Scrapping a Car With the DVLA
Whether they’ve been written off, reached the end of their working lives or you’ve decided that you can no longer afford the upkeep of your car; the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) ensure that scrap cars are disposed of according to very specific guidelines. Scrapping a car with the DVLA is easy with Giveacar as we take charge of the process from start to finish. Read below to see how it all works!
The process for scrapping a car with the DVLA is a simple one when you donate your car with Giveacar. On your chosen day of collection we require you to remove Section 9 (Section 4 in newer vehicles) and send that off to the DVLA which lets them know you’re no longer the registered keeper. You can also inform the DVLA by following this link: https://www.gov.uk/sold-bought-vehicle.
Our partnered Authorised Treatment Facilities, are regulated by the Environment Agency and are required to offer us the Certificate of Destruction for your old vehicle. If you would like to receive a copy of your Certificate of Destruction, please call or email us. 
If this all sounds rather time-consuming, you can donate your scrap car to Giveacar instead!
All you have to do is give us a bell, leave a few details and we’ll organise for a reputable scrap car recycling and collection agent to come and collect your scrap car at your convenience.
The DVLA is also your point of contact if you are considering keeping your registration plate –we warn you though, it is quite a complicated process – and if you want to reclaim the car tax on a donated car.
We can pick up any car as long as it has the body, engine and wheels so our collection agents can manoeuvre it onto their collection truck. With any UK car, in order to cede all legal responsibility for the car, you must ensure that you are issued with a Certificate of Destruction which is sent to the DVLA. In the case of foreign cars, you will receive a Notification of Destruction instead.
Applying to Remove Your License Plate
If you want to keep the license plate of your current car, this is the first step where you’ll need to get in contact with the DVLA. There are a few stipulations to the process, and it is only applicable for private personalised plates, but you can at least keep it for future use if you want.
This will also cost you £80 to do and a visit to the DVLA may be required, so it’s worth weighing up how much you want to keep the plate. You can find out more by clicking here.
Do I Need the V5C (Log Book) to Scrap My Car or Not?
By law, you do not need to have your V5C registration certificate (log book) for the vehicle you are looking to scrap. However, it’s much simpler to scrap your car if you’ve managed to retain it. You can still apply and get a new V5C logbook for £25 from the DVLA if you’re looking for the most straightforward process.
Otherwise, to proceed with scrapping your car without a V5C certificate in place, there are a few things you will need to do to cover yourself if questions are asked. Also, you have a couple of options when deciding on how you want to handle the overall process. We break down how to successfully scrap your car without a V5C below. Click here to find out more.
Letting the DVLA Know When You’ve Scrapped Your Car
If you’re not planning on keeping any parts (including the number plate) at all from your car, there are two main ways to keep the DVLA informed when you’re finally coming to getting rid of it.
Online:
The most common way by far to let the DVLA know is online, through the government’s official website. You’ll need to know three key things:
- Your vehicle registration number
- Your 11-digit reference number from Section 9 of your logbook or V5C
- The name and address of the Authorised Treatment Facility who took your vehicle. They’ll need this even if you didn’t technically get any money for recycling your car
It’s a pretty fast, easy process online – although obviously, it’s even faster to have Scrap Car Network do it all for you! Here is the link for you https://www.gov.uk/sold-bought-vehicle
By post:
If you want to let the DVLA know by post instead, it’s an equally simple process in theory. However, you’ll need to make sure you’ve definitely got all the paperwork to hand! Once you have, it’s just a matter of filling in Section 9 of your logbook, putting it in an envelope and sending it on to the DVLA’s offices. Their address is:
DVLA
Swansea
SA99 1AR
If you’ve sold your car to your insurance company, they might sometimes ask you for the entire logbook. If that’s the case, you just need to make sure you send a letter to the DVLA with details of your insurance company, and the exact date that you handed over your car. That way, they can get the information they need from your insurers directly, and that’s your part in it over!
Does Mileage Actually Affect the Scrap Value of My Car?
Generally, mileage won’t actually affect the value of your car to a scrapyard. Case closed, right? Not quite. It’s true: authorised treatment facilities will typically value a car based on a few factors, such as weight, condition, and the presence of major parts; mileage doesn’t usually come into the equation. With that said, however, the mileage of your car naturally affects these factors and can change how you approach scrapping your car.
How Can I be Sure the DVLA Knows I’ve Scrapped My Car?
The DVLA are generally pretty good communicators – as you’d hope from a government agency! Once they’re all up to speed on the status of your scrap car, they’ll send you a letter to confirm you’re no longer the legally registered keeper of the car. It’s a good idea to file this letter away when you receive it, just in case.
If you haven’t had this letter within four weeks of your first contact with them, you might want to give them a quick call on 0300 790 6801, and find out what the situation is. (If you provided them with your email address, they’ll send you an email confirmation, so it’s a good plan to give your inbox a cursory check before you pick up the phone!)
Car Tax Refund – How to cancel road tax and claim your refund back
Car tax used to be a bargaining chip when you were selling a car. If you had remaining months left of tax it could act as a sweetener to the deal as car tax could previously be passed on between owners. This all changed since the tax disc was abolished in October 2014.
Since the car tax was scrapped any remaining months of car tax are cancelled and then refunded back to the driver. This also applies to cars that have SORN (Statuary Off Road Notification).
After informing the DVLA you no longer require car tax for your vehicle you will automatically get a refund. Refunds are only applicable to cars that have full remaining months of tax. Drivers will therefore not receive a refund for any outstanding days or weeks of tax, which is why they should inform the DVLA as soon as possible to avoid missing out on extra cash.
If you pay by Direct Debut it will automatically be called and then a cheque for the full month will be sent to you. It is calculated from the date the DVLA receive your confirmation for cancellation. Drivers will, however, not be refunded on any credit card fees, the 5 per cent surcharge on some direct debit payments and the 10 per cent surcharge on a single 6-month payment.
If you have a car lying on the drive with four months road tax left, donate your car and reclaim the road tax. We can help alleviate you of a car blocking the drive whilst donating its value to charity. No catches, no complexities. Call us to find out how much money we can get for your car. Please see here to find out more.
The Giveacar Scheme
So, now you’ve done your prep on how to scrap a car with the DVLA are you now ready for the next step? The Giveacar scheme is designed to make the process as easy as possible for you whilst raising the most amount for your nominated charity.
We have a series of collection companies based nationwide meaning we can collect cars from most locations. Please note that the price offered for your old car with differ depending on how close you are to one of our collection operators. You can find out more here.
Collection is quick! After you submit your details with Giveacar we shall inform the collection operators of your request. They will then call you within two working days to arrange the collection which usually happens within a week. Again, this differs depending on the location of your car to the operator. To finalise the process you’ll receive a confirmation of the final amount raised with six to eight weeks time.
Giveacar is proud to be the first car donation company! We are a not-for-profit social enterprise and our sole means of income is generated from the administration fee taken from the money made from each vehicle donate. Cars that raised up to £150 have a 25% admin fee applied, and anything over £150 will have a 30% admin fee. Once the 5% VAT is added, the rest will go to your nominated charity. The money Giveacar makes from the sale of your old and unwanted car goes straight back into our scheme, therefore directly raising more money for other charities.
If you have any questions, please call us on 0207 736 4242.
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