V5C Logbook: The Complete UK Guide

The V5C — the document almost everyone calls the log book — is the registration certificate the DVLA issues for every vehicle on the UK register. It records who is responsible for the car, it's the paperwork that changes hands when a vehicle is bought or sold, and it's the document fraudsters most often forge, alter or "forget" to hand over.

This guide explains what a V5C is in plain English, what every part of the log book does, where to find the reference numbers you need to tax a car or notify a sale, and how to handle the situations that actually cause trouble: buying, selling, correcting mistakes, replacing a lost logbook, and taxing a car without one. Where an amount can change — fees, penalties, processing times — we point you to GOV.UK rather than quote a figure that may be out of date by the time you read it.

What is a V5C log book?

A V5C is the vehicle registration certificate issued by the DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency). It is the official record of a vehicle's identity — make, model, colour, engine size, fuel type, VIN and date of first registration — and of the registered keeper: the person responsible for taxing the vehicle, keeping its details current, and receiving fines and DVLA correspondence.

Every vehicle on the UK register has one. When a car changes keeper, when it's taxed, when it's declared off the road, when its details change, the V5C sits behind the transaction. What it is not is a receipt, and it is not evidence that the person holding it has the right to sell the car — a distinction we come back to below, because it is where most private buyers get caught out.

V5C, V5, car log book or registration document — what's the difference?

Nothing: they are all names for the same piece of paper. "V5" is the older form number, V5C is the current one, "log book", "car logbook" and "vehicle log book" are the everyday names, and "vehicle registration certificate" is what is actually printed on the front. So whether you're looking for a V5C form, a DVLA log book or a UK car ownership document, you're looking for the same certificate.

The documents that surround it do have their own numbers, and mixing them up is the source of a lot of confusion:

• V5C — the log book itself, held by the registered keeper.
• V5C/2 — the green new keeper slip torn from the V5C and handed to the buyer on the day of sale.
• V62 — the application form used to get a replacement V5C, or a first one if you never received it.
• V11 — the tax reminder letter the DVLA posts before your vehicle tax expires. Not a log book, but it carries a reference number that lets you renew.

Is a log book proof of ownership? Registered keeper vs owner

No. This is the single most misunderstood fact in UK motoring, and the V5C says so itself: the words "this document is not proof of ownership" are printed on the front. The certificate names the registered keeper — the person who keeps and uses the vehicle and answers to the DVLA for it — which is not legally the same as the owner, the person or company with legal title to it.

Usually they're the same person, but not always. A company car is often owned by a leasing firm while the employee is the registered keeper. A car on hire purchase or a conditional-sale agreement belongs to the finance company until the last payment clears, even though the driver's name is on the logbook. A parent may buy a car that their child keeps and insures.

Ownership is proved by the commercial paperwork instead: the invoice or receipt from the sale, a bill of sale, the finance agreement, or bank records showing who paid. When you buy privately, always take a signed receipt showing the seller's name and address, the registration and VIN, the date, the price and both signatures — that receipt, not the V5C, is what proves the car is yours.

Why it matters when buying: a seller waving a logbook has not proven the car is theirs to sell. Outstanding finance in particular means a lender may still legally own the vehicle and can recover it from you after the sale — an outstanding finance check is the only way to know before you hand over money.

What a V5C looks like, section by section

The current certificate is red. It is printed on multi-part paper with a "DVL" watermark that shows when you hold it up to the light, and it carries the vehicle's details, the keeper's details, a declaration area and the tear-off green slip. If a seller shows you an old blue V5C, treat it as a red flag: the red certificate replaced it years ago, and blank blue forms stolen from the DVLA have been used in vehicle fraud ever since — the affected serial-number ranges are published on GOV.UK if you want to check a document.

The DVLA has revised the layout more than once, so a new V5C will not look identical to one issued a decade ago, and the section numbers have moved between editions. The information captured is the same. When a guide, a dealer or a forum post tells you to "fill in section 6" — the part where the new keeper's details go on a private sale — go by the heading printed on your own copy rather than the number, and you will not go wrong.

