Taxing Your Vehicle

You cannot drive a motor vehicle on a public road in the United Kingdom without having: valid road tax (Vehicle Excise Duty); vehicle insurance and an MOT certificate (the latter applies only to vehicles more than 3 years old).

Why Pay Road Tax (Vehicle Excise Duty) and Where Does the Money Go?

Firstly it's illegal not to pay it. As for where it goes, well it's shared out along with other taxes we pay, but it's safe to say that a lot of it goes towards our road infrastructure, widening, building bridges and so on. Some of it is also used by local councils and the Highways Agency for repairing and resurfacing roads and for the creation of parking facilities.

How to Tax Your Car

Shortly before your tax is due for renewal, you will be sent a reminder from the DVLA, a V11 form. You can use this form to renew either online, by phone, or at participationg Post Offices. If you're renewing at a Post Office, you will need to take with you:

• Your renewal form
• A current insurance certificate
• A current MOT certificate
• Payment

If you are renewing your car tax online or by phone, then you will just need the reference number from the reminder and the means to pay by debit or credit card.

Length of Time and Fee

You will have the option to pay for six months or for the full twelve month period. Generally (and perhaps unfairly) - if you pay for six months at time it is more expensive than paying for the whole year in one go. The fees vary depending upon the age and engine size (plus CO2 emissions) of your vehicle. Your reminder will tell you how much you should pay, but you can find out online or at a Post Office if you do not have a reminder.

Tax Disc

When you have completed the renewal process you will be given a current tax disc to display in your windscreen. At the Post Office you'll be given this immediately, but if you've rewewed online, you'll need to wait for a few days before the new disc arrives.

Necessary Documents

To drive on the roads you must have valid insurance, tax and MOT - if you renew your tax disc at the Post Office you will be expected to have your original insurance and MOT certificates as copies will not be accepted. In recent years insurance companies have had to record all motor insurance policy details on the Motor Insurance Database (MID), so the DVLA has a record of whether a car has valid insurance or not. This is why when you renew online you do not have to provide your insurance details. A similar system operates for MOT certificates. Each time a registered MOT centre issues a new MOT certificate in respect of a vehicle, they submit the details to a central computer operated by the VOSA (Vehicle Operater and Standards Agency).

What if I Haven't Got a Reminder?

If you haven't received a renewal notice, or you've lost it, then you can renew online, by post, or at the Post Office. If you renew online or by phone, you will have to have your Vehicle Registration Document (V5c) number and your car's registration number and means of payment. You will only be able to do this online or by phone if details of your insurance and MOT are held on the government's databases.

If you decide to renew at a Post Office without a renewal reminder you will have to complete form V10 and have with you:

• Valid MOT certificate
• Valid Insurance Documents
• Vehicle Logbook (V5)

If you do not have a registration document - for example if you have just purchased the car - the previous owner of the vehicle should give you the new keeper's supplement part of the registration document (V5c) which you should take with you to the Post office, along with the other documents listed above.

When Will I Get My Reminder?

The DVLA will send you a V11 reminder around three weeks before your current tax is due to expire. You can renew your car tax from the fifth of the month in which the tax disc is due to expire.