A minor oversight when buying a car could land you in serious legal trouble. While the excitement of purchasing a shiny new motor might be overwhelming, it’s crucial to ensure you have the vehicle’s log book, or V5C.

This document is proof that you are the registered keeper and responsible for registering and taxing the vehicle. Crucially, you can’t tax the vehicle without the information in the log book.

The DVLA advises buyers to always request to see the V5C vehicle registration certificate before buying a car and check it has a ‘DVL’ watermark. It should also have a serial number that isn’t between BG8229501 to BG9999030, or BI2305501 to BI2800000 – if it doesn’t, the V5C may be stolen.

Make sure you receive the green ‘new keeper’ slip from the log book, which allows you to tax the vehicle immediately. You could face a fine of up to £2,500 for an untaxed vehicle.

Fine for untaxed vehicle

It’s recommended to tax your vehicle as soon as you buy it, as driving on UK public roads without valid road tax is a criminal offence, with very few exceptions.

Motorists who are caught driving an untaxed vehicle could face fines of up to £2,500 depending on the status of the car. If the DVLA system automatically flags a vehicle as being untaxed but not declared SORN (off the road), the registered keeper of the vehicle will be slapped with an £80 fine.

Alternatively, you could receive an out-of-court settlement letter which includes a fine of £30 plus the outstanding vehicle tax multiplied by one-and-a-half. Failure to pay this can lead to a criminal offence and a potential appearance in magistrate’s court where you could face either a £1,000 fine or five times the amount of tax charged – whichever is greater.

However, if you drive an untaxed vehicle which has a SORN notice in force, you will receive an out-of-court settlement letter with a £30 fine plus double the outstanding tax. If left unpaid, you could find yourself in magistrate’s court facing a hefty fine of up to £2,500.

The only exemption from taxing your car is if you’re taking it to a pre-booked MOT test. While there are no exact specifications on the distance you can drive under these circumstances, it is advisable not to travel an unreasonable distance or make any stops along the way as this could invalidate your exemption if stopped by police.

Everything a vehicle should have before you purchase it

Before you purchase a vehicle, the DVLA advises that you should conduct the following checks: 

• Ask the seller for the registration number, MOT test number, and make and model
• Check these details with information held by the DVLA
• Check the MOT status and history matches all details you’ve been given
• Check if there has been a recall for the vehicle

When receiving the log book, you should also ensure that all details match what the sellers has told you. You can also check to see if the vehicle identification number and engine number match those on the logbook.