To tax a car without a logbook, apply for a replacement V5C and pay the tax in the same transaction. Since April 2025, DVLA’s online service on GOV.UK lets you do both in one journey, so you no longer have to wait for the new logbook to arrive in the post before the car can be taxed.1GOV.UK. Apply for a New Log Book and Tax Your Vehicle in One Easy, Online Journey You will need valid insurance and, if the car is over three years old, a valid MOT, because DVLA checks both before it will issue tax.
First Check for the Green New Keeper Slip
When a car is sold, the seller is meant to tear off the green new keeper slip from the bottom of the V5C and hand it over. That slip carries a 12-digit reference number, and with it you can tax the car straight away online, by phone, or at a Post Office without applying for anything else.2GOV.UK. Tax Your Vehicle Without a Vehicle Tax Reminder
If you have the slip, you are not in the situation this article covers, and you can skip straight to GOV.UK’s vehicle tax page. If you have no slip and no full V5C, read on. You cannot tax with just a registration number, so a replacement logbook application has to be the first step.2GOV.UK. Tax Your Vehicle Without a Vehicle Tax Reminder
The Fastest Route Is Online
DVLA’s online service is the quickest option. You apply for a new V5C on GOV.UK, and once the application is submitted the service asks whether you also need to tax the vehicle. Say yes and it takes you straight into the tax payment system.1GOV.UK. Apply for a New Log Book and Tax Your Vehicle in One Easy, Online Journey No phone calls, no paper forms, no postage. The service runs every day of the year.
Have this ready before you start:
- The car’s registration number
- Make and model
- The 17-character Vehicle Identification Number, usually visible through the lower corner of the windscreen on the passenger side or stamped on a plate near the engine bay
- Your name and address
- A debit or credit card
The Paper Route: Forms V62 and V10
If you prefer paper, or the online service will not accept your situation, two forms cover it. Form V62 is the application for a replacement V5C.3GOV.UK. Apply for a Vehicle Registration Certificate (Form V62) Form V10 is the vehicle tax application used when you have not received a V11 reminder, which will be the case if you’re a new keeper without a logbook.4GOV.UK. Apply for Vehicle Tax (Form V10)
Both forms can be downloaded from GOV.UK or picked up at Post Office branches that handle vehicle licensing. The V62 is print-only and cannot be filled in digitally. You can hand both forms in together at a Post Office that offers vehicle tax services, or post the V62 to DVLA with the fee.3GOV.UK. Apply for a Vehicle Registration Certificate (Form V62) Not every branch handles vehicle licensing, so ring ahead.
Both forms ask for the registration number, make, model and VIN. The V10 also wants engine size or fuel type so DVLA can set the correct tax band. If you don’t know the engine size, check the original sales listing, the free MOT history on GOV.UK, or the VIN plate itself, which often carries engine data.
The Fees: £25 for the Logbook, Plus the Tax
DVLA charges £25 for a replacement V5C when the seller failed to hand one over.5GOV.UK. DVLA Enforcement of Vehicle Tax, Registration and Insurance Offences The tax is separate.
What the tax costs depends on when the car was first registered, its CO2 emissions and its fuel type. For most cars registered on or after 1 April 2017, the standard annual rate from April 2026 is £200 once you are past the first year. If the car had a list price above £40,000 when new (or £50,000 for zero-emission cars), an extra £440 a year applies for the first five years of the second licence period, taking the total to £640.6GOV.UK. V149 – Rates of Vehicle Tax – April 2026
First-year rates for brand-new cars vary a lot, from £10 for a zero-emission car to £5,690 for a petrol or diesel producing over 255 g/km of CO2.7GOV.UK. Vehicle Tax Rates: Cars Registered on or After 1 April 2017 A used car past its first registration will almost always pay the flat standard rate. Cars registered before 1 March 2001 are taxed by engine size; those registered between March 2001 and March 2017 sit in emissions-based bands with different standard rates. GOV.UK’s tax rate tables list the exact band for any vehicle.
You can pay for 12 months, 6 months, or by monthly direct debit. Paying monthly costs slightly more over the year — £210 against £200 at the standard rate.6GOV.UK. V149 – Rates of Vehicle Tax – April 2026
Insurance and MOT Have to Be in Place First
DVLA will not issue tax without valid insurance, and for cars over three years old, a valid MOT. The MOT must be valid on the date the tax starts. If the MOT has expired, get one before you apply; the only journey you can legally make in an untaxed, un-MOTed car is a drive straight to a pre-booked MOT appointment. Cars under three years old don’t need an MOT.
Driving the Car While You Wait for the V5C
Once the tax has gone through, either online or at the Post Office, you can drive the car straight away. Tax sits on DVLA’s electronic register, and automatic number plate recognition checks against that database. There’s no need for the paper V5C to be in your hand, as long as the tax, MOT and insurance are all live.
The replacement logbook itself takes longer. DVLA writes to the previous registered keeper to confirm the sale before issuing a new V5C in your name. On a standard V62 application, DVLA allows about two weeks for the previous keeper to reply, then processes and posts the certificate.8Finance & Leasing Association. DVLA Fast Track V62 (V712 Easement) and Prefunded Account Services Most people get the new logbook within four to six weeks. Keep any application receipt as proof you started the process.
SORN If You Cannot Tax Straight Away
If the car isn’t roadworthy, isn’t insured, or needs an MOT before you can tax it, register a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN) with DVLA to declare it off the road.9GOV.UK. Register Your Vehicle as Off the Road (SORN) A SORN is free and stays in force until you tax the vehicle again.
Without either tax or a SORN, DVLA’s automated checks will pick the car up quickly. The first step is usually a late licensing penalty of £80, reduced to £40 if paid within 33 days. Ignore that and it escalates to an out-of-court settlement of £30 plus one and a half times the outstanding tax. Left unpaid, the case can reach a magistrates’ court, where the penalty rises to £1,000 or five times the tax owed, whichever is greater. An untaxed car spotted on a public road can also be clamped or impounded.5GOV.UK. DVLA Enforcement of Vehicle Tax, Registration and Insurance Offences Get the tax sorted before the car touches a public road.
Protect Yourself When Buying Without a Logbook
A missing V5C is common enough with private sales, deceased estates or long-stored cars, but it raises your risk. Before paying, run the registration number through the free MOT history check on GOV.UK to confirm the mileage record and any advisories. A separate vehicle provenance check will show whether the car has been reported stolen or written off.
Get a signed receipt from the seller carrying their full name and address, the date of sale, the price paid, and the car’s registration number and VIN. That receipt is your proof of purchase if DVLA or anyone else queries ownership while the V62 is being processed. Without it, nothing on paper links you to the vehicle, and disputes with the previous keeper can hold up your logbook.