[Closed] My car might not be registered to me after 10 months. (No V5 Content.)

The only question I know the answer to is yes you can tax it with the new keeper slip.

However if that’s how you taxed it when you bought it there’s a chance the system is clever enough to know that and expects there to be a new v5 issued, so won’t let you.

Either way don’t panic, you’ve got a month before it becomes an actual issue. Give the DVLA a call and explain / ask their advice. Actually you might have to email, not sure if they’re answering phones at the moment.

I do not understand how the car can be taxed if you do not have the V5. when the car is sold the tax rebate (if any)goes to the previous owner then you retax car when you get it

If the change of ownership was never registered then the tax the previous owner paid for will still be valid. Check on the online tool to see if it is taxed then apply online for a change of ownership stating you do not have the logbook. This should generate a letter to the previous owner asking them if they still own the car or not and you should get a reference number you can use to tax the car.

Just remember if you do this before the end of July you will have to pay the tax for July.

HI OP

I have some recent (less extreme) experience of this.

* I bought a car in early 2020 and didn't get the V5C so had to apply for it with the green slip.
* I taxed the car at pickup online - dealer set the webpage up and I put the DD details in.
* After 6 weeks, I realised no V5C had arrived. Got on to the dealer who basically said - send off a V62 plus the green slip, which I knew but wanted to check if they were sat on the original V5C and could just post it.
* The online check thing you've done should be accurate. Mine showed the day they did the V5C and two days later it was on the doormat.
* If you are the NEW keeper you cannot apply online (unless that's changed in last 3 months) if going down the green slip route. It has to be by post and you must send the original green slip. You can also apply without the green slip but there's a £25 fee and presumably a lot more documents.
* The V62 form is available to download as a PDF - link in the copy/paste I've done of DVLA stuff at the bottom.
* In normal circumstances the DVLA says 6 weeks to process a V62 and green slip. It took nearly 9 for mine. Mine would have arrived with them near the beginning of lockdown, which is just before they decided that if you weren't an essential worker then they wouldn't deal with you on the phone or webchat.
* The DVLA had I think asked people not to send any more paper documents at one point. IIRC this was back in early April and again situation may have changed - but would check this.
* The DVLA did get the right transfer date on the V5C and they are still collecting my DD for "road tax" so clearly the system has managed to cope with that.

Before sending off a V62 at the moment i would first at least attempt to check what is going on at DVLA - if/when you do send it then I would get proof of postage and delivery plus keep an electronic copy on my phone and if you know a lawyer or accountant then I'd take a paper copy too and ask them to certify it as a true copy and keep in the car (they'll want to see the originals alongside if they do it properly). I'm not sure if the advice I got from my automated enquiry will work for taxing it but that may be worth a look.

COPY AND PASTE FROM AUTOMATED EMAIL I GOT FROM THE WEBSITE CONTACT FORM (IN APRIL) FOLLOWS...

Taxing your vehicle
In order to tax your vehicle without a V5C, the following documentation will need to be submitted in person at a Post Office that deals with vehicle tax:
• V62 Application for a Vehicle Registration Certificate
• Valid MOT certificate (if applicable)
• Valid insurance certificate or cover note for vehicles registered with a Northern Ireland address (downloaded or faxed copies are acceptable, however photocopies are not)
• Fee for vehicle tax
• Payment of £25
If you are unable to tax the vehicle you should make a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN) by sending a SORN form V890 with your V62 application.
An updated V5C will be returned within 6 weeks.
Where can I get the forms needed?
Form V62 can be downloaded from www.gov.uk/vehicle-registration-certificate-v5c-log-book or obtained from a Post Office that deals with vehicle tax.

AND THIS IS THE BIT ABOUT KEYWORKERS

For general enquiries:
Due to COVID-19 we are only offering a service to HGV drivers and key workers directly involved in the nation’s response to the COVID-19. Please use the online services wherever possible.
For more information and to stay up to date please see: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/dvla-coronavirus-covid-19-update
For Key worker enquiries
Due to COVID-19 we are only offering a service to HGV drivers and key workers directly involved in the nation’s response to COVID-19. Please use the online services where ever possible.
If you are a Key Worker please see: https://www.gov.uk/contact-the-dvla/y/driving-licences-and-applications

PS - mine came from a dealer with the previous tax already cancelled probably a while before i picked up so that may have caused a difference but they've taken 2 DDs since I got my V5.

