Archive Website of the UK government

How to check if a vehicle is taxed

You can check if a vehicle is currently taxed by using the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) online vehicle enquiry service. You will need to know the registration number and make of the vehicle.

• Vehicle enquiry service Opens new window

What you need to report

Provide the details about the vehicle:

• registration mark
• make, model and colour

Provide details about the location of the vehicle:

• eg outside 24 Any Street, Any Town, Any Postcode
• any feature landmark, eg opposite telephone box

If possible, provide:

• the time the vehicle can be seen on the public road
• the name and address of the owner

Report the vehicle

Online

Use the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s (DVLA) online service.

• Report an untaxed vehicle online Opens new window

By post

Send a letter to:
The Enforcement Section, E89/A2
DVLA
Longview Road
Swansea
SA7 0XZ

What DVLA does about untaxed vehicles

Once you have reported an untaxed vehicle the details will be entered onto a central database. While not all enforcement activity is visible to the general public, DVLA is committed to reducing the level of vehicle excise evasion.

DVLA works with VEAS (Vehicle Enforcement and Ancillary Services) and operates a fleet of wheelclamping vehicles from 24 pounds across the UK. Untaxed vehicles are targeted area by area, from the nearest VEAS pound.

If you report an untaxed vehicle to DVLA this does not guarantee that the vehicle will be wheelclamped. Action can also be taken ‘behind the scenes’, as the law allows a late taxing penalty of £80 to be imposed on the keepers of vehicles that have been untaxed for longer than one month.

DVLA scans vehicle records constantly for untaxed vehicles and issues more than 90,000 penalties each month. This means that some untaxed vehicles in your area may have been issued with a fixed penalty and will not be wheelclamped.