How to Check Your Car’s Tax and SORN Status (Free)
Two ways to check if your UK vehicle is taxed and what SORN means, plus the fines if you get it wrong.
The DVLA scraps the paper tax disc in 2014 caught a lot of people out — now thousands of drivers get £80+ fines every year for driving cars they didn’t realise were untaxed. Checking is free and takes 10 seconds.
What “taxed” actually means
Every vehicle on a UK public road must have Vehicle Excise Duty (VED), commonly called road tax or car tax. The DVLA tracks it digitally — there’s nothing to display in the windscreen.
What “SORN” means
SORN stands for Statutory Off-Road Notification. It’s a free declaration to the DVLA that says “this car is off the road and I’m not paying tax on it.”
A SORN’d vehicle:
- Must be kept off public roads — driveway, garage, private land only.
- Doesn’t need tax.
- Doesn’t need insurance (though most still insure for theft / fire).
- Still needs a valid MOT if you want to drive it to a pre-booked MOT test.
How to check tax status (free)
- Use MOTMate’s free checker — enter your reg, see tax status and MOT history in one go.
- Or use the official DVLA tool at gov.uk/check-vehicle-tax.
Both tell you whether the car is taxed, when tax expires, or whether it’s SORN.
The fines if you get it wrong
- Untaxed on the road: £80 fixed penalty (reduced to £40 if paid within 28 days). Up to £1,000 court fine if unpaid.
- Untaxed and uninsured: the car can be clamped or impounded — £100+ release fee plus storage costs.
- Driving a SORN’d vehicle on the road: up to £2,500 fine.
Tax reminders
The DVLA sends a V11 reminder by post about 3 weeks before your tax expires. If you’ve moved house and not updated your V5C logbook, you won’t get it — which is the most common cause of accidental untaxed driving.
Set a calendar reminder a month before tax expires, or check your status here every few months.
Frequently asked questions
How do I check if my car is taxed?
Enter your registration into a free checker — MOTMate shows tax status and MOT history in one go, or use the official DVLA tool at gov.uk/check-vehicle-tax. Both tell you instantly whether the car is taxed, when the tax expires, or whether it's declared SORN. There's been nothing to display in the windscreen since the paper tax disc was scrapped in 2014.
What does SORN mean?
SORN stands for Statutory Off-Road Notification — a free declaration to the DVLA that your car is off the road and you're not paying tax on it. A SORN'd vehicle must be kept off public roads (driveway, garage or private land only), doesn't need tax or insurance, but still needs a valid MOT if you want to drive it to a pre-booked test.
What is the fine for driving an untaxed car?
An £80 fixed penalty, reduced to £40 if paid within 28 days, rising to a court fine of up to £1,000 if unpaid. If the car is untaxed and uninsured it can be clamped or impounded, with a £100+ release fee plus storage costs. Driving a SORN'd vehicle on a public road is worse still — up to £2,500.
Why didn't I get a tax reminder from the DVLA?
The DVLA posts a V11 reminder about three weeks before your tax expires — to the address on your V5C logbook. If you've moved house and not updated the logbook, the reminder goes to your old address, which is the most common cause of accidental untaxed driving. Update your V5C, and set your own calendar reminder as a backup.