How long should I keep import and registration documents after registering a vehicle in Northern Ireland?

The practical file should include the foreign title/registration document, purchase invoice, NOVA/HMRC confirmation, customs/VAT evidence, approval or IVA certificate, relevant test records and the first UK V5C. These can become important years later if the VIN, age, emissions basis or registration history is questioned.

Businesses may have longer formal record-retention duties under tax/accounting rules than private owners. A private owner should still avoid discarding irreplaceable foreign identity and approval documents after DVLA issues the V5C.

Scan the documents as a backup, but keep originals where they are unique evidence. Pass relevant history to the next buyer so the vehicle’s provenance remains traceable.

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. On the facts covered here, the answer is that keep the core import and registration paper trail for as long as you own the vehicle, and retain tax/customs records for at least any statutory period that applies to your tax position. This is one of the areas where the jurisdiction and the exact status of the driver or vehicle matter more than a general UK rule.