Car registration

Car registration in United Kingdom

Every car in the United Kingdom is registered with DVLA, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, which keeps one register for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. DVLA records the keeper, the person responsible for the car, and issues the V5C registration certificate, known as the log book. A car is registered once, when it first arrives on UK roads. After that, only the keeper changes.

The V5C log book

The V5C shows the car's registration number, the keeper's name and address, the make, the VIN and the number of previous keepers. It also gives the date of first registration and, for most cars, the CO₂ figure, which together set the vehicle tax.

Buying a new car

The dealer registers a new car with DVLA, on form V55/4, before you collect it. First registration costs a £55 fee, paid with the first year of vehicle tax, and both are usually part of the on-the-road price. DVLA then posts the V5C to you as the keeper.

Buying a used car

The seller tells DVLA that the car has a new keeper. Online, the steps are:

  1. The seller registers the car to you on GOV.UK, using the V5C.
  2. The seller gives you the green new keeper slip.
  3. The seller destroys the old V5C.

By post, the seller fills in section 2 of the V5C, gives you the green slip and sends the V5C to DVLA. Your new V5C arrives in 5 to 7 working days when the seller used the online service, and in up to 4 weeks by post.

A car offered without its V5C is a warning sign, and DVLA advises against buying one. If you do, you apply for a new log book yourself, on form V62, for £25.

Tax the car before you drive it

Vehicle tax does not pass to the buyer with the car. Tax it before you drive away, online or by phone, using the reference on the green slip or the new V5C. If you will not use the car on the road, declare it off the road (SORN). The seller gets a refund of any full months of tax left.

Buying from a dealer

A dealer notifies DVLA through the same service, as a motor trader, and you receive a V5C in your name. Buying from a trader also gives you rights a private sale does not: under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, you can reject a faulty car for a full refund within 30 days.

Selling a car

Tell DVLA as soon as the car changes hands, online or by post, and keep the confirmation. Until DVLA has the new keeper on record, you are still responsible for the car.

Bringing a car in from abroad

An imported car has to be approved, taxed and registered before it can be used on UK roads:

  1. Tell HMRC within 14 days of the car arriving, through the NOVA service (Notification of Vehicle Arrivals). DVLA will not register the car until NOVA is processed.
  2. Pay any VAT and customs duty, which the car tax guide explains.
  3. Get the car approved. A car with an EU certificate of conformity can be registered on it, but a left-hand-drive car also needs a GB conversion IVA (£100). A car from outside the EU needs IVA, Individual Vehicle Approval (a motorcycle needs MSVA, its equivalent). A car over 10 years old may be exempt.
  4. Register and tax it with DVLA on form V55/5. The fee is £55, and nothing for a car being reimported.

On the application, give the date the car was first registered, in whichever country, which decides its vehicle tax. For a car first registered from April 2017, the list price when new is required, or the application is rejected. A seriously damaged car cannot be registered, and VAT or duty already paid is not refunded.

What you will need

  • The V5C, or the green new keeper slip until the new one arrives
  • Insurance, before you drive
  • Vehicle tax, or a SORN
  • A current MOT certificate for a car over 3 years old, or over 4 in Northern Ireland
  • For an import, the NOVA reference, the approval certificate and the foreign registration document

The MOT test

In Great Britain, a car takes its first MOT by the third anniversary of its registration, then every year. DVSA sets the rules, and the test is done at approved garages:

  • You can take the test up to a month, less a day, before the current one runs out and keep the same renewal date
  • The fee for a car is at most £54.85
  • Driving without a valid MOT can be fined up to £1,000
  • A car built or first registered more than 40 years ago and not substantially changed is exempt

In Northern Ireland, the DVA tests cars every year from four years old, at its own test centres.

References