Hi folks.
I found your forum trying to solve my paperwork conundrum, I couldn't get my minibus MOT'd as it was over 3.5 tonnes and stuck as a bus. It actually isn't hard to resolve this when you know how but information on how to get there is sadly lacking and the relevant government authorities are less than user friendly.
I bought the bus during lockdown, vans were all being snapped up for Amazon deliveries and buses languished as the schools that appear to be the main buyers were all closed. Insurance didn't want me killing 17 people at the same time so the seats were removed to leave 5. All good so far.
THINGS I WISH I HAD KNOWN:
1) DVSA administers HGVs and PSVs (buses) and doesn't interact with DVLA or even (in my experience) know for sure what DVLA policies or processed are. I changed the reg on my bus with DVLA as you would with a car and ended up with an MOT issued by DVSA to the original plate, not the one on the vehicle. "The computer says" is EVERYTHING to the DVSA. That led to problems taxing it but that's a story in itself. I tried to complain on the basis that this had been done without so much as an advisory or even a verbal advice from the tester that something was clearly wrong (the plate on the vehicle didn't match DVSA record or the MOT) but you may as well talk to the wall.
2) PSVs are subject to regulation over and above HGVs. Not unreasonably, EVERY mod to a bus must be approved and recorded. As soon as you remove passenger seats to below 9, find the VTP5 form on gov.uk and use it to advise that your vehicle is no longer a bus and get it de-listed from the PSV scheme restrictions, not doing this was the cause of nearly all my woes.
This form has to be uploaded via a webform and I would advise getting DVSA (specifically PSVtech) on the phone to talk you through the form as you fill it in, choosing an incorrect option from the various dropdown lists will leave you in limbo and they will never tell you. The good news is that they answer their phones and the process once correctly submitted takes about a week. Not all the DVSA operators are ontop of the game I discovered so make sure you are talking to PSVtech or a bus savvy advisor.
Do this correctly and you are clear to get a normal HGV MOT and don't forget your Private Use form for tacho exemption.
I am now left with a useable and taxable vehicle but the V5 still says its body type is Minibus and seats are 17. Rumour has it that reducing the seat number on the V5 will cause the bodytype to be changed from a Minibus - which makes a mockery of the "what it looks like in traffic" definition of the bodytype requirement for MHs. They won't allow a bus without seats but they are happy with a Goods Vehicle that isn't equipped to carry goods.
The "Window Van" discussion has been done to death, does anyone know the consequences of not updating the V5 at all? We fitted graphics to follow the MH requirements but if I knew then what I know now I wouldn't have bothered.
I found your forum trying to solve my paperwork conundrum, I couldn't get my minibus MOT'd as it was over 3.5 tonnes and stuck as a bus. It actually isn't hard to resolve this when you know how but information on how to get there is sadly lacking and the relevant government authorities are less than user friendly.
I bought the bus during lockdown, vans were all being snapped up for Amazon deliveries and buses languished as the schools that appear to be the main buyers were all closed. Insurance didn't want me killing 17 people at the same time so the seats were removed to leave 5. All good so far.
THINGS I WISH I HAD KNOWN:
1) DVSA administers HGVs and PSVs (buses) and doesn't interact with DVLA or even (in my experience) know for sure what DVLA policies or processed are. I changed the reg on my bus with DVLA as you would with a car and ended up with an MOT issued by DVSA to the original plate, not the one on the vehicle. "The computer says" is EVERYTHING to the DVSA. That led to problems taxing it but that's a story in itself. I tried to complain on the basis that this had been done without so much as an advisory or even a verbal advice from the tester that something was clearly wrong (the plate on the vehicle didn't match DVSA record or the MOT) but you may as well talk to the wall.
2) PSVs are subject to regulation over and above HGVs. Not unreasonably, EVERY mod to a bus must be approved and recorded. As soon as you remove passenger seats to below 9, find the VTP5 form on gov.uk and use it to advise that your vehicle is no longer a bus and get it de-listed from the PSV scheme restrictions, not doing this was the cause of nearly all my woes.
This form has to be uploaded via a webform and I would advise getting DVSA (specifically PSVtech) on the phone to talk you through the form as you fill it in, choosing an incorrect option from the various dropdown lists will leave you in limbo and they will never tell you. The good news is that they answer their phones and the process once correctly submitted takes about a week. Not all the DVSA operators are ontop of the game I discovered so make sure you are talking to PSVtech or a bus savvy advisor.
Do this correctly and you are clear to get a normal HGV MOT and don't forget your Private Use form for tacho exemption.
I am now left with a useable and taxable vehicle but the V5 still says its body type is Minibus and seats are 17. Rumour has it that reducing the seat number on the V5 will cause the bodytype to be changed from a Minibus - which makes a mockery of the "what it looks like in traffic" definition of the bodytype requirement for MHs. They won't allow a bus without seats but they are happy with a Goods Vehicle that isn't equipped to carry goods.
The "Window Van" discussion has been done to death, does anyone know the consequences of not updating the V5 at all? We fitted graphics to follow the MH requirements but if I knew then what I know now I wouldn't have bothered.
