Advise the DVLA of any change of vehicle colour

With the wrapping of cars rising in popularity and, more importantly, with Bangers 4 Ben (B4B) on the horizon, now is a good time to remind you of the DVLA rules on changing the colour of a car.

Although a wrap is only a temporary shell over the vehicle, they do fundamentally change the look of the vehicle. For example, you report your vehicle as stolen, and the DVLA’s register details your car as being white. So, the police will be looking for a said white car, but because your car has been wrapped, its colour is in fact, blue. Wrapping your car could also affect your insurance if you have not declared the change of colour.

It has long since been the rule to advise the DVLA of any change of vehicle colour. In 2017, their guidance further included temporary wraps that change the colour of a vehicle.

Any change that makes a vehicle a predominantly different colour must be reported. So, a wrap would be obvious. However, what if the owner has changed the doors to a different colour from the car’s body? If the new predominant colour is different to the car’s original colour, it needs reporting.

If you are changing your vehicle’s main colour, make sure you complete the form on the DVLA website and you won’t be charged. You can, however, be fined up to £1,000 for failing to notify them of a change to the vehicle or your details.

Interestingly enough, for last year’s B4B, we took a modest banger, “wrapped” it in a gorgeous faux zebra fur fabric, and drove across the country – via Aberystwyth, the Brecon Beacons, Buxton and York – raising money for this worthy charity.

So, as we prepare to unveil our entry for this year’s B4B rally to Monaco, part of the preparation will be notifying the DVLA of the changes made to our banger’s appearance.