V62 with chassis number and date of purchase will get you a new v5, Audi managed to sell me a car they didn’t have the V5 for so I ended up doing it myself.

I do not understand how the car can be taxed if you do not have the V5

I sold a car yesterday, the new owner taxed it before he picked it up. He had no information about the V5 at that time.

I understand I’ll need to tell my insurance company all this tomorrow.

My son had a similar situation with a motorbike. Insurance company cancelled his insurance as they didnt classify him as the legal owner - not idealfor future insurance (although he did get all his money back), so just be aware when you speak to them.

I called DVLA first thing this morning.

Answers are thus:

When I call the DVLA tomorrow will they confirm that I am/am not the registered keeper?

Yes, the bloke on the phone told me he's got the keeper details in front of him and then emphatically telling me that my concern is correct and there was no change of keeper last year. Thus telling me I'm not on the doc without actually telling me details aren't on the doc IYSWIM.

Will the New Keeper slip have all the information I need to log on to the DVLA site tomorrow stooging as the previous owner and do the ‘transfer’ online backdated 10 months? (I have the previous owner’s name and address.) (If so that’s a very quick solution.)

No, you need the 11 digit number which the previous owner keeps. Lesson learned: Always get a photo of the 'old' logbook.

Tax is due on 1st Aug. I guess with CV there’s zero chance of me getting my logbook back in time if I send a V62 form to the DVLA by post. Can I buy tax with a photograph of the New Keeper Slip and the V62 form? (Perhaps online, perhaps in a post office?) (I don’t want to buy it now, ‘cos it will start on July 1st and I’ll end up paying for July twice.)

Is there a way of buying tax now to start on Aug 1st? (It’ll be MOT’d and insured still on 1st Aug.)

All irrelevant - due to coronavirus DVLA said I can just call them and they'll frig the tax for me.

MOT requires no documents at all, yeah?

Yup, none.

No, you need the 11 digit number which the previous owner keeps. Lesson learned: Always get a photo of the ‘old’ logbook.

I’m 99% sure you can do it with only the green slip.
You have to buy tax as soon as you buy a car these days, the only thing you get with a new car is a green slip. How else am I supposed to tax it?

I’ll test this theory at approx 3pm this afternoon and report back after we pick our new van up.

My son had a similar situation with a motorbike. Insurance company cancelled his insurance as they didnt classify him as the legal owner – not idealfor future insurance (although he did get all his money back), so just be aware when you speak to them.

Thanks, due to CV the car won't be on the road before the change occurs so I'll let sleeping dogs lie.

Weird though, the new keeper slip *must* be de facto registration otherwise everyone would have to change their insurance a few days/weeks after buying a car.

I’m 99% sure you can do it with only the green slip.

Depends what you mean by 'it'. To change the reg online 'posing' as the previous owner you need the 11 digit number on the log book. To change it by post with the V62 you only need the green slip.

You have to buy tax as soon as you buy a car these days, the only thing you get with a new car is a green slip. How else am I supposed to tax it?

I think you can tax it online with the 12 digit number on the green slip which is what I must have done.

You don't even need the green slip, you can submit a new V62 with only the chassis number to issue a new change of ownership V5. I've literally just done exactly that.

Depends what you mean by ‘it’. To change the reg online ‘posing’ as the previous owner you need the 11 digit number on the log book. To change it by post with the V62 you only need the green slip.

Sorry I was thinking just about the tax! Not changing keeper.
Good luck getting it sorted.

You don’t even need the green slip, you can submit a new V62 with only the chassis number to issue a new change of ownership V5. I’ve literally just done exactly that.

True, but the green slip saves you £25.

Sorry I was thinking just about the tax!

Yeah, now everything else is sorted I'll try the green slip for the tax next month. Be hilarious if they let you use it twice!

I’ll try the green slip for the tax next month.

I posted above that the new owner of the car I sold yesterday told me he taxed it without the green slip, but I think he must have just insured it. DVLA website says you need green slip as a new keeper.

Weird though, the new keeper slip *must* be de facto registration otherwise everyone would have to change their insurance a few days/weeks after buying a car.

YOu'd think so, but in his case it was about 6 months after insuring it that he realised (and he was then claiming as it had been stolen ). I am not entirely sure what was said on the call, but the upshot was a refund of his premium, a cancelled insurance on his record (oh and he did get the bike back eventually).