Where to find the V5C document reference number

The V5C number — properly, the document reference number — is the 11-digit number printed on the front of the certificate. It is what every DVLA online service asks for, and each related document carries its own reference of a different length, which is a quick way to tell which one you're holding:

• V5C log book — 11 digits. Use it when the vehicle is already registered in your name: taxing it, declaring a SORN, notifying a sale online.
• V5C/2 green new keeper slip — 12 digits. Use it on the day you buy a car, before the full logbook reaches you.
• V11 tax reminder — 16 digits. Use it to renew your existing tax.

Newer certificates also print a single validation character alongside the reference number. Some DVLA services ask for it to confirm that you are physically holding the document rather than working from a number someone read out to you; when a service needs it, the on-screen instructions show you exactly where to look.

Treat those numbers like a password. Anyone with the reference can act on the vehicle through the DVLA's online services, so don't include the logbook in photographs when you advertise a car for sale, don't email a scan to a stranger, and don't keep the V5C in the glovebox — a logbook left in a stolen car is exactly what a cloner needs.

Check the VIN on the log book against the car

The VIN printed on the V5C is the one detail that ties the paperwork to this specific vehicle. On the car itself it is stamped or etched on a plate, usually at the base of the windscreen, under the bonnet, or on the driver's door frame, and often repeated on the floor beneath a seat or the boot carpet.

Compare them character by character. A VIN that has been scratched, over-painted, riveted on crookedly or doesn't match the logbook points to a cloned or "ringed" vehicle — the identity of a legitimate car welded onto a stolen one. If anything is off, walk away and run a stolen car check before you contact the seller again.

Checking the V5C when buying a used car

Most stolen and cloned cars are sold on the back of a missing, forged or altered logbook. Before money moves, check:

1. The seller's identity matches the V5C. Ask for photo ID and check the name and address against the keeper details. Be suspicious if the "seller" isn't the keeper and can't clearly explain why — selling on behalf of a relative happens, but it is also the standard cover story.
2. You're at the keeper's address. A classic cloning setup is meeting "halfway", in a car park or a lay-by, so you never see the address printed on the document, and never see the car at a home you could return to.
3. The VIN matches. Compare the VIN on the V5C with the plate on the car itself, and check the registration number too. Any mismatch, walk away.
4. The document is genuine. A real V5C has the DVL watermark visible against the light, crisp printing and no alterations. Crumpled, photocopied, "still at my mum's" or "lost — I'll send it on" documents are classic red flags.
5. The story matches the records. Number of previous keepers, date of first registration, colour, fuel type and engine details should line up with what official records say about that registration — and with the advert — so check the car's MOT history and make sure the test record tells the same story.

For the full pre-purchase routine — service history, MOT record, finance, mileage and more — work through our used car buying checklist.

Buying a car without a V5C: the risks

"The log book's in the post" is one of the oldest lines in the used-car trade. Sometimes it's true — a genuine keeper who moved house and is waiting on a duplicate — and sometimes it means the car is stolen, on finance, an unrecorded write-off, or being sold by someone who has no right to sell it. Without the document you lose every check above: no keeper verification, no address, no watermark, no VIN comparison.

Our advice is blunt: don't buy a car without a logbook unless you understand exactly why it's missing and the history checks come back clean. The safest answer is to ask the seller to order a replacement V5C from the DVLA and to complete the sale when it arrives. If you decide to go ahead anyway:

1. Take a detailed signed receipt — seller's full name and address, their ID details, registration, VIN, mileage, price and date.
2. Photograph the VIN plate, the number plates and the car, and keep the advert and every message exchanged with the seller.
3. Run a full vehicle check on the registration first — theft and finance markers, write-off records, keeper count and mileage history don't depend on the seller handing you anything.
4. Apply for a V5C in your name with form V62 as soon as you've paid, and expect it to take several weeks.

