You can tax your car at the Post Office by taking one reference document (a V11 reminder, your V5C logbook, or the green V5C/2 new keeper slip), making sure your MOT is current, and paying at the counter of a branch that offers vehicle tax services. The clerk pulls up your record, confirms the amount, takes payment, and updates DVLA’s electronic system while you wait. The whole thing takes a few minutes.
What to Bring
The document you hand over depends on your situation, but you need one of these three:
- Your V11 reminder letter from DVLA. It carries a 16-digit reference number and is the quickest option at the counter.
- Your V5C registration certificate (the logbook), if you haven’t had a V11 or have lost it. The clerk uses the 11-digit reference printed on it.
- The V5C/2 new keeper slip, the green tear-off from the previous owner, if you’ve just bought the car. It has a 12-digit reference number.
If you have none of these, you can apply for a replacement V5C on form V62 at the same time you tax the vehicle. A replacement costs £25.1GOV.UK. Apply for a Vehicle Registration Certificate (Form V62) There is one catch worth knowing before you set off: a new keeper without the green slip cannot tax at the Post Office at all. You have to apply for a V5C by post using the V62 and wait for it to arrive.2GOV.UK. Tax Your Vehicle Without a Vehicle Tax Reminder
Bring a means of payment too. The Post Office accepts cash, debit card, credit card, cheque, or postal order.3Post Office. Tax Your Vehicle
MOT Has to Be Current
Your car needs a valid MOT if it is old enough to require one. In England, Scotland, and Wales that means any car over three years old; in Northern Ireland the first test is at four years. The clerk’s terminal checks the MOT database automatically, so if there isn’t a current test on record, the application will be refused. There is nothing you can hand over at the counter to work around this; sort the MOT first.
Extra Paperwork for Northern Ireland
If your vehicle is registered to a Northern Ireland address, bring two more items: a paper copy of your current insurance certificate or cover note, and your original MOT test certificate. Both have to be valid from the date your tax starts.4GOV.UK. Tax Your Vehicle – At a Post Office Digital versions aren’t accepted for NI-registered vehicles.
Find a Branch That Handles Vehicle Tax
Not every Post Office processes vehicle tax. Smaller branches and kiosks often don’t have the terminal that connects to DVLA. Before you leave the house, use the branch finder on the Post Office website and filter by “Vehicle Tax” to see which nearby branches can do it, along with their opening hours.3Post Office. Tax Your Vehicle
At the Counter
Hand your paperwork to the clerk. They scan or type in the reference number, and the system pulls up your vehicle details and works out what you owe based on the car’s CO₂ emissions, fuel type, and age. You pay, and you get a printed receipt showing the date, amount, and your registration number. Hold on to that receipt. It is your proof of payment until DVLA’s records fully update, which usually happens within 48 hours but can take up to five working days.5Inside DVLA. 5 Myth-Busting Facts About Taxing Your Vehicle
Setting Up Direct Debit
You can spread the cost by setting up a Direct Debit at the counter for monthly or six-monthly payments. Bring your bank or building society name, account number, sort code, your address, and your date of birth. You don’t have to be the registered keeper to set it up, but the account cannot be one that needs two signatures.6GOV.UK. Vehicle Tax Direct Debit Payments
Spreading the cost is not free. DVLA adds a 5% surcharge on both monthly and six-monthly plans.6GOV.UK. Vehicle Tax Direct Debit Payments On the standard £200 annual rate, that comes to £210 a year paid monthly, or £220 paid in two six-monthly instalments. Worth deciding before you get to the counter.
How Much You’ll Pay
You don’t need to work the figure out yourself. The clerk’s system calculates it from your vehicle’s record, and you’ll be told the exact amount before you pay. What you owe depends on when the car was first registered and its CO₂ emissions, with most cars past their first year now on the flat standard rate of £200.7GOV.UK. V149 – Rates of Vehicle Tax April 2026
Claiming the Disability Exemption at the Counter
If you receive certain disability benefits (the higher rate mobility component of Disability Living Allowance, the enhanced rate mobility component of Personal Independence Payment, or Armed Forces Independence Payment) you can tax the vehicle for free. The exemption applies to one vehicle at a time, so if you own more than one, you pick which.8GOV.UK. Get Free Vehicle Tax if You’re a Driver With a Disability
This one catches people out. The first time you claim the exemption, and every time you change vehicles afterward, you have to do it at a Post Office that handles vehicle tax. You cannot start the exemption online.8GOV.UK. Get Free Vehicle Tax if You’re a Driver With a Disability Bring your exemption certificate along with the usual reference document.
Checking It Went Through
No paper tax disc has been issued since October 2014, so nothing goes in the windscreen. DVLA keeps a digital record and enforcement runs on automatic number plate recognition and database checks.9GOV.UK. Direct Debit and Abolition of the Tax Disc You can check your vehicle’s tax status any time using the GOV.UK vehicle enquiry service; all it needs is your registration number.10GOV.UK. Check if a Vehicle is Taxed If the status hasn’t updated after a week, contact DVLA. Until it does, your counter receipt is the paperwork that proves you paid.
What You Can’t Do at the Post Office
If you’re keeping the car but not using it on public roads, you need a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN) rather than tax. SORN cannot be declared at a Post Office. It’s done online, by phone on 0300 123 4321, or by posting form V890 to DVLA.11GOV.UK. Make a Statutory Off Road Notification SORN (Form V890) And, as noted above, a brand-new keeper without the green V5C/2 slip can’t tax at the counter either and needs to apply for a V5C by post first.