What is IVA, and does my imported car need it?
Individual Vehicle Approval in plain English. Which cars need it, what’s checked, and how to pass first time.
By the AutoImporter team5 min read
IVA (Individual Vehicle Approval) is the DVSA test that proves an imported car meets UK safety and environmental standards. If your car needs it, DVLA won’t register it until it passes.
Which cars need IVA?
As a rule of thumb:
- Under 10 years old and not built to UK or EU spec: usually needs IVA
- Over 10 years old: usually no IVA, but an MOT if it’s under 40 years old
- Over 3 years old: needs an MOT as well as any IVA
- EU cars with a Certificate of Conformity: may not need IVA
What’s checked?
The test covers things like lighting, mirrors, seat belts, emissions, noise, tyres and the speedometer. Many imports need small changes first, such as headlight beam patterns and an MPH speedometer.
How to pass first time
The secret is preparation. We inspect every car against the IVA manual before booking, fix anything that would fail, and present the car ourselves on test day. If anything does fail, we fix it and rebook.
Find out more about our testing service.