How to Apply for a V5C Logbook: New, Replacement & First Registration (UK)

Quick answer: There are three routes to a V5C logbook. Bought a vehicle? The seller notifies DVLA and a new V5C in your name arrives free. Keep the green new keeper slip (V5C/2). Lost or damaged yours? A replacement costs £25: online in about 5 working days if your details are unchanged, or by post on form V62 (up to 4–6 weeks). No logbook and no green slip? V62 by post, £25. You never "buy" a logbook from anyone except DVLA: anyone else selling one is selling you trouble.

"Apply for a logbook" covers three different situations with three different processes, and using the wrong one is the most common cause of a car you cannot tax. Here is each route, what it costs, and how long it takes.

Route 1: you have just bought the vehicle

The seller (not you) tells DVLA the vehicle has changed keeper, online or by posting the V5C. You keep the green new keeper slip (V5C/2), which lets you tax the car immediately while the new V5C is produced. The new logbook in your name then arrives automatically and free, typically within days when the seller notified DVLA online. Full detail on the green slip: the V5C/2 explained; timescales: how long a V5C takes to arrive.

Route 2: lost, stolen or damaged logbook

A replacement V5C costs £25. If your name, address and vehicle details are unchanged, apply online or by phone. The replacement normally arrives in about 5 working days. If any details need correcting at the same time, use form V62 by post, which can take 4–6 weeks. If the logbook was stolen rather than lost, read reporting a stolen V5C first. A stolen logbook is identity-theft raw material for cloning, and there are extra steps worth taking.

Route 3: no logbook and no green slip

This is the V62 route: download or collect form V62, post it with the £25 fee, and wait: up to 6 weeks while DVLA checks the keeper claim. During that window you cannot tax the vehicle, which is why buying a car with no V5C and no V5C/2 is a bad position to be in. Before you buy, check what you can: our guides to viewing logbook details online and finding the V5C number cover what is visible to a buyer.

First registration (imports, kit cars, rebuilds)

Vehicles never registered in the UK (imports, kit builds, some restorations) are registered with DVLA before a V5C can exist, using the V55 form family, with evidence of type approval, identity and (for used imports) prior registration. Classic restorations and radically altered vehicles have their own rules on keeping identity and registration, covered in DVLA's classic and modified vehicle rules.

Old blue and buff log books

Before the V5 system, vehicles carried a paper registration book, the buff log book (and earlier blue variants). They have no legal force today, but do not throw one away: for a classic, an original buff logbook is prime evidence in DVLA's V765 scheme for reclaiming the vehicle's original registration mark. It is also exactly the kind of provenance a buyer pays for.

What you cannot do

• Buy a V5C from anyone but DVLA. A logbook offered for sale separately from a vehicle is fraud in progress. The document is not proof of ownership, and "logbook for sale" listings feed cloning. See stolen logbook warning signs.
• Tax the vehicle with neither V5C nor V5C/2. You need one of the two reference numbers.
• Rely on the logbook as proof of ownership. It records the registered keeper, not the legal owner.

Frequently asked questions

How do I apply for a new V5C logbook?

If you are the new keeper and the seller gave you the green new keeper slip (V5C/2), the seller notifies DVLA (online or by post) and a new V5C in your name arrives automatically, free of charge. If there is no logbook and no green slip, apply with form V62 by post, which costs £25.

How much does a replacement V5C cost?

£25. If your details have not changed you can apply online or by phone and the replacement typically arrives within 5 working days. Applying by post with form V62 takes up to 4–6 weeks.

Can I buy a car without a logbook?

You can, but with care: you cannot tax it without either the V5C or the green new keeper slip, and a missing logbook is a classic marker of theft or outstanding finance. Get the seller to complete the transfer or walk away.

What is a blue or buff log book?

Pre-1977 vehicle registration books. They have no legal force today, but for classics an original buff logbook is key evidence in DVLA's V765 scheme for reclaiming a vehicle's original registration number.

Reviewed by Jamie Dawson, Editor of Logbook.co.uk, the independent home of the UK logbook. Logbook.co.uk is not a logbook provider and has no commercial relationship with any provider. Corrections: corrections@logbook.co.uk