| Contents |
|---|
If you sell your vehicle privately or through a motor trader, you should notify the Driver Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) about the sale using the appropriate section of the registration document or certificate.
It is important to tell DVLA as soon as you sell your vehicle or you will continue to be responsible for paying the vehicle tax or penalties for the non-payment of it. You may also receive mail relating to motoring offences committed in the vehicle. When DVLA have been informed, they will send you a letter of receipt confirming that you are no longer responsible for the vehicle.
There are some simple steps you can take to protect yourself from becoming a victim of crime when selling your vehicle:
The buyer will want to see the registration document or certificate (V5C) to allow them to check the vehicle's details. You may not be able to sell your vehicle without one. If you have lost it, you can get a replacement from DVLA.
When you sell your vehicle to another person in a private transaction, you should ensure you record the terms of your agreement of sale in writing. The agreement should provide the seller with the written confirmation that the vehicle is purchased as seen.
Without this document, the seller risks the buyer later alleging that the seller had orally represented the vehicle being in a better condition than it was. You should always keep a separate note of the buyer's name and address.
You should remove your tax disc from the vehicle and apply for a refund of any vehicle tax for complete calendar months remaining on the tax disc. This cannot be refunded until the DVLA receives notification that you've sold your vehicle.
If you do not have a registration document, you can still inform DVLA that you no longer have the vehicle. In order to do this, you must write to DVLA, Swansea, SA99 1AR quoting the vehicle registration mark, make and model, exact date of sale and name and address of the new keeper. However, you should note that DVLA records will not be complete until the new keeper tells DVLA in writing. Until they do, the police may need to contact you if they have to make enquiries about the vehicle.
If you sell your vehicle to someone whose address is either in GB or NI, both you and the purchaser should complete and sign Sections 6 and 8 of the registration certificate (V5C or V5CNI).
The V5C or V5CNI should then be passed to the new keeper for them to be able to re-register the vehicle in either GB or NI. While the new keeper will re-register the vehicle, you must also write to DVLA or the Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA). You are still required to inform DVLA or DVA (the authority the vehicle is leaving) that the vehicle has been sold, so that you are no longer responsible for the vehicle.
If you transfer your vehicle to a motor trader, and you are in possession of a registration certificate (V5C) you should tell the DVLA of the sale using the yellow section (V5C/3) and pass the rest to the trader.
Similar to a private sale, you should remove your tax disc from the vehicle and apply for a refund of any vehicle tax for complete calendar months remaining on the tax disc
For this purpose, motor trader means:
Entering the vehicle's mileage in the box provided on the registration certificate (V5C or V5CNI) will help in the fight against vehicle 'clocking'. This is where the vehicle's odometer (speedometer) is turned back to fraudulently reduce the number of miles that the vehicle is recorded as having travelled.
