Ten questions about historic vehicles

Over the years, some statements, mostly erroneous, have been made about historical vehicles that have ended up creating confusion among fans of the automotive sector. At Laboratorio Industrial de Vehículos we want to clarify the most frequent doubts that clients send us.

If I register my vehicle as historic, do I lose the original registration?

If you register your vehicle as historic you will not lose your original Spanish registration. They will give you a new historic vehicle license plate and you will keep the original license plate, which you can carry as long as you also carry the distinctive historic vehicle plate, which is standardized (see Art.9 of the Historic Vehicle Regulations). Basically, it is a plate with the letters VH in black on a reflective yellow background.

This aspect is important for some users of historic vehicles, since the vehicle's original license plate is also part of its history.

Therefore, if your vehicle is registered in Spain, you can choose to carry the new license plate assigned to the historic vehicle or continue carrying that license plate if it is accompanied by the aforementioned badge.

If the vehicle is registered abroad, you will have to carry the new Spanish historic vehicle registration plate and you can display the original foreign one as an ornament.

Can I drive a historic vehicle whenever I want?

With a historic vehicle you can circulate without kilometer or time zone limitations as long as the vehicle has at least the following lighting devices:

Motorcycles with or without sidecar

• rear position light
• Beam
• Highway lights
• brake light

Mopeds

• rear position light
• Beam

Rest of vehicles (except trailers)

• Front and rear position lights
• Beam
• Highway lights
• Front and rear direction indicator lights
• Brake light (third brake light will not be necessary)
• Non-triangular rear reflectors

And this means that, in practice, any vehicle can circulate at night.

As an exception to what is stated above, by resolution of the General Directorate of Traffic, the circulation of those who are not capable of exceeding the speed of 80 km/h may be prohibited on certain dates and roads. And right-hand drive vehicles must adapt their lighting and signaling devices to driving on the right. Otherwise, they will not be able to circulate between sunset and sunrise, nor in circumstances or roads that make the use of such systems necessary.

Can I drive on the highway with my historic vehicle?

With a historic vehicle you can travel on the highway or highway as long as the vehicle can reach the minimum speed necessary on those roads, which is 60 km/h. Therefore, whether your vehicle is historic or not, it will be able to travel on the highway or highway as long as it reaches that speed.

Do I have to belong to a historic vehicle club to be able to drive my vehicle?

Although it is interesting to be associated with one, according to the Historic Vehicle Regulations you do not have to be linked to any historic vehicle association or club to be able to drive your vehicle.

Is cataloging a vehicle as historic complex?

Cataloging a vehicle as historic should not be complex. In our experience, the difficulty in being able to carry out a cataloging of a vehicle as historic is the starting conditions. There can be many reasons that ultimately lead to an increase in difficulty, resources and efforts to be used so that a vehicle can finally be classified as historic.

It should be remembered that a historic vehicle must have minimum age conditions; originality and conservation; and must be able to circulate on public roads. Not anything is worth it.

In this regard, if we can sufficiently prove that the vehicle meets the requirements to be classified as historic, the documentation that must be prepared for the cataloging of the vehicle is not complex at all.

One aspect must be taken into account, the current legislation that applies to the vehicle to be cataloged is RD1247/1995. And period. A Regulation with 10 articles. It is not complex at all.

And we believe this at Laboratorio Industrial de Vehículos, that's why we want to give you a complete service so that you don't have to worry about anything other than having your vehicle ready to go to the MOT.

Is cataloging a vehicle as historic slow?

In general, YES. At Laboratorio Industrial de Vehículos, we can issue the historic vehicle cataloging report in a period of 1 to 5 days, after inspection. What aspects are going to delay the process:

The poor condition of the vehicle

A cataloging report cannot be issued if the problems that have been detected in our inspection have not been fixed.

Errors in documentation prepared by third parties

As long as the documentation is not corrected, we cannot issue the cataloging report.

Processing in public administration

By far it is the slowest step in the process. The time spent in the public administration during the processing can represent more than 80% of the total duration of the process.

In order to speed up the process as much as possible, at Laboratorio Industrial de Vehículos, we process the application on your behalf at the Industry Service of your Community.

Is cataloging a vehicle as historic expensive?

It is usually not expensive to classify a vehicle as historic. It will depend a lot on who you go to to carry out the procedure. In our laboratory, we can inform you without obligation about our prices and services so that you can be clear about how much it will cost you to classify your vehicle as historic. It is understandable to think that it will depend on each case.

For example, it is understandable that a vehicle that comes from abroad and about which we lack much information about it, means using extra resources and efforts to be able to classify it as historic. On the opposite side, a vehicle registered in Spain since it was manufactured, with all the relevant documentation in force and preserved in its original state will involve obviously less effort and use of resources, which will have an impact on the price. At least as far as our laboratory is concerned.

Obtain, without obligation, an assessment of the cost of our individualized services for your vehicle.

Can I use my historic vehicle for whatever I want?

The use of vehicles classified as historic for industrial, commercial, agricultural, forestry and similar uses, as well as for the transport of goods and passengers, is incompatible with the technical preservation of said vehicles. Therefore, circulation will not be allowed for the following uses:

• Industrial uses.
• Commercial uses.
• Agricultural or forestry uses.
• Transport of goods and public transport of passengers. (As an exception, the activity of renting a vehicle with a driver will be permitted, as provided for in the transport regulations, provided that it is declared that this will be the use of the vehicle and this must be indicated on the ITV card).

Do I have to register my historic vehicle at a traffic headquarters in my province?

No. Instruction 13/V-102, of September 27, 2013, of the General Directorate of Traffic (Annex II), allows users to go to the Provincial Traffic Headquarters that they consider appropriate.

Can I pass inspection at any ITV station I want?

Yeah. The resolutions for cataloging historic vehicles issued by an Autonomous Community are valid for the rest of the Autonomous Communities, so you must be able to pass the ITV inspection that you consider appropriate.