Buying a vehicle
Buying a car without a V5C
Checked on 7 September 2026.GOV.UK, Tell DVLA you have sold, transferred or bought a vehicle (as of 7 September 2026)
Buying a car without a V5C
DVLA advises buyers not to proceed without a V5C, in guidance checked in September 2026. If you do buy, apply by post on form V62. The usual fee is £25. Without the green new keeper slip you cannot tax as a new keeper until DVLA issues the document.
Why does DVLA warn against buying without a V5C?
The V5C is not proof of ownership. It records the registered keeper, who is responsible for taxing and registering the vehicle. Seeing one does not prove the seller has title. Not seeing one, though, removes the normal way to notify a keeper change and the only immediate way for a new keeper to tax.
GOV.UK tells a buyer who has purchased without a logbook to apply on form V62. It tells a seller who has sold without a logbook to write to DVLA. Neither path is as quick as a green slip on the day. A genuine keeper who has merely lost an unchanged V5C can usually replace it before a planned sale for the usual £25.
Ask why the document is missing. 'It is in the post' and 'the finance company has it' are not the same as a V5C in your hand. Outstanding finance, a stolen vehicle and a keeper who is not the seller are the risks a private history check is for. This site does not run that check.
What should I check before I pay?
Match the registration and the VIN on the car to any paperwork the seller does have, and to the free DVLA vehicle enquiry service. Confirm the seller's identity and address. Look at the MOT history on GOV.UK for mileage jumps. None of those replace a V5C, but they stop you buying a car whose identity does not even match the plate.
If the seller is the registered keeper, they can apply for a replacement while you wait, provided the recorded details are unchanged. If they are not the keeper, you are buying from someone who cannot give you a green slip. That is a stronger warning than a lost envelope.
- Stop. Do not pay on a promise that the logbook will follow.
- Match VIN, registration and seller identity to DVLA records and to the car.
- Ask the keeper to replace a lost unchanged V5C, or to complete the sale once they have it.
- If you still buy, do not drive. Apply on V62 by post and SORN or store the vehicle off the road.
- Enclose the green slip if you later receive one from the most recent V5C, which is the published fee exception.
How does form V62 work for a buyer?
Download the application for a vehicle registration certificate, or get it from a Post Office. A buyer without the logbook applies by post. The usual fee is £25, as a cheque or postal order payable to 'DVLA, Swansea', sent to DVLA Swansea SA99 1DD.
If you did not get a V5C for your new vehicle and you do have the green slip, send the slip with the V62. GOV.UK says the slip must be from the most recent V5C. Check the date against the vehicle enquiry service. If you do not send that slip, you pay £25.
The V62 form says a new keeper who has not received a V5C should allow 4 weeks from purchase before using that reason on the form. A postal V5C usually arrives after 4 weeks. Contact DVLA if it has not arrived then. After 6 weeks without telling them, another £25 can be due.
| Situation | Usual fee | Where it goes |
|---|---|---|
| New keeper, no green slip | £25 | DVLA Swansea SA99 1DD |
| New keeper enclosing the most recent green slip | No £25 on that published exception | Same address, slip enclosed |
| Current keeper replacing a V5C | £25 | Online, phone, post or Post Office |
GOV.UK Get a vehicle log book, If you cannot get a log book online, and Tax your vehicle without a V11, checked 7 September 2026.
Can I drive the car home without the V5C?
Only if the vehicle is already taxed in a way that covers you, insured, and otherwise legal. A new keeper without the green slip cannot use the immediate tax route. The previous keeper's tax is cancelled when they notify the sale, and it does not transfer. Assume you cannot drive it on the road until you can tax it.
Declare a SORN if you will keep it off the public road. A drive on the street outside, or a trip back from the seller, is a public road. Arrange recovery.
Example
A private purchase where the seller says the V5C is at their mum's
- Seller
- Claims to be the keeper, no V5C on the day
- Price
- Agreed, not yet paid
- Tax
- Showing as taxed on the seller's record this morning
- Buyer plan
- Drive home today
- Do not pay, and do not drive. A genuine keeper can replace an unchanged V5C online in 5 to 7 working days, or fetch the original.
- If you still buy later without a slip, you cannot tax as a new keeper until a postal V62 is granted.
