An untaxed car parked outside your home can take up valuable space, make a street look neglected, and in some cases create a real hazard for drivers and pedestrians. If you think a vehicle near you has no valid road tax, there is a quick, free way to confirm it and report it to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), the body responsible for enforcement.
You do not have to put up with it. The DVLA lets anyone check a vehicle’s tax status online in seconds and report it anonymously if it turns out to be untaxed. This guide walks through every step, from checking the tax status to what happens after enforcement officers get involved, plus what to do if the vehicle is on private land or genuinely abandoned rather than just untaxed.
How to check if a car is untaxed
Check the vehicle’s status before reporting anything. It is not illegal for someone to park a legally taxed car on a public street for a long stretch of time, even directly outside your house, so confirming the tax status first avoids a wasted report.
Use the free DVLA vehicle tax checker on Gov.uk. You only need the vehicle registration number to run the check, and the result tells you whether the car is taxed, untaxed, or registered as SORN.
Check if a vehicle is taxed on Gov.uk
What to do if the vehicle is untaxed or declared SORN
If the checker shows the vehicle as untaxed, you can go straight to reporting it.
If it shows as SORN, that stands for Statutory Off Road Notification, and it means the registered keeper has told the DVLA the car is not being used on the road. A SORN vehicle is not allowed on a public road or in any publicly accessible space, including supermarket car parks, retail park car parks, or pub car parks. A SORN vehicle found in any of these places can be reported in exactly the same way as an untaxed one. The only exception is a vehicle being driven to or from a pre-booked MOT test, where it must still be insured for that journey.
If the vehicle is on a driveway or other private land, it cannot be reported as untaxed, since DVLA enforcement only covers public roads and publicly accessible places. See the section below on reporting other abandoned vehicles instead.
Information needed to report an untaxed vehicle
Have the following ready before you start the report, since the DVLA’s form will not let you submit without it.
- Vehicle registration number
- Make, model, and colour
- Street name, town, and postcode where you saw the vehicle
- Roughly which times the vehicle is usually there, if it is not parked permanently in the same spot
Photos are not required, but they can help enforcement officers confirm the location and condition of the vehicle more quickly if there is any dispute.
How to report an untaxed vehicle
Once you have confirmed the vehicle is untaxed, or is SORN and parked somewhere it should not be, report it through the official DVLA online form.
Report an untaxed vehicle on Gov.uk
The report is anonymous, free, and goes straight to DVLA enforcement teams. If you would rather not use the online form, you can report the same details over the phone to the DVLA on 0300 790 6802.
What happens after you report an untaxed vehicle
Reporting does not lead to immediate removal. DVLA enforcement, sometimes carried out directly or through a local council with a devolved powers agreement, generally follows this sequence.
- Officers verify the vehicle is untaxed and clamp it with a warning notice attached.
- The registered keeper is given a set period to pay the outstanding tax and any fees.
- If no action is taken, the vehicle is removed and placed into DVLA storage.
- If it remains unclaimed, it can be scrapped or sold at auction.
Separately, keeping a vehicle untaxed without a SORN in place also triggers an automatic late licensing penalty of 80 pounds, reduced to 40 pounds if paid within 33 days, regardless of whether anyone reports it.
How to report other abandoned vehicles
A vehicle is treated differently if it shows signs of genuine abandonment rather than simply being untaxed. Signs include visible damage, missing wheels or parts, broken windows, or evidence it has not moved for months. A taxed vehicle in this condition will not be picked up by the DVLA’s untaxed vehicle process, so it needs reporting separately.
Report this kind of vehicle to your local council rather than the DVLA. Councils investigate abandoned vehicle reports and, once confirmed, can arrange removal, sometimes within 24 hours for vehicles that pose a safety risk.
Find out how to report an abandoned vehicle
If a vehicle has no MOT and is being used or causing an obstruction on the road, that is a matter for the police rather than the council or DVLA, since DVLA enforcement covers tax and SORN, not MOT status.
FAQs about reporting an untaxed vehicle
Yes. The DVLA’s online report does not require your name or contact details, and it cannot be traced back to you.
No. Enforcement follows a process of verification, clamping, a notice period for the owner, and removal only if the tax remains unpaid.
Report it to your local council as an abandoned vehicle rather than to the DVLA, since the DVLA only acts on tax and SORN status, not condition.
No, not for being untaxed, since DVLA enforcement only covers public roads and publicly accessible land. If it is genuinely abandoned, contact your local council instead.
No, photos are not required, but they can help enforcement officers verify the location and condition more quickly.
No. SORN bans a vehicle from any publicly accessible place, including supermarket, retail park and pub car parks, not only public roads.
An automatic late licensing penalty of 80 pounds applies, reduced to 40 pounds if paid within 33 days, separate from any enforcement action triggered by a report.
Yes. The DVLA can take the same report over the phone on 0300 790 6802 if you prefer not to use the online form.
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I work around an industrial estate in Whitstable Kent.
Parking is a massive problem with many garages Parking untaxed cars and vans around the estate. There’s more untaxed vehicles even Parked on double yellow lines. On junctions around the estate. It’s the John Wilson business park Whitstable Kent. Especially the roads around the vehicle repair garages, like the road by units 179 down, including the entrance to them units. It’s getting ridiculous.
I have reported 2 untaxed vehicles which at first I though abandoned.. however I now think they are being left there by a ‘car dealer’ who obviously thinks he’s within his rights to leave untaxed cars parked on the road .. they may have an MOT but being untaxed on a public road invalidates the insurance .. if they are insured.
There is an untaxed no mot or insurance at bottom of James Street Penrith Cumbria ca11 9by..It has been there for 3 years not moved.I’ve reported to the council but they say it’s not abandoned because I no who owns it
This car
R208is still sitting on the road even though its still sorn its engine is out on thd roadits still not Moted or Taxed amd I’m having and other people are having to walk up other streets to get to our cars and go to work because this car is still on lomond drive still sorn and not taxed or moted it still on the public road taken up other people’s spaces to parkThank you for bringing this to attention. I understand your frustration with the situation regarding the car
R208. If the vehicle is SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification), it shouldn’t be on a public road, as that would be a violation of the rules. Additionally, without MOT or tax, it’s illegal for it to be driven or parked on public roads.You may want to report this to the local council or the DVLA, as they can take appropriate action regarding untaxed, SORNed, or abandoned vehicles. It’s important that everyone has fair access to parking, especially when it’s affecting your ability to get to work. Hopefully, the authorities will resolve this promptly.
Untaxed vehicles on Parkfield Crescent
There us 2 untaxed vehicles in my street Middleton road BS11