Car tax check

The DVLA will run monthly checks on all cars registered in the UK — if your car is not registered as a SORN and is untaxed, an automated £80 fine is sent to the registered keeper’s address. Failure to pay can result in the fine increasing up to £1,000 and the DVLA has the power to clamp your car until the tax has been paid.

The only exception for driving without tax is if you are driving to a pre-booked MOT test.

If your car was registered before 1 March 2001, your road tax will be calculated based on your engine size. For a car registered after this date, the tax will be calculated based on the CO2 emissions and fuel type.

If you cancel your car tax, you will automatically receive a refund for any full months remaining. This is calculated from the date your information was registered and you should receive the payment within 10 working days.

You can tax your vehicle online via the government website. To do so you will need a reference number from a V11 reminder document, your vehicle logbook, or a green ‘new keeper’ slip if you have recently purchased the car.

You can pay for your road tax by setting up a Direct Debit online or at a Post Office. You can choose to pay every 6 or 12 months, although there is a 5% surcharge for paying in 6-month intervals.

Some vehicles are ‘exempt’ from tax but still need to be taxed even though you don’t need to pay. You may be exempt from tax if:

• The vehicle is used by a person with a disability
• A vehicle was registered before the 1st January 1979
• Electric vehicles with a list price of over £40,000 that are registered after the 31st March 2017
• Electric vehicles where electricity comes from an external power source
• Vehicles that are used for agriculture, horticulture and forestry

Road tax must be renewed every year, although payments can be made on either a 6-month or 12-month basis. You can check when your car tax expires using our free car tax check by entering your registration plate at the top of the page.

Some cars have free road tax, but you will still need to register your car using the DVLA website. Read our informative guide on car tax bands to find out how much your road tax will be.

If you have a used car registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017 that emits less than 100g/km of CO2, you won’t pay any road tax. If your car is registered after this date, only electric vehicles are exempt from road tax as the government aims to reduce the amount of CO2 emissions created by combustion vehicles.

If you're buying a used car, it's important to make sure that the vehicle is taxed. There are many different ways to check if a car is taxed.

To find out when your vehicle tax is due, use our free car tax checker. Once you’ve entered your vehicle registration number, you will be provided with the status of your car tax and the date it expires.