@anon90504988 is always very helpful … just like you @fabien
No. it has not yet changed. During the transition period a quitus fiscal rather than an 846A is still issued for vehicles from the UK.
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Converting a van which is classed as a CTTE to a camper (VASP) can be problematic depending on what changes are made & how they are done.
A good rule-of-thumb is the guide that forms part of the rules used by the CT centres which defines a camper thus - Motorhome
Must be registered as a “VASP CARAVANE” any vehicle comprising at least all of the following
following equipment :
- seats and a table,
- bunks obtained by converting the seats,
- a kitchenette,
- storage space,
as long as this equipment is irremovable. However, the table can be designed to be
easily retractable.
For more details a read of this might help - https://www.lemondeducampingcar.fr/pratique/reglementation/lhomologation-dun-fourgon-amnag-en-vasp-la-marche-suivre/151804
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Thanks that is also very helpful.
I’ve now been looking at conversion companies so thinking of getting the van delivered directly to them then registering as a campervan.
It’s an integral part of my move to France so I do want to get it right. Travelling and climbing is my way of life and if I rent or sell my UK house out I will need to stay in my van when I come back to spend time there.
I’ll have a good read of this document but understanding the registration codes e.g. VASP caravane is important.
Before you lay out a cent on the vehicle you wish to become a camper van, one way or another, I urge you to satisfy yourself beyond reasonable doubt that it is possible.
I have spent the past two years researching this and come to the conclusion that unless the conversion was very largely done by a company[ies] which can provide comprehensive technical and financial records of their work, it is not worth the risk of outlay on the vehicle.
Have a look at this. https://www.angloinfo.com/brittany/discussions/cars-bikes-driving/importing-non-standard-camper-van-to-france
They succeeded in the end because the conversion was very largely a professional job, with complete documentation back-up.
I have seen a suggestion, elsewhere, that getting a basic van CT’d and then converting it, subsequent CTs would not bother with the change. Maybe… Maybe not.
The fact is that UK DVLA do not care what you do to a vehicle so long as it can still pass an MoT. Registering a van to a camper by DVLA is optional. It has no administrative consequences. It is simply a reclassification from Class7 to Class 4. In practical terms this means a very slightly more rigourous look at wheels and tyres for MoT and a few more £££ - £15 or so, for aC7 MoT Cert than C4
But this is NOT the case in FR. Camper vans are inspected to the nth degree. Someone sent me a photocopy of the official FR manual that is used for this. It is enormous and to buy, costs €200! You can see which side is toting the Magnum 44. I’ll look it out and PM it to you if I find it.
It goes into minute detail. For example, all corners of everything must be radiused …
The other aspect I feel you seem to be taking somewhat lightly is the relationship between residency and vehicle registration. There is no ambiguity here. As Charant and others, including myself, have already said but it bears repeating:
You cannot legally drive a vehicle registered to a country that is not the country in which you are registered as a resident. GB plate/FR res or the other way round - illegal.
Yes, I think it’s easier on the brain to know you’re being ripped off than to just suspect it. 
That’s interesting David.
Of course if the car has LEDs or Xenons then the LHD/RHD isn’t an issue but some years ago a much loved SL I had from new was failed when I imported it here. Luckily a failed CT was sufficient to register her and I got the headlamps changed soon afterwards.
So get your van and have it converted in France. 
(in France refers to both the getting and the converting). I think you might underestimate how much blood sweat tears and toil it would be otherwise.
They are based in France and have been for many years but some have old RHD vans.
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But is that a driving offense or a tax offense? I’ve always assumed the latter and that is if one is caught the vehicle can be (temporarily?) seized but the driver isn’t actually charged with anything. It’s a tax issue not a motoring one.
For many years I had a French registered car here in our holiday home, even though we weren’t resident. I’ve no doubt many Dutch, Germans, Belgians, etc. with holiday homes around me still do. One of my best pals has three French registered cars, two classics and a Espace, at his holiday home and he’s not resident here.
If it’s a motoring offense then I’d be more inclined to take it seriously than if it’s a tax issue and one could prove the car was legally imported.
Though post Brexit there will be import and VAT issues with UK registered cars I suppose.
You are not comparing the same thing. There’s nothing wrong with anyone of any nationality with the correct licence driving a vehicle in the country where it is registered. The problems come when the resident of one country drives a foreign registered vehicle in their own country. A British, or Dutch or Belgian can drive a French registered car in France but they are not allowed to take it back and drive it in their own country. There are quite a lot of exceptions including,
HGVs
Hire cars
Cross border workers
Students.
Britons returning to live in the UK should not technically drive out of the port, the car should be registered before they drive it anywhere. When importing cars into France you are allowed to drive on foreign plates for a month.
Thanks for the clarification David but it doesn’t fix the problem of me driving a car of mine in France that is registered elsewhere. Nor for the aforementioned Dutch, Germans, etc. driving their holiday home vehicles in their home countries. I should be able to use any car I own anywhere.
Plus, I’m not sure what the residency requirements are here to register a car. I suppose a Veolia bill will do but that doesn’t prove a lot.
Mobility of movement should include one’s wheels without a box full of paperwork.
