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Scrapping your vehicle

Authorised treatment facilities

When you take your car, light van or three-wheeled motor vehicle (excluding motor tricycles), to an authorised treatment facility, they’ll make sure that it’s dismantled in an environmentally friendly way.

They should give you a Certificate of Destruction (CoD) straight away if they agree to take your vehicle. They’ll also tell DVLA that you’re no longer responsible for the vehicle. Keep the certificate as proof that the vehicle has been destroyed and you’re no longer responsible for it.

If you have a vehicle other than those already mentioned, you still need to take your vehicle to an authorised treatment facility to ensure it’s destroyed to specific environmental standards. They’ll arrange for the vehicle record at DVLA, to be updated with a Notification of Destruction.

• Find your nearest authorised treatment facility Opens new window

Telling DVLA you no longer have the vehicle

If you’re not given a Certificate of Destruction or if your vehicle is not to be destroyed then you should complete the V5C/3 ‘Notification of sale or transfer’ section of your vehicle registration certificate (V5C), and send it to DVLA. You should get a letter confirming that you’re no longer responsible for the vehicle.

You should get a letter confirming that you’re no longer responsible for the vehicle. If you don’t get this letter within four weeks, phone 08702 400 010 for further advice. Text phone/minicom users can phone  01792 766 426.

You also need to tell DVLA if you break up the vehicle yourself by ticking box 17 on your registration certificate and enter the date of scrapping in box 18. You should only use the tick box for this reason.

Third party insurance cover on your vehicle

If your vehicle has been damaged in an accident, will cost more to repair than the vehicle is worth, and you don’t want to keep the vehicle, you must tell DVLA. Return your registration certificate explaining the necessary changes to DVLA, Swansea, SA99 1BR.

You should get a letter confirming that you’re no longer responsible for the vehicle. If you don’t get this letter within four weeks, phone 08702 400 010 for further advice. Text phone/minicom users can phone 01792 766 426.

Total loss payment for your vehicle

If your insurance company decides to write off your vehicle, you must hand over the vehicle to them in return for a total loss payment. You’ll need to:

• complete the V5C/3 ‘Notification of sale or transfer’ section of your registration certificate and send it to DVLA, Swansea, SA99 1BD
• give the remainder of the registration certificate to the insurance company

Your insurer may ask you for the whole registration certificate, which they’ll complete for you and send to DVLA.

Write to DVLA if this happens, to be sure your name is removed from the record. Give the date you passed the vehicle to the insurance company and details of their name and address and send it to DVLA, Swansea, SA99 1BR.

Personalised registration on your vehicle

You’ll need to transfer or retain your personalised registration before you dispose of the vehicle. If you don’t, you’ll lose your entitlement to the registration number.

Tell your insurance company not to dispose of the vehicle until the transfer or retention application is complete, and ask them to make sure the vehicle is available for inspection.

You’ll also need to get a:

• letter of no interest from the insures confirming they are happy for you to transfer or retain the vehicle registration number
• copy of the engineers report confirming the vehicle’s details

• Personalised registrations and number plates

More useful links

• How to get a vehicle identity check for a vehicle that’s been damaged or written off