- The seller must write to DVLA if they sell without a logbook, with the exact date and your name and address.
- Store the car off the public road and SORN it if you take it, then wait the usual 4 weeks for a postal V5C.
Walking away, or waiting for a replacement V5C and a green slip, is the route that lets you tax the same day as you collect. Buying now strands the car until DVLA issues a document.
What about auction cars, traders and Northern Ireland?
A motor trader should still be able to notify DVLA and put you on the record. If they cannot produce a V5C or explain the keeper history, treat it as the same warning. Category A and B write-offs cannot return to the road at all; that is a different cluster of pages.
Northern Ireland Post Office tax applications need extra documents, but they do not create a new-keeper tax route without the green slip. The V62 still goes to DVLA Swansea.
What goes wrong after you buy without a V5C?
You apply on V62 the next morning, then drive home. The tax record still shows no new licence. That is the late licensing path.
You send a photocopy of an old V5C. DVLA wants the form, the fee, and where relevant the actual green slip from the most recent issue.
The seller never writes to DVLA, so you are not on the record and they keep getting the letters. Chase them, and send your own V62 so DVLA at least has your application.
Finance is still outstanding. A V5C would not have proved title either, but its absence often sits next to that problem.
Which buying-without-a-V5C myths should I ignore?
Myth: no V5C means a cheaper car with a simple form to fill in. It means you cannot tax today.
Myth: a V5C proves the seller owns it, so buying without one is the only time you are at risk. The V5C is not title either. You still need a receipt and a history check.
Myth: you get 14 days to sort the paperwork. GOV.UK does not publish that for a new keeper.
Common questions
- Is a V5C proof that the seller owns the car?
- No. It identifies the registered keeper and is not proof of ownership. Check the seller and the vehicle separately before paying. The absence of a V5C is still a warning, because it also removes the green slip you need to tax as a new keeper.
- How much does a V62 application cost?
- The usual fee is £25. GOV.UK lists a published exception where a new keeper encloses the green new keeper slip from the most recent V5C. If you do not send that slip, you pay. Current keepers replacing a lost unchanged V5C also pay the usual £25.
- Can I drive home without the V5C?
- Only if the vehicle is taxed and otherwise legal. A new keeper without the green slip cannot use the immediate tax route, so arrange recovery rather than assume the seller's tax remains. Tax does not transfer on a sale.
- How long after buying should I wait to apply on V62?
- The form says a new keeper who has not received a V5C should allow 4 weeks from purchase before using that reason. A postal V5C then usually takes 4 weeks. That wait is not permission to drive untaxed in the meantime.
- Can the seller replace the V5C and then sell?
- Yes, if they are the registered keeper, they have the vehicle, and the recorded details are unchanged. Online replacement is usually 5 to 7 working days and costs £25. That is the cleaner path for both sides.
- What if I have the green slip but not the rest of the V5C?
- That is the normal private-sale outcome. Tax with the 12 digit reference immediately. Send the slip with a V62 only if you need DVLA to issue the full logbook and you are on the postal route; enclosing the most recent slip is the published way to avoid the £25 on that application.
- Does a missing V5C mean the car is a write-off?
- Not by itself. Write-off categories are an insurer record. A missing logbook is a keeper-document problem. Run a private history check for a total loss, finance and theft, then compare the VIN to DVLA records. This site cannot look up a single registration's write-off status.
- Can I tax at a Post Office without any V5C paperwork?
- A current keeper can tax at a participating Post Office with a V62. A new keeper needs the green slip. GOV.UK is direct: if you are the new keeper, you cannot tax without a new keeper slip. Northern Ireland branches also want MOT and insurance evidence.
Sources
- GOV.UK, Tell DVLA you have sold, transferred or bought a vehicle (as of 7 September 2026)
- GOV.UK, Tax your vehicle without a vehicle tax reminder (as of 7 September 2026)
- DVLA, V62: application for a vehicle registration certificate (as of 7 September 2026)
- GOV.UK, Get a vehicle log book (V5C) (as of 7 September 2026)
- GOV.UK, If you cannot get a log book (V5C) online (as of 7 September 2026)
- GOV.UK, Tax your vehicle (as of 7 September 2026)