How to search for motor vehicle records at Southampton Archives

We hold declaration forms dating from 1921-1959, with some gaps. The collection contains forms for cars and motorcycles, with the forms showing when and where a vehicle was first registered and what type of vehicle it was, as well as the owner’s name and address.

Because of this, access to some of the more recent records is restricted. Records which contain information on individuals are subject to a 100-year closure period. Please note that you are much more likely to find an index card for a vehicle than a declaration form, and we do not usually have both.

Below is an example of a declaration form for a Mustang motor-scooter.

We also hold index cards showing which local authority originally held the full file of documents on a vehicle. Index cards often give the authority the vehicle documents were transferred to Southampton from and the authority they were transferred to afterwards (if any).

Index cards do not usually contain much information, but they are a useful way of tracking which authorities held the paperwork for a vehicle and when.

Below is an example of an index card:

The pre-1920 registers held in the archives include a register of cars and motorcycles covering the period December 1903-July 1913, a register of heavy motor cars covering December 1903-August 1918, and registers of motor cars and cycles for the period July 1914-May 1919, with some gaps.

Finally, we have several motor-vehicle-related items in our other collections, from a driving licence dating from the early 1900s to leaflets advertising racing events in Southampton, and photos of vehicles in local locations.