Om 20 January 2015, Steve Gyles in Hampshire, UK wrote:
"I heard something on a motoring programme in 'Quest' (Dealers Wheels) that HIDS may not be legal in certain situations. I have just done an internet search and came up with the following:

"The latest directive from VOSA includes their view that unless strict criteria are met, after-market HID kits may not be legal. There is some confusion regarding the change in legislation towards HID kits. Although we are still trying to determine the full details here is some text that may help! Here is the relevant text -

"In the Department's view it is not legal to sell or use after market HID lighting kits, for converting conventional Halogen headlamps to HID Xenon. If a customer wants to convert his vehicle to Xenon HID he must purchase completely new Xenon HID headlamps. The reason for this is that the existing lens and reflector are designed around a Halogen filament bulb, working to very precise tolerances. If one places a HID "burner" (bulb) in the headlamp, the beam pattern will not be correct, there will be glare in some places and not enough light in other places within the beam pattern. The following is the legal rationale:

The Road Vehicle Lighting Regulations 1989 regulate the situation in the UK. Under these Regulations, HID/Gas Discharge/Xenon headlamps are not mentioned and therefore they are not permitted according to the strict letter of the law."