Remember that if the car turns out to be stolen it goes back to its rightful owner and you lose the money as well as the vehicle. A missing V5C is not a bargaining chip — it's a reason to walk.

Selling or transferring: how the V5C handover works

When a vehicle changes keeper, the DVLA must be told — and since the process moved online, the safest way is to do it immediately, online, while both parties are present:

1. Go to the DVLA's "tell DVLA you've sold a vehicle" service on GOV.UK.
2. Enter the 11-digit reference number from the V5C and the buyer's name and address.
3. Fill in the new keeper section of the logbook (the part usually numbered section 6) and give the buyer the green new keeper slip, the V5C/2.
4. The DVLA confirms by email, refunds any full months of remaining tax to the seller, and posts an updated V5C to the buyer. Destroy the rest of the old certificate once the confirmation arrives.

Doing this on the spot protects the seller as much as the buyer: from the moment the transfer is registered, speeding fines, parking penalties and tax liability belong to the new keeper. If you use the paper route instead, post the relevant section to the DVLA in Swansea and expect the new logbook to take a few weeks. Selling to a dealer, an insurer after a total loss, or a scrapyard uses the trade section of the document instead — the principle is identical, and you should still get written confirmation from the DVLA that you are no longer the keeper.

Road tax does not transfer with the car. Since October 2014 it is cancelled automatically on a keeper change: the seller gets a refund for full remaining months, and the buyer must tax the vehicle before driving it away — the green slip's reference number is enough. Details in our road tax guide.

Can you change ownership of a vehicle online without the V5C?

Not through the online service: it asks for the 11-digit document reference number, which only exists on the certificate itself. If the log book is lost, the seller writes to the DVLA in Swansea instead, giving the registration number, make and model, the exact date of sale, and the new keeper's name and address, along with their own details. The DVLA confirms the change by letter, and the buyer applies for the V5C using a V62.

This route works, but it is slow and leaves the buyer with nothing in the meantime. If you are the seller, order a replacement logbook before you advertise the car; if you are the buyer, treat "we'll sort it with a letter" as a reason to slow the deal down, not to speed it up.

Correcting mistakes on a V5C: wrong name, address or vehicle details

Errors on a logbook are common — a misspelt name, an old address, the wrong colour after a respray, or a different engine after a rebuild. Leaving them uncorrected causes real problems: missed tax reminders, refund cheques sent to an address you left years ago, disputed insurance claims and suspicious-looking paperwork when you come to sell.

Wrong name on the V5C after buying a car

If your new logbook arrives with your name misspelt, send it back to the DVLA with a covering letter setting out the correct details — it costs nothing and takes a few weeks. Two situations are more serious. If the certificate arrives in somebody else's name entirely, the keeper change was processed incorrectly and you should contact the DVLA straight away rather than let it sit. And if a seller hands you a V5C already in a third party's name and suggests you "just cross it out and put yours", refuse: a keeper change has to be registered properly, and a document altered by hand is worthless at best and evidence of a problem at worst.

Send postal corrections to the DVLA in Swansea — the exact address for each case is on GOV.UK. Never buy a car on the promise that the seller "will sort the logbook out later": mismatched details are exactly what a stolen car check exists to catch.

Lost, damaged or never received: replacing a V5C

If the logbook is lost, stolen, damaged, destroyed or simply never arrived, the registered keeper can get a duplicate. Only the registered keeper can apply — which is another reason a buyer should never accept "I'll get a new one sent to you".

• Online or by phone — if your name and address haven't changed, the DVLA can issue a replacement V5C, which normally arrives within days.
• Form V62 — the paper application, used when your details have changed or you never had the document. There is a fee (£25 at the time of writing; confirm the current amount on GOV.UK) and it can take several weeks. Some cases are free, so read the notes on the form before you pay.

