Tell DVLA your vehicle has been written off

You must tell DVLA if your vehicle has been written off and scrapped by your insurance company.

Writing off and scrapping your vehicle is the same as selling it to your insurance company.

You need to enter the following information:

  • your insurance company’s name and postcode - put these in the ‘provide trader details’ section
  • your vehicle registration number
  • the 11 digit reference number from the yellow ‘sell, transfer or part-exchange your vehicle to the motor trade’ section of the log book (V5C)

This service is available from 7am to 7pm.

This service is also available in Welsh (Cymraeg).

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Contents

You can be fined £1,000 if you do not tell DVLA.

You must:

Destroy the yellow ‘sell, transfer or part-exchange’ section of the log book when you’ve finished. You do not need to send it to DVLA.

Your insurance company will ask you for the rest of the log book.

What happens next

You’ll be sent:

  • an email confirmation (if you gave an email address)
  • a letter confirming you’re no longer the keeper of the vehicle
  • a vehicle tax refund for any full months left when DVLA gets your information - if you pay by Direct Debit, it’ll be cancelled automatically

By post

Fill in the yellow ‘sell, transfer or part-exchange your vehicle to the motor trade’ section of your log book (V5C) and send the perforated section to DVLA.

DVLA
Swansea
SA99 1BD

Your insurance company can ask you for the whole log book. If this happens, write a letter to DVLA with details of your insurance company and the date you gave them the vehicle.

What happens next

You’ll be sent:

  • a letter confirming that you’re no longer the keeper of the vehicle
  • a vehicle tax refund for any full months left when DVLA gets your information - if you pay by Direct Debit, it’ll be cancelled automatically

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