When
the Local Taxation Offices were closed in 1977/8 on completion of
computerization of the registration system, their vehicle records were
offered to the appropriate local record office or police force. In
many cases the records were declined and it is these records which are
now held at The Kithead Trust supplemented by others which have since
been deposited by police forces or by DVLA.
Owing
to the sheer volume involved, it was in most cases only possible to
retain records in respect of vehicles first registered before about
1948 but there are one or two exceptions, usually where the records are
in book form. The vast majority of records are in the form of an
index card for each vehicle. These may give details of the vehicle
when new or, more usually, as with the final registered owner. It is
extremely rare for details of intermediate owners to be shown.
In
many cases the information will simply be a transfer card indicating
movement from one registration authority to another; in such cases
often it is only the make which is given and sometimes not even that.
There
is a considerable variation between differing registration authorities
as to the amount of information which they recorded in respect of
“void” marks and the date when the vehicle was last licensed also
affects the position. Before 1939, details are often sparse because
the actual files were at that time retained whilst after about 1970
entering of last owner details was entirely discontinued.
WHAT
AREAS DO YOU HAVE AND WHO ELSE HAS THIS KIND OF INFORMATION? Click on Location List to see a list of our holdings and all other locations of motor taxation records known to us, giving brief details
of the range of records held.
WHAT
IF I DON'T KNOW WHO ISSUED A PARTICULAR SERIES? Click on Issuing Authorities if you wish to see a summary list registration marks showing the issuing authorities.
HOW
WE WORK
Although
the cards which the Trust holds relate to only a very small percentage
of the vehicles which have existed, it is nevertheless estimated that
we hold well in excess of two million records and whilst we are happy
to provide such information as we can, there is a considerable time
involved in locating and extracting details. The Trust is not
publicly funded in any way and relies entirely upon its users and
supporters to cover its operational costs. Having been let down on a
number of occasions, the Trustees regret that the following procedure
is now the only one which they can accept.
1.
All motor taxation enquiries must be accompanied by a remittance of
£7.50 for each registration mark, together with a stamped addressed
envelope.
2.
Please note that the Trust is operated by volunteers in their spare
time and that although we will respond as promptly as we can, we cannot
undertake to do so within a particular time scale.
3. Please do
not telephone as it is unlikely that we will be able to deal with telephoned enquiries.
4.
If we know that we cannot assist then your remittance will be
returned to you and we will normally inform you whether any other
repository is likely to be able to help with the particular enquiry.
5.
If the registration mark falls into one of the ranges we hold, then
we will undertake a search and inform you of our findings.
6.
If the result of the search is negative, for example there is a
missing index card or there is no information on the card, then we will
advise you but it will be appreciated that we have incurred the costs
of a search so that fees cannot be returned.
REGAINING
A LOST INDEX MARK
Only
a minority of our records, usually those which include a chassis or
frame number, have sufficient information for DVLA purposes.
If
you are trying to regain a lost mark, we recommend that you make a
preliminary enquiry with the standard search fee of £7.50 but inform us
of the object of your enquiry and provide us with as many details of
the vehicle as possible, including the chassis or frame number.
When
we respond, we will indicate whether there is sufficient detail in our
records to provide a unique match with your vehicle. If there is we
will offer to provide a certified copy at a further fee of £25. If
you accept this offer and send us the necessary remittance, we will
send you two certified true copies of the document we hold, one for
DVLA and one for you to retain. Such certificates are normally
accepted by DVLA in cases where original marks are sought to be kept or
re-gained
