Does Car Tax Transfer When You Buy a Used Car?

No. Car tax does not transfer when a vehicle changes keeper. You must arrange fresh vehicle tax before driving your purchase, even if the seller paid for another ten months and the online checker still says it is taxed.

For a straightforward handover, the seller gives you the green new keeper slip from the V5C logbook. You use its reference number to tax the car, with your insurance already arranged for collection. The seller separately tells DVLA about the sale. These are different jobs; completing one does not complete the other.

Before collection

Ask the seller to confirm that they have the latest V5C and will give you its green new keeper slip, also called the V5C/2. A promise to post it later is a poor basis for a long collection journey.

Check these practical points while there is still time to sort out a problem:

• Insurance: arrange cover for the car from the date and time you will take it onto the road. Do not assume your policy for another vehicle covers it.
• MOT: check that it has a valid MOT where required. Ask about a test booked immediately before collection, because a new result can take up to two days to reach the tax system.
• Payment: have the card or bank details needed for your chosen tax payment method.
• Connection: check that you can use the tax service at the collection address. Keep your phone charged and allow time before setting off.

If the seller is a dealer, ask whether they will help you tax the car at handover. Be clear about who is making the application and paying. Assistance from a dealer still means arranging your own new tax.

At handover: tax the car before driving away

1. Check the car against the paperwork. Match its registration and vehicle identification number to the V5C before completing the purchase.
2. Complete the sale and keeper notification. The seller should record your correct details with DVLA and give you the completed green slip. Keep the sale receipt and any confirmation provided.
3. Tax the car as a new keeper. Use the 12-digit reference on the green slip. Do not use the 11-digit reference from the seller's main V5C or their old renewal reminder.
4. Keep the successful tax confirmation. Check the registration and start date. A failed payment or an unfinished application is not confirmation.
5. Check that you can drive away. Tax, insurance, any required MOT and the car's roadworthy condition all need to be in order.

You do not have to wait for your own V5C to arrive before taxing with the green slip. Equally, the keeper notification does not tax the car for you. Our guide to changing a car's registered keeper covers that paperwork in more detail.

The public tax checker can take time to update. Its display of the previous keeper's tax is not evidence that you have completed your application. For payment options and the application process, see how to tax a car online.

Problems that can delay collection

Evening or weekend collection

The same rules apply on a Sunday as on a Monday. There is no collection-day or weekend grace period allowing you to drive home on the seller's tax.

DVLA's online keeper-change service currently operates from 7am to 9pm on weekdays and 7am to 8pm at weekends. Plan a handover within those hours if you want to complete that notification together. The vehicle tax service is separate, and DVLA also offers a 24-hour automated tax phone service, although Direct Debit cannot be set up by phone.

If the tax application will not complete, leave the car somewhere it can lawfully stay off the public road and resolve the problem before driving. A suitable vehicle transporter is another collection option. Do not agree to “sort it on Monday” and drive away untaxed.

The green slip is missing

Pause collection. A new keeper without the green slip cannot rely on the online replacement-logbook route available to an existing registered keeper. DVLA's buyer-specific guidance says to apply for a V5C by post if you have no new keeper slip.

A dealer's assurance that a V62 form will solve everything immediately is not enough. Confirm the position with DVLA before paying or arranging transport. If the car was previously in an exempt tax class, check whether that class needs changing too.

The seller’s refund and the month of sale

Once DVLA is told about the sale, it cancels the seller's tax and any associated Direct Debit. The seller automatically receives a refund for complete unused months, calculated from when DVLA receives the notification. There is no refund for the unused days in the month of sale.

The refund belongs to the seller. You do not need to reimburse them for months of tax as part of taking over the car, and they cannot transfer that payment to another vehicle. An advert saying “taxed until next March” does not give you permission to drive after buying.

For example, if a sale is notified on 20 September, any refund covers full remaining months from October. If you start using the car in September, your new tax normally runs from the beginning of September. Both parties can therefore pay for the month in which the sale happens. Vehicle tax is not apportioned by the day.

Buying for off-road storage

If you buy it to store on private land, make your own SORN rather than relying on the previous keeper's declaration. SORN does not transfer either, and the car cannot be kept on a public road while untaxed.

See how to declare the car SORN if you are arranging off-road storage and transport.