The Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA; ) is a government agency of the Department for Infrastructure in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. The agency is responsible for conducting vehicle testing, driver testing and the issuance of driving licences. It was created in early 2007 through the merger of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Northern Ireland (DVLNI) and the Driver and Vehicle Testing Agency (DVTA).

Driver and vehicle testing

In Northern Ireland, the DVA is responsible for carrying out the practical

driving test A driving test (also known as a driving exam or driver's test in some places) is a procedure designed to test a person's ability to driving, drive a motor vehicle. It exists in various forms worldwide, and is often a requirement to obtain a dr ...

, and theory test to allow residents to obtain their full licence. The theory test is the same as the rest of the UK, and is set by the DVSA. Practical driving tests follow a similar format to the rest of the UK, however, some aspects of the test are different and the DVA can change it at any time. The DVA also carry out vehicle MOT testing, unlike in Great Britain, vehicles requiring MOT/PSV testing must attend a DVA MOT centre. The DVA currently operate 15 centres across Northern Ireland

Driver and Vehicle Licensing

The DVA is responsible for driver licensing in Northern Ireland, as this is a

devolved Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories ...

matter, and issues both provisional and full driving licences. Any licence issued by the DVA is a UK driving licence, and is treated exactly the same as a GB licence. Unlike the DVLA, the DVA still issues paper counterparts with all versions of the NI driving licence.

Previous Responsibilities

Prior to 2014, the DVA was also responsible for vehicle registration and vehicle tax.Vehicle tax and registration
nidirect. Retrieved 25 October 2015. This responsibility was transferred to the

DVLA The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA; ) is the organisation of the Government of the United Kingdom, British government responsible for maintaining a database of drivers in Great Britain and a Vehicle register, database of vehicles f ...

. Personalised (

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

) registrations must now be purchased through the DVLA directly, and customers are recommended to tax their vehicles online. Customers can still tax their vehicles in person at a

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

branch in Northern Ireland.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Driver and Vehicle Agency Road transport in the United Kingdom Northern Ireland Executive Motor vehicle registration agencies Driving in the United Kingdom

Driver and vehicle testing

Driver and Vehicle Licensing

Previous Responsibilities

See also

References

External links