The British costs are manageable on paper: NOVA costs nothing, the inspection £100, the registration £55. What decides the sum is something else: the conversion of headlights and speedometer, which varies by model; the weeks the car stands still until registration is done. Weigh that against what your car still fetches in the Netherlands. If the sum disappoints, selling in the Netherlands and buying a right-hand-drive car in England is the simpler route. Do those sums before the removal company comes. Within the twelve months of the relief the car can still come over later.

Your car and driving licence in England: driving on the left, NOVA, and the sums to do first

Your Dutch driving licence simply stays valid in England until you turn seventy, and exchanging it needs no test. You may bring the car too — but a left-hand-drive car needs converted headlights and an extra inspection, and only then does the real arithmetic begin.

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Written and checked by Auke on 26 September 2026, against the sources at the bottom. Is something no longer right? Report it below and I'll fix it.

Yes, your car may come to England and so may your Dutch driving licence. The licence is the easy part: as a resident you drive on it until you're seventy, and exchanging it needs no test and costs £43.

The car is the work. It takes three steps:

Within 14 days of arrival you tell HMRC, the British tax authority, about it.
Then a left-hand-drive car less than ten years old needs a British inspection (£100).
Only then does the DVLA, the British vehicle and licensing agency, register it (£55).

The trap is the conversion: headlights that dip to the left, a speedometer in miles and a rear fog light on the right. No sticker fixes that.

How long may you drive on your Dutch licence?

If you became a resident before 67, you drive on your EU licence until you're 70. If you were 67 or older, you may do so for three years from the day you became resident. After that you exchange it.

One exception to know. If you once got your Dutch licence by exchanging a licence from outside the EU, you may only drive on it in Great Britain for 12 months.

You may also exchange earlier, without a test. This is how it works:

You get the D1 form from a Post Office that offers DVLA services.
You send it with £43 and your Dutch licence.
The British licence usually arrives within three weeks.

Whoever has told the DVLA about a medical condition waits longer.

May the car come without import charges?

Yes, under the Transfer of Residence relief (the exemption for belongings you bring when you move), the same as for your household goods. The conditions:

You lived outside the UK for at least 12 months.
You had the car for at least 6 months.
You bring it in within 12 months of your move.
You don't lend, hire out or sell it in the first 12 months.

Which counters follow after arrival?

Step	Deadline or cost	Watch out
Telling HMRC (NOVA)	within 14 days of arrival	if you drive over yourself, you tell HMRC's CARS team; late can mean a fine
European Certificate of Conformity	through the manufacturer	needed as proof of approval
GB conversion IVA (left-hand drive, under 10 years old)	£100; 5 to 10 working days when paying by card	garage statement with the chassis number, no older than 3 months
Registration with the DVLA	£55, plus the first vehicle tax	registration certificate (V5C) up to 6 weeks; you don't get your Dutch registration certificate back
Vehicle tax, car registered after 1 April 2017	£200 a year from the second payment	can also be paid per six months or monthly
MOT (the British roadworthiness test)	at most £54.85	from 3 years after first registration (for an imported car: after the build date), then every year

The order is fixed: without a processed NOVA notification and without proof of approval the DVLA won't register the car. Send originals with the registration, not copies. And as long as those steps aren't done, the car may not go on a public road, except to a pre-booked MOT or approval test. GOV.UK warns that you can otherwise be prosecuted.

What does the inspection of a left-hand-drive car require?

The GB conversion IVA is a written procedure with the Vehicle Certification Agency, without a counter. You declare that the car meets British requirements on three points, and a garage confirms that with a detailed statement.

Headlights that dip to the left. Stickers and beam benders are explicitly not accepted. It can be done with UK headlights, with a standard setting of the car itself, or with headlights that are flat beam from the factory.
A speedometer in miles per hour, alongside or instead of kilometres. Separate devices, handwritten figures or stickers on the glass don't count.
A rear fog light on the right or in the centre, or on both sides.

If the car is more than ten years old, counted from first registration, you don't need this inspection and go straight to the DVLA.

Have your garage write down exactly what it did. "Changed headlights" is not enough according to the VCA. The statement must be on headed paper, quote the 17-character chassis number, be no older than three months, and say per point what was changed or that it was already standard. The VCA does not accept photos or parts receipts.

Take it or sell it?

The British costs are manageable on paper: NOVA costs nothing, the inspection £100, the registration £55. What decides the sum is something else:

the conversion of headlights and speedometer, which varies by model;
the weeks the car stands still until registration is done.

Weigh that against what your car still fetches in the Netherlands. If the sum disappoints, selling in the Netherlands and buying a right-hand-drive car in England is the simpler route. Do those sums before the removal company comes. Within the twelve months of the relief the car can still come over later.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 4 of 5 of the journey, step 4.3: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to England or go straight to step 4.3 in the open plan.

What this rests on

The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.

GOV.UK — importing vehicles into the UK, telling HMRC within 14 days — gov.uk
GOV.UK — vehicle approval on import, the CoC and the GB conversion IVA of £100 — gov.uk
GOV.UK — registering an imported vehicle with the DVLA, £55 and up to 6 weeks — gov.uk
VCA — application form for GB conversion IVA for passenger cars, headlights, speedometer and fog light — assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
GOV.UK — exemption from vehicle approval for cars over 10 years old — gov.uk
HMRC — Transfer of Residence, also for your car — gov.uk
GOV.UK — driving in Great Britain on an EU licence as a resident — gov.uk
GOV.UK — exchanging an EU driving licence, form D1 and £43 — gov.uk
GOV.UK — when a car needs an MOT — gov.uk
legislation.gov.uk — Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986, regulation 3(3): for an imported car the build date counts — legislation.gov.uk
GOV.UK — the maximum MOT fee — gov.uk
GOV.UK — the vehicle tax rates — gov.uk

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