Which brings me back to my point, is it a motoring offense or a tax issue?
IMO the right solution is an EU wide vehicle registration system.
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I agree but under EU rules unless you are in one of the exempt categories you should only drive a vehicle registered in your country of residence while you are in that country. I guess it’s to stop someone registering (for example) a small motorbike in France, paying a €13.50 one time registration fee, shipping it back to the U.K. and using it there without any need to pay road tax or get an MOT ever.
Yes, I agree. That’s the underlying reason and I’m certainly not in favour of people fiddling the system. I just don’t like bodged solutions. It could all be fixed with a EU wide registration system. Obviously a lot of different country regulations would need to aligned but maybe someday.
Thanks Chris.
I certainly am taking it seriously and it will be done right. Getting registered in
I’ve just sold my car.
I think I have got an email copy of the long document somewhere.
As our climbing day has been rained off here we are driving round some conversion places today.
I am going to ask a lot of questions.
We are now thinking that the fitting ( apart from insulation which I need doing more thoroughly to winter sleep in ski spots ) will be done by a professional who will sign it off.
I will be making the purchase as a french resident so will defo treat it as an import from day 1.
It is a shame as we know our work on the sprinter is fantastic and very detailed and safe, but I’m dedicated to doing it right to import legally and tick all the boxes.
As far as I can see the law was brought in in May 2018 to regulate poor conversions. I certainly will be making sure I tick these.
This van will be with me for the next 15 years and used very regulary for trips to Italy Spain uk as well as stopping off locally in queyras ecrins for ine nighters near home.
If necessary I will take it to be checked over again before presenting it for inspection. But will defo make sure it is certified by the convertor.
I may get the pop roof done now too despite lack of funds.
Right. Had good look at a few conversion places in the north west today.
I do know exactly what I would like. Electrics, windows, a bed, a kitchen cupboard and removable table. If possible (unlikely to afford in France) pop top roof…
Its impossible now with uk dvla changes to turn a van into a motorhome and change logbook unless u buy a high top… however you can make as many changes as you want to a van, but for the dvla you can have a state of the art £15,000 pop top deluxe conversion but it remains registered as a van with windows… unless you buy a high top van.(re upto date in june uk new regs)
Which i do not want… the transporter is the van i am going to get.
We have a load of them in the market in the uk,ex fleet, not so in France.
So i must be able to pre book a conversion.
Drive a van to France. Have it legally converted minimally but legally and professionally in France and register here.
I will research conversion centres in the south east of France and organise it this way.
Looking forward to more comments to wake up to! Ive gone Goggle eyed with my research…
Hopefully we can find a positive solution 
if i have a month to organise…###
i could bring my new van to France. Arrange in advance to have a conversion done in a French conversion centre. then register them van as a camping car…
Does anyone on here know of anywhere?
That’s my next step… find a reputable conversion centre…
As well as reading the lengthy norms and regs “tome” 
You only need to ask the converters one question, ‘Are you able to supply a European Certificate of Conformity.’ It doesn’t matter how good the conversion is, without that it’s a non-starter.
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I really fear for you on this. All you have written is based on the assumption that each step of the programme you have described will allow you to proceed, on your terms, to the next.
You are working from the van >conversion > registration. David Matthews’s most recent comment is the nub of it. You must work from the regs backwards to the van.
There are plenty of camper conversion outfits in UK from one-man-bands to full-on workshops. This is because the DVLA is so amenable to camper conversions. This is very much not the case in FR. Rather the opposite.
As I have said already, I have been in this position, spent 2 years researching it and come to the conclusion that the French are monumentally averse to registering/authorising camper vans that are not coach built/manufactured. [And note the comment in the quote] Any element of DIY will be more or less certain to result in failure.
I have trundled up and down from Spain to Calais many times doing my own piece-meal removals and other trips. I have stayed in municipal aires, the camper areas of retail villages - I can’t recall ever seeing a clearly identifiable self built on FR plates [they are, however good the conversion, easily distinguishable from coach-built or manufacturer PVC (panel van conversion) ]. Plenty of GB, DE - countries which are not so heavy-handed on this topic.
I think I will bow out of contributing to this thread with the quote below, which, I maintain, barely scratches the surface. I will be very interested in your progress. Keep us informed.
*"You will have virtually no chance to register it. The DREAL are strict enough with foreign coach built
conversions . You will have to apply for a “réception d’un vehicle a titre isole”. And the conversion should conform to the individual axle weights allowed by the manufacturer of the chassis. Also you would need to prove that all “charges” or weights of storage tanks are equally distributed . There is also a question about emergency exits in camping cars , not to mention the cert of conformity for the gas.
Good luck"
Amen to that.
Thanks for all this.
Yes after looking at uk conversion centres yesterday I have given up on conversion here as i said last night.
I will see if I can convert in France by researching locally over the summer. If i can’t then so be it.
And if it’s a no go i will just have a van with no conversion or car.
Im not rushing into anything.
I can’t afford coach built.
Its disappointing but ive realised i can’t do what i wanted to.
either way i won’t be doing anything to jeopardise an expensive vehicle…
Thanks for the help.
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