How to Tax a Car Without the Logbook (V5C): Every Route (UK)

Quick answer: You don’t need the V5C itself to tax a car. You need one of its reference numbers. Use the 16-digit number on your V11 tax reminder, or (if you’ve just bought the car) the 12-digit number on the green V5C/2 new-keeper slip. If you have neither, DVLA’s online service now lets you apply for a replacement log book and tax the vehicle in one journey: or do the same at a Post Office that handles vehicle tax with a V62 form (£25).

Find your situation

• Lost the V5C (and no reminder letter): use Route 3 below, DVLA's combined replace-and-tax service or the V62 at a Post Office.
• Just bought the car: use Route 2, the 12-digit reference on the green V5C/2 slip. No slip either? Route 3.
• No reminder letter (V11) arrived: you never need the V11 itself. Use the V5C's 11-digit reference at gov.uk/vehicle-tax; no V5C either means Route 3.
• Car is on SORN and you want it back on the road: same references, same routes; tax it before it touches a public road.

Route 1: The V11 reminder letter

The V11 is the “tax is due” letter DVLA posts before your tax runs out. Its 16-digit reference works at gov.uk/vehicle-tax, by phone, or at the Post Office. No V5C needed.

Route 2: Just bought the car? Use the green slip

The seller keeps the V5C to notify DVLA; you keep the green V5C/2 “new keeper” slip. Its 12-digit reference taxes the car online or by phone immediately, do it before you drive home, because tax doesn’t transfer with the car. Full detail: the V5C/2 green slip explained.

Route 3: No V5C, no V11, not a new keeper

You’ll need a replacement V5C, but you don’t have to wait for it to tax:

• Online: DVLA’s service lets you apply for the replacement log book and tax in one online journey. The new V5C typically arrives in about five working days; the tax is valid immediately.
• Post Office: take a completed V62 form (£25) to a branch that deals with vehicle tax and tax the car at the same time.

What you can't do

You can’t tax someone else’s car with no paperwork at all, and an untaxed car can’t legally be driven or kept on the road (SORN it if it’s staying off-road). Driving untaxed risks an £80 fixed penalty rising to a court fine.

Is it legal to tax a car without the logbook?

Yes. The physical V5C is not what makes taxing legal: the law cares that the vehicle is taxed, and DVLA itself provides every route on this page for doing that without the document in your hand. What is illegal is driving or keeping an untaxed vehicle on the road, and taxing a car you have no connection to. If you are the keeper, or the new keeper holding the green slip, taxing without the logbook is not a workaround; it is the official process.

A warning about paid car-tax websites

Vehicle tax is paid to DVLA and to nobody else. The official service at gov.uk/vehicle-tax charges you nothing beyond the tax itself, and every route on this page, including the no-logbook ones, is DVLA's own. Independent websites exist that offer to "help" tax your car for a fee: they are not the DVLA, they cannot do anything you cannot do free at gov.uk, and some lean on exactly the missing-logbook worry this page solves. Before typing a registration into any site, check the address bar says gov.uk.

FAQs

Can I tax a car with just the registration number?
No, the reg alone isn’t enough. You need a V5C, V11 or V5C/2 reference, or to apply for a replacement V5C.

Is the car taxed while I wait for the replacement V5C?
Yes, once you’ve paid via any route above, the tax is live even though the log book hasn’t arrived.

Can I tax my car without the logbook?
Yes. You need one of DVLA's reference numbers rather than the document itself: the 11-digit reference from the V5C, the 16-digit reference from a V11 reminder, or the 12-digit reference from the green V5C/2 slip if you have just bought it. With none of them, use DVLA's combined replace-and-tax service or a V62 at a Post Office.

Can I tax my car without the reminder letter (V11)?
Yes. The V11 is a convenience, not a requirement. Use the 11-digit reference on the V5C at gov.uk/vehicle-tax, by phone or at a Post Office. Missing both the V11 and the V5C puts you on Route 3 above.

Can you tax a SORN car without the logbook?
Yes, the same routes apply. Use the V5C or V11 reference if you have either; otherwise apply for the replacement V5C and tax in one journey, or use the V62 at a Post Office. The tax is live once paid, so the car can go back on the road straight away.

Related guides

• The V5C decoded: every section explained
• How to apply for a V5C
• Lost your V5C? What to do
• The V62 form explained

Sources

gov.ukTax your vehiclegov.ukGet a vehicle log book (V5C)