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Scrapping your vehicle

You must take your vehicle to an authorised treatment facility who will make sure that it’s dismantled in an environmentally friendly way.

The vehicles you can take are:

• cars
• light vans
• three-wheeled motor vehicles - excluding motor tricycles

Authorised treatment facilities

The ATF will give you a Certificate of Destruction (CoD) straight away if they agree to take your vehicle. They’ll also tell DVLA that you’re no longer responsible for the vehicle. Keep the certificate as proof that the vehicle has been destroyed and you’re no longer responsible for it.

If you have a vehicle other than those already mentioned, you still need to take your vehicle to an ATF to ensure it’s destroyed to environmental standards. They’ll arrange for the vehicle record at DVLA, to be updated with a Notification of Destruction.

• Find your nearest authorised treatment facility Opens new window

Telling DVLA you no longer have the vehicle

If you’re not given a CoD or your vehicle is not being destroyed, then you should complete the V5C/3 ‘Notification of sale or transfer’ section of your vehicle registration certificate (V5C), and send it to DVLA, Swansea, SA99 1BD.

You should get a letter confirming that you’re no longer responsible for the vehicle. If you don’t get this letter within four weeks, phone 0300 790 6802 for further advice. Text phone users can phone 0300 123 1279.

If you have broken up the vehicle yourself, you must either continue to tax it or tell the DVLA that you are keeping it off the public road. You can do this by making a SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification). You will need to make a SORN every year until you have taken it to an ATF, or told DVLA that you longer have it.

For more information on SORN, please follow the link below.

• When to make a SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification)

Personalised registration on your vehicle

You’ll need to transfer or retain your personalised registration before you dispose of the vehicle. If you don’t, you’ll lose your entitlement to the registration number.

Tell your insurance company not to dispose of the vehicle until the transfer or retention application is complete. Ask them to make sure the vehicle is available for inspection.

You’ll also need to get a:

• letter of no interest from the insurers confirming they are happy for you to transfer or retain the vehicle registration number
• copy of the engineer's report confirming the vehicle’s details

• Personalised registrations and number plates

Third party insurance cover on your vehicle

If your vehicle has been damaged in an accident, will cost more to repair than the vehicle is worth, and you don’t want to keep the vehicle, you must tell DVLA. Return your registration certificate explaining the necessary changes to DVLA, Swansea, SA99 1BR.

You should get a letter confirming that you’re no longer responsible for the vehicle. If you don’t get this letter within four weeks, phone 0300 790 6802 for further advice. Text phone users can phone 0300 123 1279.

Total loss payment for your vehicle

If your insurance company decides to write off your vehicle, you must hand over the vehicle to them in return for a total loss payment.

You’ll need to:

• complete the V5C/3 ‘Notification of sale or transfer’ section of your registration certificate and send it to DVLA, Swansea, SA99 1BD
• give the remainder of the registration certificate to the insurance company

Your insurer may ask you for the whole registration certificate, which they’ll complete for you and send to DVLA.

If this happens, write to DVLA to be sure your name is removed from the record. Give the date you passed the vehicle to the insurance company and details of their name and address and send it to DVLA, Swansea, SA99 1BR.

If your vehicle has not been scrapped and you choose to keep the salvage, you should be in possession of the V5C.

Your vehicle may also need a Vehicle Identity Check before it can be used on the road again.

• Vehicle Identity Check

More useful links

• How to get a vehicle identity check