How to SORN a vehicle

Most car owners know that it is illegal for a vehicle to be uninsured while on the road and that failure to take out insurance will land you with penalties and possibly prosecution.

This also counts for those who don't use their car but keep it in a garage or parked up outside.

However, not many know how filing a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN) could save you from breaking the law or wasting money on a car that is never used.

Registering your vehicle as off road by sending in a SORN to the DVLA would legally take away the need to tax and insure it.

The following steps explain the process of making a SORN:

Apply for a SORN either by phone (0300 1234321), online at, or send in your application form v890 to: DVLA Swansesa SA99 1AR.

Applying via post is required:

If you are have recently been registered as the vehicle's keeper and have received the V5C registration certificate in the current month.

If you are not yet the registered keeper of the vehicle. In this case you should fill in the required part of the V5C or form V62 if you do not have the V5C form - and send it with the SORN form.

If you are wanting to make a SORN for your vehicle as you are going abroad and leaving it behind in the UK - include a letter explaining your situation. You have up to two calendar months to make an application.

What if I buy a SORN vehicle?

If you want to buy a vehicle that is SORN and want to keep the it untaxed and uninsured then you must fill in a new application under your details in order to legally keep it off the roads. They cannot be transferred from own owner to another.

If you want to keep or use the vehicle on public roads then you will need to tax and insure it.