V70 Form: Switch to Disabled Tax Class, Documents, and Renewal

The V70 tax form is the DVLA application you use to change a vehicle’s tax class when the current tax is not about to expire. Its most common use is moving a vehicle into the “Disabled” tax class, which is charged at the nil rate. You download the form, complete it, and post it to DVLA in Swansea with your logbook, your certificate of entitlement to a qualifying disability benefit, and proof of a valid MOT.¹

When You Need the V70 and When You Do Not

The V70 is specifically for changing tax class mid-period. If your tax still has months left and you want to switch to the disabled class now rather than wait, this is the right form.¹

If your tax is due to run out — you have received a V11 reminder or a “last chance” warning — skip the V70. Take your documents to a Post Office branch that handles vehicle tax and change the class there. The Post Office route also applies when you are claiming the disability exemption for the first time on a used vehicle you have just acquired.²

For a new vehicle bought from a dealer, you hand your certificate of entitlement to the dealership and they set the tax class from the start.³

Who Qualifies for the Disabled Tax Class

The Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 sets out the benefits that open the nil rate. You need to be receiving one of the following at the top mobility tier:

Disability Living Allowance (DLA) — higher rate mobility component
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) — enhanced rate mobility component
Adult Disability Payment (ADP) — enhanced rate mobility component (Scotland)
Child Disability Payment (CDP) — higher rate mobility component (Scotland)
Scottish Adult Disability Living Allowance (SADLA) — higher rate mobility component
Armed Forces Independence Payment (AFIP)
War Pensioners’ Mobility Supplement (WPMS)

The standard or lower rates of these benefits do not qualify. Only the highest tier of the mobility component counts.⁴

One vehicle per person. If another vehicle registered in your name already carries the disabled nil rate or a reduced disability rate, a second one will not qualify.⁴

Documents to Send With the V70

Gather these before you post anything:

Your V5C registration certificate (the logbook), in your name, with any changes marked. If you do not have the V5C, complete a V62 and include the £25 fee.⁵
The original certificate of entitlement letter for your qualifying benefit. Write the vehicle’s registration number in the top right corner.³
Evidence of a valid MOT if the vehicle needs one. Electronic copies and printed MOT history are accepted. For vehicles exempt from MOT, include a V112 certificate.
In Northern Ireland only, a certificate of insurance or cover note valid on the day the tax starts.

If your certificate of entitlement is lost or damaged, request a replacement from the agency that issued the benefit: DWP for PIP and DLA, Veterans UK for AFIP and WPMS, or Social Security Scotland for ADP, CDP, and SADLA. The INS216 guidance walks through this.⁶

Where to Send the V70 and What Happens Next

Post the completed V70 with your supporting documents to:

DVLA, Swansea, SA99 1BF

Do not take a V70 to the Post Office. The form is handled only by DVLA’s central office.⁵

Processing usually takes two to six weeks depending on DVLA workload. Your original documents come back by standard post, and you should receive an updated V5C showing the new disabled tax class.¹

If you already paid vehicle tax at the standard rate for the current period, you do not lose that money. DVLA automatically refunds any full remaining months when it processes the change. The refund goes to the address on your V5C, so update the logbook first if it is out of date.⁷

Renewing the Nil Rate Each Year

The disabled tax class runs for 12 months at a time. You must renew every year even though nothing is payable. Miss the renewal and the vehicle becomes untaxed on the day the period ends, regardless of your continuing exemption.¹

Renewal is simpler than the first application. Once the disabled class is established on your record, you can renew online or by phone.⁷

How the Vehicle Can Be Used

The vehicle must be used for the disabled person’s own needs. Another driver can use it, but only on that person’s behalf — collecting prescriptions, doing the food shop, driving them to appointments. A nominated driver cannot use the vehicle for their own errands or commuting.⁸

The vehicle also has to be registered in the disabled person’s name. Registering it to someone else and claiming the exemption because a qualifying person occasionally rides in it does not work.⁴

If the Qualifying Benefit Stops

If entitlement to the qualifying benefit ends — after a reassessment, a change in condition, or a drop to a lower rate — the nil rate no longer applies. Retax the vehicle in the appropriate standard class as soon as the benefit ends.³

The same applies if the vehicle stops being used for the disabled person’s benefit. Even where the benefit itself continues, using the car outside the permitted rules means reclassifying it and paying the standard rate. Driving it without doing so is treated by DVLA as an untaxed vehicle offence, and the out-of-court settlement starts at £30 plus one and a half times the outstanding tax, rising if a SORN is in force or the case reaches a magistrates’ court.⁹

1
GOV.UK. Application to Change a Vehicle’s Tax Class (V70)
2
GOV.UK. Change Your Vehicle’s Tax Class – Tax Is Due to Run Out or Changing if Vehicle Is Exempt
3
GOV.UK. How to Apply for Free Disabled Tax (INS216)
4
Legislation.gov.uk. Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 – Schedule 2
5
GOV.UK. Change Your Vehicle’s Tax Class – Tax Is Not Due to Run Out
6
GOV.UK. How to Apply for Free Disabled Tax (INS216)
7
GOV.UK. Get Free Vehicle Tax if You’re a Driver With a Disability
8
GOV.UK. Financial Help if You’re Disabled – Vehicles and Transport
9
Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency. DVLA Enforcement of Vehicle Tax, Registration and Insurance Offences