V5C log book: changing your address, selling a car and getting a replacement

The V5C, known in Britain as the log book, is the vehicle registration certificate. It is not proof of ownership: it tells DVLA who is responsible for the car. That person is the registered keeper, and it is the keeper who must tell DVLA about a move, a sale or a lost document. Stay silent about a new address and GOV.UK says the fine can reach £1,000.

Who is the registered keeper, and why is that not the owner?

The registered keeper is the person the vehicle is recorded against in the DVLA database. GOV.UK puts the duty squarely on them: you must update the log book if you are the registered keeper. Owning the car is a separate matter — on a company car the keeper is often the business. Every DVLA online service below is open only to the keeper.

What happens if you do not tell DVLA you have moved?

A fine of up to £1,000. The GOV.UK change-of-address page leaves no room: you can be fined up to £1,000 if you do not tell DVLA when your address changes. Updating the address is itself usually free, so the penalty is for the silence.

One move touches five documents, by GOV.UK's own list: the driving licence, the V5C, the Direct Debit for vehicle tax if you pay that way, the V750 or V778 papers for a personalised number, and the trailer registration certificate if you take a trailer abroad. A temporary move — living away at university — need not be reported if DVLA can still reach you at your permanent address.

How do you change the address on a V5C?

Through the DVLA online service, if only the address changes and the new one is in the UK. You need the registration number, the log book reference number, a UK address, and a check on whether the vehicle needs taxing in the next four weeks. If it does, tax it online using the current document first.

The service is not open around the clock: Monday to Friday 7am to 9pm, weekends 7am to 8pm. You cannot use it if you are changing name and address together, changing the name only, have sold, transferred or bought the vehicle, have already sent the log book to DVLA, have lost it, the vehicle is on the DVLA fleet scheme, or the new address is outside the UK — Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man and Ireland included.

What do you do when a car is sold or bought?

The seller tells DVLA that the keeper has changed, online or by post. Online, the seller registers the vehicle to the new keeper, fills in the green new keeper slip, hands it to the buyer and destroys the V5C. By post, the seller completes section 2 on a new-style log book — the one with multi-coloured numbered blocks on the cover — or section 6 on the older style, signs the section 8 declaration with the buyer, gives over the green slip and posts the V5C to DVLA.

ADV · A001ONLYWAY JEWELRY — gold, silver and platinumRings, chains, bracelets, earrings and pendants. Delivery across the UK.Advertise here

Once DVLA is told, the seller's vehicle tax is cancelled and refunded for every full month remaining. For the buyer comes the part that catches people out: the tax does not transfer with the car. GOV.UK requires you to tax a vehicle you have bought before you drive it, or declare it off the road with a SORN.

What if there is no log book at all?

The online sold-or-bought service is closed in two cases: you have already posted the V5C, or you do not have one. A buyer without a log book applies on form V62. A seller without one must write to DVLA with their name and address, the registration number, the make and model, the exact date of sale, and the name and address of the new keeper or motor trader. The address is DVLA, Swansea, SA99 1BA, with correct postage.

How much does a replacement V5C cost?

£25. You need one if the original is lost, stolen, damaged or destroyed. Online or by phone works only when the details stay the same, and the certificate goes to the address DVLA already holds. The online application needs the registration number, the VIN or chassis number, and the name and postcode on the V5C. There is no refund, even if the old document turns up next day.

Apply by post if you need to change the vehicle details, did not get a V5C for a new vehicle, or took the vehicle out of the UK. Changing vehicle details means form V62 plus a cheque or postal order for £25 payable to 'DVLA, Swansea', sent to DVLA, Swansea, SA99 1DD. A missing V5C on a newly bought car means the same V62 with the green new keeper slip — and the slip must come from the most recent log book.

How long is the wait, and can you drive meanwhile?

An online replacement usually arrives within 5 to 7 working days, a postal one in about four weeks. Contact DVLA if two weeks have passed since an online application, or four since a postal one, and nothing has arrived. Delay is expensive: if you have not reported the non-delivery and six weeks go by, you pay £25 again.

You can keep driving meanwhile. The GOV.UK change-of-address guidance says it plainly: you can still drive while you wait for your new documents.