How do I permanently export a Northern Ireland registered vehicle?

A permanent export is different from taking your NI car abroad temporarily. DVLA needs the keeper record updated so UK tax and registration records reflect that the vehicle has left permanently.

The destination country then applies its own import tax, registration, inspection and insurance rules. Keep copies of the V5C, sale/export documents and shipping or ferry evidence until the foreign registration is complete.

If the vehicle carries a personalised registration you want to keep, deal with retention before the export rather than assuming the number remains yours after the car leaves the UK record.

An NI vehicle import normally has four separate tracks: customs/VAT with HMRC, construction or type approval, DVLA registration/tax, and DVA roadworthiness testing. Completing one does not automatically complete the others. A NOVA reference is not an MOT; an MOT is not type approval; and an IVA certificate does not itself register or tax the vehicle. For an NI application, the key result is that tell DVLA when a NI-registered vehicle is permanently exported and complete the permanent-export section/process; keep the relevant part of the V5C for the new country’s registration authorities. The safest NI approach is to verify the current DVA, DfI, PSNI, DVLA or HMRC record that governs the point before acting.