not required for an electric bicycle that does not exceed 250w/does not have electric assistance beyond 15.5 mph. A NOVA certificate is not required for an electric vehicle of less than 7.3 KW. So, I should have included with the original application a form V267, a copy of the bike specification pointing out that it is 250 watt therefore does not require type approval and NOVA certificate, and some sort of insurance certificate - I probably could attach it to one of my motorcycle policies if I'm desperate. So we shall see how that goes!
DVLA registration of an electric bike in Northern Ireland
- Thread starter Andrewscotsman
- Start date
Yes, good luck. I'm quite law abiding on the whole too, but I think if I lived in NI at the moment I'd give up on legal ebike riding.
Good luck for me too. Didn't someone have this problem a few months back? Law in NI saying that pedalecs need reg. etc. to be used legally, then DVLA rejecting applications saying they don't. We have both camps from NI represented here on the forum, those that own bikes, but don't ride them, because of the law and the others.
Well, I went through all the online info I could find about it and I think the current setup is that DVLA will register them, whereas for a while they couldn't, so I thought I would give it a go because I reckon if you were busted for, say, no helmet, no insurance, and no logbook you would lose your driving licence. I thought it would be useful for people to follow through the procedure - all the stuff about NOVA and Certificate of Newness is not on the DVLA website, or at least not related to the info on the registration of bikes. Once I get there, or get completely blocked, I'll make a fuss with my MP and MEP. I should say that from past experience registering imported motorbikes, while the DVLA come across as amazingly bureaucratic on paper, if you actually ring them up and talk to them they are really helpful.
I don't know, it's a bit unclear online. I would be more concerned about losing my licence or, much worse, being involved in an accident and being held to be uninsured because the bike wasn't legal.
Ah, OK, sounds like things have improved which hopefully will make the process easier for you. If you haven't already found it, there's a long thread on the plight of pedelecs in NI which you may find interesting.
Update on N.I. e-bike regs.
www.pedelecs.co.uk
Yes, I've read through it. It seems the situation is a bit fluid and has changed quite a bit over time. At the moment I'm interested in the practicalities and pitfalls of registering an electric bike. It's already clear that the DVLA advice is not comprehensive enough, in that it doesn't tell you properly how to complete the application form and what additional information is required. My ultimate aim of course is to get the anachronistic and unclear NI law on electric bikes changed to conform with the rest of the UK.
One woman there did go though all the procedure long ago and registered hers, so you may be the second to do it. A number of others there were very disapproving of her doing that, fearing that it would encourage the authorities to not bother to rectify the anomaly.
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Hmm, I think it's better to do it and make a fuss about how difficult it is and how ridiculous, perhaps unlawful, it is to have to do it.
Right, Round 2. I'm just about to send off to the DVLA a revised application with a covering letter which says:-
'A cover note is enclosed. (thank you Caulfield Insurance)
A certificate/declaration of newness is enclosed (thank you Kudos)
Type approval certificate:- I enclose a manufacturer's detailed specification of the bicycle which shows that it is an 'EAPC' as defined in the GOV.UK webpage 'Electric bicycles: Licensing, Tax and Insurance'. Reference to the sub-section 'Rules in Northern Ireland' confirms that EAPCs do not need type approval, which is also detailed in the paper 'Department of Transport Guidance on European Type Approval for certain Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycles (EAPC) para.1.1. (April 2017)
NOVA registration:- the detailed specification shows that the bicycle is rated at 250 watts, which is below the 7.2kw. cut-off above which electric vehicles must go through the NOVA process - see GOV.UK 'Importing vehicles into the UK'.'
Let's see how we get on with that... Merry Christmas!
'A cover note is enclosed. (thank you Caulfield Insurance)
A certificate/declaration of newness is enclosed (thank you Kudos)
Type approval certificate:- I enclose a manufacturer's detailed specification of the bicycle which shows that it is an 'EAPC' as defined in the GOV.UK webpage 'Electric bicycles: Licensing, Tax and Insurance'. Reference to the sub-section 'Rules in Northern Ireland' confirms that EAPCs do not need type approval, which is also detailed in the paper 'Department of Transport Guidance on European Type Approval for certain Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycles (EAPC) para.1.1. (April 2017)
NOVA registration:- the detailed specification shows that the bicycle is rated at 250 watts, which is below the 7.2kw. cut-off above which electric vehicles must go through the NOVA process - see GOV.UK 'Importing vehicles into the UK'.'
Let's see how we get on with that... Merry Christmas!
Ok, amazingly, yesterday a V5 for my electric bicycle arrived in the post! There was a note with it which said that I must now tax it. Now vehicle tax for an electric bicycle is free, according to NI Direct, but the DVLA likes you to apply for tax anyway, even if it's free - I've had to do this for numerous tax exempt classic motorbikes. But when I went to do so online, the site told me that the bicycle was currently taxed until January 2021, and did I want to tax it again? No idea what that's about. So all I have to do now is get a number plate, work out how to fix it to my bicycle, find my lightest motorbike helmet, tell my insurance company what the reg. number is, and we're off! (Though not in cycle lanes). However, I have also been in touch with my Assembly member to ask them to get going on amending the legislation, and I will write to NI Direct and to the DVLA summarising my experience, pointing out the gaps in their guidelines, and asking them to bring pressure on the Assembly to bring the legislation into line with the rest of the UK.
Thanks for this Andrew. You've probably seen the similar actions kicked off by Sinjin Smythe and TedG on this link and supported by a number of us since.
The more pressure brought to bear, the better.
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Do you know about this yet @Andrewscotsman ?
www.bikeradar.com
Ebike riders in Northern Ireland now don’t need a licence, tax or registration plate
Northern Ireland finally brings electric bike regulations in line with the rest of the UK
www.bikeradar.com
Yes, I've been in touch with the Minister a couple of times since I stopped posting on here. Good, about bloody time. I have been using my bike a bit - lockdown not helping of course, but I will take great pleasure in not wearing a motorcycle helmet and hanging up my number plate - although I'm probably breaking all sorts of laws by so doing!Do you know about this yet @Andrewscotsman ?
Ebike riders in Northern Ireland now don’t need a licence, tax or registration plate
Northern Ireland finally brings electric bike regulations in line with the rest of the UK
No, you should be safe in this respect Andrew. The mainland DfT have made a local ruling for the UK only that to have permission for a legal throttle added to a pedelec since December 2015, one needs to have it type approved. Then they will still regard it as a bureaucracy free pedelec.
That makes your type approved one also a normal pedelec in their eyes, and since N.I. is now following exactly the same legal path as us for pedelec usage, I daresay they'd follow the same in this case.
The basis for this DfT ruling last year is that the EU law requires a pedelec with throttle to be type approved, which in the UK normally makes it a motor vehicle. However under EU law the usage of any vehicle type comes under national law, hence that DfT ruling only applying for the UK, not in any Mainland EU countries.
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No, my bicycle is perfectly legal as a simple pedelec, there's no throttle, in the eyes of the law here now, except that having registered it as a moped I'm sure there's a big form to fill in, a fee to pay and some hanging around to do to deregister it before it's a bicycle again, I haven't checked, but to be quite honest my current view is that they can go f**k themselves. I might look into it when I get round to it!
Depends what you mean by 'it'. As soon as you remove the old plates the bike is no longer 'it' but another totally different entity.
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