You need to contact the DVLA to pay or enquire about your Vehicle Excise Duty/'Road Tax'. See 'Useful Information' below.
You can look at some Law relating to 'Road Tax' here .
Click here to see our guide to paying your 'Road Tax' or here to go direct to the DVLA 'taxing your vehicle' web page.
To contact the DVLA by phone or mail for those more difficult queries have a look at our helpful section 'Contacting the DVLA'.
You CANNOT pay your Vehicle Excise Duty/'Road Tax' using our website.
We can sell you a very nice reminder though!
If not, click 'here' for some other ways to remember.
Useful Information
Check your own tax and MOT
You can check your own tax and MOT due dates at the DVLA website by clicking here.
The Law
You no longer need to display a tax disc by law and it is NOT an offence to display an old one or a reminder disc. You do need to take care that the vision of the driver is not impaired (The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 as amended) and you should try and avoid intruding into the swept area of the windscreen though there is some debate on this subject. MOT testing rules were amended in 2014 by a special notice (MOT SPECIAL NOTICE, Issue Number 2 - 2014, Issue Date March 2014 ) as follows :
'From the driver’s seat, check the view of the road through the swept area of the windscreen. Only fail the vehicle if there is damage or an obstruction -
- in zone A [from DOT 'Stickers or Other Obscurations in Front and Rearwindscreens' May 2010 : vertical area 290mm wide, centred on the steering wheel and contained within the swept area of the windscreen (this area is 350mm wide on vehicles over 3.5 tonnes)], greater than a 10mm diameter circle and which materially affects the driver’s view of the road.
- in the remainder of the swept area, greater than a 40mm diameter circle and which materially affects the driver’s view of the road.
Note: Where any damage or obstruction does not impair the driver’s view of the road, the vehicle should pass. If it only affects the driver’s view of the sky or the bonnet then this is not to be considered a reason for rejection.[our emphasis] This is a general assessment of driver’s view – you are not required to speculate on the effects on tall or short drivers. Any manufacturer’s original design characteristics are to be accepted.
The inspection manual will be amended at the next available opportunity.'
The law concerning Vehicle Excise Duty (VED), or 'Road Tax', is governed by the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 (VERA) (as amended).
This Act of Parliament sets out the duties to pay VED, who should pay it, and what vehicles it is paid on.
The same Act details how vehicles should be registered in Part II.
It also sets out the penalties for offences in Part III of the Act.
Section 1 of VERA provides for the charging of VED. Section 2 of VERA provides that VED in respect of a vehicle of any description is chargeable by reference to the applicable rate specified in schedule 1 of VERA.
The contents of schedule 1 are amended from time to time, usually at Budget time as amended by successive Finance Acts.
The latest VED, or 'Road Tax', for your vehicle can be found by following the instructions on the DVLA website by 'clicking here'.
Schedule 2 of VERA also provides details of those vehicles which are exempt from paying 'Road Tax' / VED such as vintage cars, fire engines and ambulances, etc.
If you don’t keep or use your vehicle on a public road, you can make a SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification) instead of taxing it. This can be done on the DVLA website using the following link - Make a SORN.
Paying your VED or 'Road Tax'.
You can pay your 'Road Tax'/ VED on line at the DVLA website or at the Post Office.
Paying online
If you are paying online you need your reminder letter (V11).
If you don’t have a reminder letter you can use:
- a V5C registration certificate (log book) that’s in your name - get a replacement if you don’t have one (click here)
- your new keeper supplement (V5C/2) if you’ve just bought the vehicle
- your ‘last chance’ warning letter
This link takes you to the DVLA to pay on line - Pay road tax at DVLA.
Paying at the Post Office
Go to your local Post Office that deals with vehicle tax. You’ll need payment for your vehicle tax and one of the following:
- your vehicle tax reminder letter (V11)
- a V5C registration certificate (log book) in your name
- a new keeper supplement (V5C/2), if you’ve just bought the vehicle
You may also need:
- your MOT test certificate (must be valid when the tax starts)
- a valid reduced pollution certificate
In Northern Ireland you’ll also need an insurance certificate or cover note.
Contacting the DVLA.
The DVLA have an intuitive contact page thats leads you to useful information before providing contact methods - you can go there by clicking here. You should try and follow this guide and their suggested reading before contacting them. There are particular telephone numbers and postal addresses for subjects such as Driving Licence or medical queries
You can contact the DVLA as follows:
By phone
DVLA vehicle tax enquiries
Telephone: 0300 790 6802
Monday to Friday, 8am to 7pm
Saturday, 8am to 2pm
By email
Use the email service to contact DVLA.
By post
Vehicle Customer Services
DVLA
Swansea
SA99 1AR
When to contact DVLA
It can take a few weeks for the DVLA to process things. They suggest some waiting times before contacting them.
Change of address - 4 weeks
Change of vehicle details - 4 weeks
Change of registered keeper - 6 weeks
Confirmation you’ve sold your vehicle - 4 weeks
Put on, take off or keep a private registration number - 2 weeks
Vehicle tax refund - 6 weeks
Confirmation of SORN - 4 weeks
For the following the DVLA suggest waiting 2 weeks if you applied online, or 3 weeks if you applied by post before you contact them about:
your provisional licence
your replacement licence
your renewed licence after you’ve been disqualified
exchanging your licence
Other ways to remember ......
There are other ways to remember these important details if you don't want to buy one of our discs. We suggest that if you don't want one of our discs that you may want some sort of reminder so that you don't get caught out!
Our personal thoughts are you should not really rely on people emailing, texting or sending you reminders just prior to the need to renew you Road Tax, Vehicle Insurance or MOT. They may not actually send it, it might get lost in the post or 'in the cloud', you may have moved, changed phone numbers or email addresses since setting the reminders up or things may get caught up in your (or your ISP's) 'Spam' filter. It has even been known for Vehicle Tax reminders from the DVLA to get lost in the post. Hindsight will not help ease the pain of the fine.
Relying on someone else may also not give you time to explore options for insurance or MOT to allow you to find better value or service. Some garages or Insurance companies provide this service, however it is geared around them obtaining repeat business.
Here are some of our suggestions for what you could do if you don't want to buy a reminder disc, if you have any suggestions yourself to add please contact us and we'll see if we can add it to the list!
- Pay your tax by Direct Debit - be careful though as there is a surcharge.
- Sign up with the DVLA for text or email MOT reminders - click here.
- Leave your old disc in the windscreen (carefully placed to comply with the Law) - If you renew annually the month it expired is likely to remain the same and only the year will change. You can handwrite the MOT and Insurance renewal months on the disc.
- Write the dates on your calender or in your diary, electronic or otherwise, you can plan your own notice.
- Just write it on a bit of paper and put it in your disc holder.
- Put the dates on a 'sticky note' and put it on the back of your sun visor (just remember to look at it!!!!)
Or you could buy a reminder disc from us!
