Paperwork
Scrap a car without the V5C logbook
The logbook is useful, not essential. If you are the registered keeper and can prove who you are and where you live, we can scrap the car and notify the DVLA ourselves. Here is what we need, and the situations where it is better to get a replacement V5C first.
- Photo ID
- Driving licence or passport, in the name on the DVLA record.
- Proof of address
- Utility bill, bank statement or council tax letter from the last three months, for where you live now. If you have moved since the V5C was issued, that is fine — see below.
- We notify the DVLA
- The Certificate of Destruction updates the record whether or not a V5C was handed over.
- Small deduction
- A car without its V5C is priced slightly lower to cover the extra checks. It is shown on your quote.
Why the V5C is not the important document
People assume the logbook is like a deed. It is not — it is a record of who is responsible for the car, and it says so on the front. Under the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 a dealer must verify the identity and address of the person they are buying from, and that is done with photo ID and proof of address, never with the V5C alone. So a missing logbook does not stop the sale; it just means we rely entirely on your ID.
What we do differently when there is no V5C
The driver photographs your ID and proof of address for our records (we are required to keep them for three years), checks the car’s VIN against the DVLA lookup so we know we have the right vehicle, and confirms the name on the bank account matches the ID. Payment goes to the registered keeper only. The Certificate of Destruction is then issued in the normal way and the DVLA record updated.
Write to the DVLA as well
GOV.UK asks every seller to tell the DVLA that the vehicle has gone. Without the V5C you cannot use the online form, because it needs the 11-digit reference from the logbook, so the DVLA asks you to write instead: a short letter to DVLA, Swansea, SA99 1BD with the registration, make and model, the date it was collected, and our name and address as the ATF that took it. Our Certificate of Destruction updates the record too, but the letter is your own dated proof that you handed the car over, and it is what the DVLA expects from a seller with no logbook.
When you should sort the logbook first
If the car is registered to someone else, stop and fix that before scrapping. Otherwise the DVLA’s confirmation and any tax refund go to the wrong person, and you have no easy way to prove the car was yours to scrap. Apply with form V62 (£25) and allow a few weeks. Then book the collection — the price will be the same when you are ready. An old address on a V5C that is in your name is not a reason to wait: we check who you are against your current proof of address, and you just need to tell the DVLA where to send the paperwork.
Common questions
Is it legal to scrap a car without a V5C?
Yes, provided the person selling it is the registered keeper or can show they are entitled to dispose of it. The V5C is not proof of ownership — it says who is responsible for the car — which is why the law requires scrap dealers to check ID rather than logbooks.
Should I apply for a replacement V5C first?
Only if the car is registered to someone else — a relative who has died, an ex-partner, a previous owner who never sent off the paperwork. In those cases sort the record out first (form V62, £25) or the DVLA may keep chasing the wrong person. If the car is registered to you, you do not need to wait — even if the address on the record is out of date.
The car was my late parent’s — can I scrap it?
Yes. We need your ID, something linking you to the estate (a copy of the death certificate and either the will, grant of probate or a letter from the solicitor), and ideally the V5C. Tell us when you book and we will handle it sensitively; the DVLA has a specific process for vehicles of people who have died and we follow it.
What if the V5C is in my name but the address is old?
That is fine. The driver checks your photo ID and proof of where you live now; the V5C does not have to match it, and the collection goes ahead. One thing to know: the DVLA posts its confirmation and any tax refund cheque to the address on its record, and once a car has been scrapped that address cannot be changed. So update your address with the DVLA (free, online) before the collection, or ring them afterwards to redirect the cheque.