Veterinary ambulances and Vehicle Tax
The Road Fund was a British Government fund designated to pay for the building and maintenance of the United Kingdom road network in the early twenty’s and thirties of the 20th century when the vehicle licence tax disc became known as the “Road Fund Licence”, a term which is still very much in common use today, although the DVLA now refers to it simply as Vehicle Tax.
Not a lot of people are aware that the Vehicle Driving Licence Agency currently lists 20 different classes of vehicle, each of which attracts a different level of this tax of which some are exempt from any payment.
One of these exempt categories is “Emergency vehicles”, and it is quick and easy to check what specific vehicles this collective description covers, as it is quite short: Ambulance, Fire Engine, Fire Service, Mine Rescue, Lifeboat Haulage, Lighthouse Authority, Police
With our interest in ambulances for animal welfare it is very helpful to note that there is an official published definition of an ambulance, which is itself subdivided into human ambulances and, rather gratifying for us and those in the veterinary professional, into veterinary ambulances. And it’s this latter definition which is often misunderstood or misinterpreted. So for those who like to be precise and want to know what the DVLA regard as a veterinary ambulance, here it is:
A “Veterinary Ambulance” means:
- a) a vehicle which is used for no purpose other than the carriage of sick or injured animals to or from places where veterinary treatment is given
- b) is readily identifiable as a vehicle used for the carriage of such animals by virtue of being marked “Veterinary Ambulance” on both sides.
There is, from our experience, a general lack of awareness of this definition, dare we say it not just amongst van dealership personnel but even within customer services at the DVLA, so phoning either for guidance can often result in some unintentionally wrong advice being given, although of course this can be because the detail of the question was misleading in the first place! In particular we have recently come across an application to classify a vehicle as a veterinary ambulance being met with a requirement by DVLA for the provision of an IVA certificate. This we have checked and can confirm is NOT a requirement, unless of course the vehicle itself has been subject to a modification which falls within the scope of an IVA. And no veterinary ambulance we have ever designed or built has needed to fall within the scope of these Regulations.
For many years now the DVLA have also been willing to accept the wording “Animal Ambulance” as an alternative to “veterinary ambulance”. Either of these markings has proven to be acceptable but one or other must appear on both sides of the vehicle to satisfactorily identify the vehicle as a veterinary ambulance to qualify for vehicle tax exemption.
For those who wish to look up this classification of vehicle and others for themselves we would recommend reading the Driver Vehicle and Licencing Agency document V355/1 Notes on vehicle tax classes which can be seen at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/878861/v355x1-notes-about-tax-classes.pdf
Whilst there is the standard proviso that this leaflet gives general guidance only and should not be treated as a complete and authoritative statement of the law on any particular case, it is one that we have found, in our experience, to be one that can be relied upon.
So if you already have a vehicle and wish to change the classification to a veterinary ambulance but remain uncertain or have experienced some difficulty then our specialist veterinary vehicle team within our Animedix Division are always available to provide help and assistance on 0116 3261802. Alternatively write to sales@animedix.co.uk
If you’re buying a new veterinary ambulance from us then we will automatically arrange for it to be registered as a Veterinary Ambulance, unless otherwise instructed, and you will be exempt from the annual cost of vehicle tax. A small but always welcome saving!
For our full range of our veterinary vehicles including animal ambulances and dog transport vehicles please visit our web site at https://www.multivehicletechnology.co.uk/animedix/
