DVLA will no longer give you information on previous owners.

[Strugs]

So.. having completed a V888 form asking for details of previous owners for our '66 Daimler, in order to build a history file for it, it transpires that the DVLA have changed their rules as published in an article from the Jaguar Enthusiasts Club (https://jec.org.uk/news/2017/dvla-history-information-change):

"This means that you can no longer obtain a copy of your car’s history from DVLA. We have taken this issue up with the Federation of British Historic Motor Vehicle Clubs who have sought clarification from DVLA as this obviously affects the whole historic car movement. DVLA have redefined ‘Reasonable Cause’ for accessing vehicle records, and the response from DVLA to the specific query from the FBHVC was that a request from the current registered keeper of a vehicle for details of previous registered keepers of that vehicle for the purpose of researching its history was NOT considered to be ‘reasonable cause’.

You can see what DVLA defines as ‘Reasonable Cause’ by looking at their website at www.gov.uk/request-information-from-dvla "

What a PITA..

[Strugs]

Moikey Fortune said:

evil len said:

They are probably getting ready for the GDPR / DPB which becomes active in May 2018. They likely don't have the consent of the previous owners to hand out personal information to a random member of the public who just happens to own the car now. Makes sense ... they are being forced to do it by the new law, they don't have a choice.

I agree it is most likely to do with this

^^Yes, this..^^

Still a PITA though.. I wonder what, as a private individual, would constitute 'reasonable cause' to seek the info on your own vehicle..?

[Strugs]

Gojira said:

Strugs said:

^^Yes, this..^^

Still a PITA though.. I wonder what, as a private individual, would constitute 'reasonable cause' to seek the info on your own vehicle..?

It's not the vehicle details that are the problem, it is the personal details of the keepers...

That's why you can get all the gory detail of a vehicles MOT history trivially, because there are no personal details involved.

To be honest, I'm slightly surprised the keeper info has been available recently - I'd have expected the Data Protection Act to apply to the DVLA!

The DPA will always have applied, it's always been the case that - with just cause - information could be released/shared. It just seems that they have changed the criterion for justification..