Selling a vehicle

You must provide the right information to buyers and DVLA when you sell a vehicle.

This page is also available in Welsh (Cymraeg).

Before you sell the vehicle

Apply to update your log book (V5C) if you’ve:

You may not get a refund for any full months left on your vehicle tax if your details are incorrect.

Protect your log book

You can show potential buyers your log book so they can make sure the details match your vehicle.

However, do not share:

  • your log book document reference number
  • pictures or copies of your log book

Someone could use these to get a fraudulent copy of your log book, putting your vehicle at risk of being stolen or cloned.

If your vehicle has a private (personalised) registration number that you want to keep, you must apply to remove the registration number before you sell it.

When you sell your vehicle

What you do with your log book depends on where the buyer is taking or registering the vehicle.

Staying in the UK

Give the green ‘new keeper’ slip from the log book to the buyer.

You must tell DVLA you’ve sold the vehicle and give them the full name and address of the buyer. If you do not do this, any vehicle tax refund you’re owed might be affected.

Taking the vehicle abroad and registering it there

  1. Fill in the ‘permanent export’ section of your vehicle log book.

  2. Send it to DVLA, Swansea, SA99 1BD. Include a letter giving the buyer’s name and address.

  3. Give the rest of your log book to the buyer - they’ll need it to register the vehicle in the country they’re going to.

You’ll usually get a refund on your vehicle tax in 4 to 6 weeks. The refund is worked out from the date DVLA gets your ‘permanent export’ section.

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