CRiS caravan registration: how to register, transfer and check a touring caravan

CRiS registration fees, checked 28 September 2026

What CRiS registration is

CRiS, the Central Registration and Identification Scheme, calls itself "the National Register of UK touring caravan keepers, similar to the DVLA", recognised by regulators, insurance companies and police forces. Registration links the caravan's unique 17-digit VIN, its CRiS number, to a keeper record. It fills the gap left by the DVLA, which does not register touring caravans used in the UK; that is why a caravan has no number plate or V5C of its own; see do caravans have a logbook.

Why register

These are the reasons CRiS gives:

• It proves you are the registered keeper, which matters if you are stopped with the caravan abroad.
• It helps the police identify the caravan and return it to you if it is stolen.
• Some insurers will only pay a claim when you produce the CRiS Registration Document.
• It makes the caravan easier to sell.
• The manufacturer can reach you about recalls and warranty issues.
• VIN CHIP® theft marking is only available to CRiS registered keepers.

The CRiS Registration Document and the Keep Safe card

When a caravan is registered, CRiS sends the keeper a registration document recording the VIN and the caravan's description. Since 2016 it has been an anti-counterfeit document issued with a Keep Safe card, a wallet-sized card carrying the caravan's key details, and the nearest thing to a "CRiS card". An older document can be upgraded to the new style for the replacement fee of £15.95.

Two sections of the document matter when a caravan changes hands: CVR7, the Notification of Sale or Transfer, which the seller completes, and CVR8, which the new keeper can use to register by post. CRiS's advice on keeping it is short: never leave it in the caravan, and take it with you when you travel abroad, because it is your proof of keepership.

How to check if a caravan is CRiS registered

Your own caravan

• If you have a CRiS Registration Document or Keep Safe card in your name at your current address, you are registered.
• If you bought the caravan new from a dealer, the dealer registered you free at the time.
• If you bought it used, registration was not automatic. It only happened if you registered online or by phone, or sent in the CVR8 section with the fee. If you did none of those, assume you are not registered and register now.
• If you cannot remember, phone CRiS on 0203 282 1000, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5.30pm, with the 17-digit VIN from the windows. Its contact centre deals with registrations, keeper changes and documents. If you are registered and have lost the document, the online replacement costs £15.95.

A caravan you are thinking of buying

Run a CRiS check (£17.95). It reports whether the caravan is registered to a named keeper and how many keepers it has had, and CRiS will confirm the current keeper's name if you give it, so you can check it is the seller. CRiS says any caravan built in the UK since 1992 was registered automatically when it was built and first bought; a pre-1992 or imported caravan is only on the register if a keeper has put it there.

How to register a used caravan in your name

Selling, changing your details or replacing the document

• Selling: complete the CVR7 section with the new keeper's details, sign and date it and post it to CRiS, or use the online form or phone. A 2017 CRiS article says that if a previous keeper has not reported a sale, CRiS contacts them to confirm it.
• New name or address: phone CRiS; £15.95 for a new security-marked document and Keep Safe card.
• Lost, damaged or stolen document: order a replacement online for £15.95 including VAT and postage, with the VIN to hand.
• VIN on the document does not match the caravan: phone CRiS with both numbers. CRiS notes that a replaced window can cause confusion, so check every window shows the same number.

Pre-1992 and imported caravans

Caravans made before 1992, and caravans imported from overseas, are not registered automatically. To register one you phone CRiS to arrange a registration check and, if it passes, the registration itself. The two together cost £72.99, and CRiS refunds the £53.00 registration part if the check means it cannot register the caravan. The check:

• confirms the caravan's details match an existing, identifiable manufacturer;
• looks for security alerts with the UK police and Interpol;
• checks for outstanding finance with specialist caravan lenders;
• checks whether it has been written off by insurers;
• checks any CRiS records already held against it, and your own identity.

If the caravan has no 17-digit VIN, CRiS issues one. The fee includes an anti-counterfeit registration document, a Keep Safe card and a VIN CHIP® kit. CRiS warns that if it later finds the registration rested on false information, it can remove the registration or keep it with a "red flag" that anyone running a CRiS check on the caravan will see.

Registering a written-off caravan: Cat S, Cat N and the older C and D

CRiS's article on the check, published in 2018 and still on its site, says Category A or B caravans "cannot be registered and should only be scrapped/used for spares", while Category C or D caravans need a CRiS Approved Workshop Scheme (AWS) workshop to inspect them after any repair "to confirm the caravan is clear to register". The insurance industry's salvage code replaced C and D with S (repairable structural) and N (repairable non-structural) from 1 October 2017, and that article still uses the old letters. Its pre-1992 and import checks also confirm a caravan "has not been restored after being written off by insurers".

So before you buy, repair or try to register a Cat S or Cat N caravan, phone CRiS on 0203 282 1000 with the VIN and ask what it needs to see. Until it says otherwise, plan on the route its guidance describes: repair, an inspection by an Approved Workshop Scheme workshop, then registration. Ask the seller for the repair invoice and any inspection report before you agree a price.

Registering in the Republic of Ireland

CRiS asks keepers registering in the Republic of Ireland to phone 0203 282 1000 rather than use the online form.

Motorhomes are not CRiS registered

CRiS is the register of touring caravan keepers. A motorhome or campervan is a motor vehicle registered with the DVLA, with a number plate and a V5C. CRiS does sell VIN CHIP® marking kits for motorhomes (from £49.99 on 28 September 2026), but that is theft marking, not registration. To check a motorhome's history, use its registration: our full check covers stolen, finance, write-off, mileage, plates and keepers for £4.99.