V5C logbook
Using the green new keeper slip
Checked on 7 September 2026.GOV.UK, Tax your vehicle (as of 7 September 2026)
Using the green new keeper slip
Use the 12 digit reference from the green V5C/2 slip online, by phone or at a participating Post Office. Tax from the previous keeper does not transfer, so do this before driving away. GOV.UK guidance checked in September 2026 is the source for those figures.
What is the green new keeper slip?
The V5C/2 is the green perforated slip on the logbook. The seller tears it off and gives it to the buyer. It is not the whole V5C. It is the buyer's temporary tax document until DVLA posts a logbook in the new keeper's name.
The slip carries a 12 digit document reference. That is a different number from the 11 digit reference on the main V5C, which the current keeper uses. Entering the 11 digit number as a new keeper is a common way to stall at the tax screen.
Keep the slip until the new V5C arrives. You will need it if the tax service asks again, if a Post Office clerk wants to see it, or if you have to chase a missing logbook.
How do I tax a car with the new keeper slip?
Tax the vehicle before you drive it, or make a SORN if it will stay off the public road. The previous keeper's tax is cancelled when they tell DVLA about the sale. You get none of that licence.
Online, enter the 12 digit reference from the slip. By phone, call DVLA on 0300 123 4321 with the slip to hand. At a participating Post Office, take the slip, payment, and MOT evidence if the vehicle needs an MOT. A recent MOT pass can take up to 2 days to appear in the tax record.
In Northern Ireland, GOV.UK says a Post Office tax application also needs an MOT certificate valid when the tax starts, and an insurance certificate or cover note.
- Take the green V5C/2 from the seller on the day, and check the registration and VIN match the car.
- Confirm the seller has told, or is telling, DVLA about the keeper change.
- Tax online with the 12 digit reference, or at a Post Office, before you drive on the road.
- If the MOT was passed in the last 2 days, wait for the record to update or take the certificate to a Post Office.
- Keep the slip until the new V5C arrives. Contact DVLA if a postal logbook has not arrived after 4 weeks.
What if the seller did not give me the slip?
A new keeper cannot tax online without the green slip. Apply for a V5C by post on form V62. The usual fee is £25. If you send the green slip from the most recent V5C with the form, GOV.UK says you do not pay that £25. The slip must be from the most recent V5C; check the date against the vehicle enquiry service if you are not sure.
If you did not get a V5C for your new vehicle, that is the postal route on GOV.UK: fill in V62, send it to DVLA Swansea SA99 1DD with the green slip. You will usually receive the V5C after 4 weeks.
Form V62 also says a new keeper who has not received a V5C should allow 4 weeks from purchase before using that reason on the form. Do not treat a missing slip as a reason to drive home on the seller's tax in the meantime. Arrange recovery, or tax only if you have a lawful document route.
Example
Buying a car on a Saturday with the green slip in hand
- Day
- Saturday afternoon, private sale
- Document
- Green V5C/2, 12 digit reference
- Seller's tax
- Still showing as taxed on GOV.UK that morning
- MOT
- Valid, passed 3 weeks ago
- Match the registration and VIN on the slip to the car before money changes hands.
- Watch the seller notify DVLA online, or notify together, then take the green slip.
- Tax immediately with the 12 digit reference. Saturday hours for the online sale service are 7am to 8pm.
- The seller's remaining full months are refunded to them. You pay a new licence from today.
You can drive away once the new tax is in place. The old tax disc on the windscreen, if there still is one, is irrelevant; tax is a record, not a transfer.
What if I want to SORN instead of tax?
A new keeper who will keep the vehicle off the public road must declare a SORN rather than drive it. The green slip is still the document that identifies you to DVLA for that keeper change. Do not leave the vehicle on the road untaxed because 'it is only on the drive'. A public road includes the street outside the house.
Once you tax the vehicle, that ends a SORN. You cannot tax and SORN the same period.
What goes wrong with the green slip?
The buyer types the 11 digit V5C number. The tax service wants 12 digits from the slip.