If you have just bought a car and the V5C hasn't appeared, don't rush to pay for a duplicate. The DVLA publishes how long a keeper change should take; contact them once that window has passed, because if the transfer is already in progress a second application only adds delay. Keep the green V5C/2 slip until the certificate arrives — it is your evidence that the sale was notified.

Can I tax a car without a log book?

Yes, in most cases — vehicle tax needs a valid reference number, not the logbook itself. What you can do depends on which document you actually have:

• Just bought the car? Use the 12-digit reference on the green new keeper slip (V5C/2). You can tax online, by phone or at a Post Office immediately, and you should do it standing next to the car, before you drive away.
• Existing keeper with a V11 reminder? The 16-digit reference on the reminder letter works for online, phone or Post Office renewal.
• No V5C, no slip, no reminder? Apply for a replacement logbook with a V62. At a Post Office that deals with vehicle tax you can normally hand in the V62 and tax the vehicle in the same visit, which is the fastest way out of this situation.

What documents do you need to tax a car?

Whichever route you take, have these to hand:

1. A reference number — from the V5C, the V5C/2 green slip or the V11 reminder.
2. A valid MOT, if the vehicle is old enough to need one. The system checks the MOT record automatically and will refuse the tax if it has expired.
3. Insurance — checked automatically against the Motor Insurance Database in Great Britain; in Northern Ireland you must show an insurance certificate or cover note.
4. A payment method — card, or bank details if you're setting up a monthly or six-monthly Direct Debit.

One more option if the car is coming off the road instead: declare a SORN rather than let the tax lapse — an untaxed, un-SORNed vehicle collects automatic penalties, and a SORN can be declared with the same V5C or V11 reference numbers.

V5C log book FAQ

Is the V5C the same as the log book?

Yes — "log book" is the everyday name for the V5C vehicle registration certificate issued by the DVLA. Same document, and "V5", "car log book" and "registration document" all refer to it too.

Is a log book proof of ownership?

No. The V5C names the registered keeper, the person responsible for the vehicle, which is not legally the same as the owner — the document itself says it is not proof of ownership. A sales invoice, receipt or finance agreement is what proves who owns a car.

What is the V5C/2 green new keeper slip?

It's the perforated green section of the log book that the seller fills in and hands to the buyer on the day of sale. It carries a 12-digit reference number that lets the new keeper tax the car straight away, and it stands as interim evidence that the DVLA has been told the vehicle changed hands.

Where is the V5C document reference number?

It's the 11-digit number printed on the front of the certificate. The green V5C/2 slip has its own 12-digit reference, and a V11 tax reminder has a 16-digit one — the length tells you which document you're holding.

Can I tax my car while waiting for the log book?

Yes. If you've just bought the car, tax it with the 12-digit reference on the green V5C/2 slip. If you have no slip and no V5C, apply for a replacement with form V62 — a Post Office that handles vehicle tax can usually take the V62 and tax the vehicle in the same visit.

How much does it cost to replace a lost V5C?

A duplicate ordered online or by phone by the registered keeper is free when your details are unchanged. A V62 application carries a fee (£25 at the time of writing) — check the current amount and the exemptions on GOV.UK before you send it.

Can I change ownership of a car online without the V5C?

No. The online service needs the 11-digit reference from the certificate. Without it, the seller must write to the DVLA in Swansea with the registration, make and model, date of sale and the new keeper's name and address, and the buyer then applies for the log book with a V62.

How long does a new V5C take to arrive?

After an online keeper transfer, typically under a week. Paper applications and V62 replacements can take several weeks — the current expected times are published on GOV.UK.

Can I drive while waiting for the V5C?

Yes, provided the vehicle is taxed, insured and has a valid MOT. The green V5C/2 slip is your interim evidence that the DVLA has been notified.

Does a full set of old V5Cs prove good history?

It helps, but paperwork can be forged or bought. The document tells you what the seller wants to show; a vehicle check tells you what the official records actually say — keepers, MOT history, finance and theft markers — and a mileage check confirms the recorded mileage readings add up.