The seller keeps the green slip 'for the refund'. The refund goes to the seller automatically after they notify DVLA. The slip is for the buyer.
The slip is from an older V5C, not the most recent issue. A V62 sent with the wrong generation of slip can attract the £25 fee.
The MOT passed yesterday and the tax service cannot see it yet. Wait up to 2 days or take evidence to a Post Office.
Which new keeper myths should I ignore?
Myth: the seller's tax runs until the end of the month. It is cancelled when DVLA is told, with a refund of complete unused months to the seller.
Myth: you can drive home for 14 days on the old tax. GOV.UK does not publish that grace period for a new keeper.
Myth: the green slip is proof of ownership. Like the V5C, it is a keeper and tax document, not title.
What if the V5C never arrives after I taxed with the slip?
A postal V5C after a V62 is usually 4 weeks. Contact DVLA if it has not arrived after 4 weeks. If 6 weeks pass and you have not told them, another £25 can be due. Keep the green slip while you chase. It is still the document that let you tax.
If the seller notified online, DVLA's record of you as keeper can be in place before the paper lands. You can still be the keeper, taxed, and waiting for the envelope. That wait is not a reason to skip taxing on day one.
If you moved between the sale and the posting, the logbook goes to the address DVLA has. Change of address is a separate, usually free, service once you are the keeper. Do not wait for a V5C at an old flat.
Common questions
- Where is the number on a new keeper slip?
- Use the 12 digit document reference printed on the green V5C/2 section, not the 11 digit reference used by the current keeper on the main V5C. The tax service treats them as different documents. If you only have 11 digits, you are looking at the wrong section.
- Does the old keeper's tax carry over?
- No. The buyer must tax the vehicle before driving it or make a SORN if it will be kept off the public road. DVLA cancels the seller's tax after the keeper change and refunds complete unused months to the seller, not to you.
- Can I tax without the green slip?
- Not as a new keeper through the immediate online route. Apply for a new V5C by post using form V62. The usual fee is £25. Enclose the green slip from the most recent V5C if you later find it, which is the published exception to that fee.
- How soon should the new V5C arrive?
- A postal application is usually 4 weeks. Contact DVLA if it has not arrived after 4 weeks, and again at 6 weeks if you have not already told them, or you may pay another £25. An online keeper change by the seller is faster for DVLA's record, but you still wait for the physical document.
- Can I tax at a Post Office with the slip?
- Yes, at a branch that deals with vehicle tax. Take the green slip, payment, and MOT evidence if required. In Northern Ireland also take an MOT certificate valid when the tax starts, and an insurance certificate or cover note. Check the branch offers the service before you travel.
- What if the seller already notified DVLA but kept the slip?
- Ask for the slip. If they cannot produce it, you are a new keeper without the immediate tax document. Do not drive. Apply on V62 by post and keep any proof of purchase and of the seller's notification. The £25 fee may still apply if you cannot enclose the slip.
- Does a company car or hire car use a green slip?
- A hire car is not a keeper change. A company buying a vehicle still needs the keeper notified to DVLA and, for a private-sale purchase, the green slip to tax. Fleet scheme vehicles cannot use the public replacement service; that is a different DVLA process.
- Can I use the slip to change the address as well?
- The slip taxes the vehicle in your name as new keeper. Changing an address on an existing V5C is a separate, usually free, service for a current keeper. Once you are the keeper and the new V5C arrives, use the address service if you then move.
Sources
- GOV.UK, Tax your vehicle (as of 7 September 2026)
- GOV.UK, Tax your vehicle without a vehicle tax reminder (as of 7 September 2026)
- GOV.UK, Tell DVLA you have sold, transferred or bought a vehicle (as of 7 September 2026)
- DVLA, V62: application for a vehicle registration certificate (as of 7 September 2026)
- GOV.UK, If you cannot get a log book (V5C) online (as of 7 September 2026)
- GOV.UK, Cancel your vehicle tax and get a refund (as of 7 September 2026)