Guide 05
A missing logbook is one of the most common worries, and one of the easiest to deal with. You can still scrap the car; the difference is how you tell the DVLA afterwards.
In short
Old MOT certificates, the purchase receipt, insurance documents or service history all help show the car is yours.
Tell the buyer the logbook is missing. It does not change the collection, but they will want to see identification.
After collection, write to DVLA, Swansea, SA99 1BD with your details, the car's details, the scrapping date and the facility's name and address.
The V5C is a registration document, not proof of ownership. It records who the DVLA treats as the keeper. Scrapping is still possible without it, which is why GOV.UK sets out a separate route for notifying the DVLA when there is no logbook.
What a buyer does need is confidence that you are entitled to hand the car over. Licensed scrap metal dealers have to check the identity of the people they buy from, so a driving licence or passport plus something linking you to the address is normal.
Keep it short and complete. The DVLA can reject a notification with details missing, and a rejection can delay or reduce your tax refund. Include your name and address, the registration, the make and model, the exact date of scrapping, and the name and address of the scrapyard. Keep a copy and post it with proof of postage if you can.
You do not need a replacement just to scrap a car. There are situations where it helps, though:
A replacement V5C is applied for with form V62 and costs £25. If you are scrapping the car anyway and none of the situations above applies, the letter route is simpler and cheaper.
Cars bought privately sometimes arrive without the new keeper ever being recorded. You can still arrange collection, but explain the history when you book, and include how and when you acquired the car in your letter to the DVLA. Keep the seller’s details and any receipt.
Questions
Short answers to questions this guide often raises.
Not usually for scrap. The offer is based on the car itself. What changes is the paperwork afterwards.
Explain this when you arrange collection and in your letter to the DVLA, and keep evidence of when you bought the car.
No. The online service needs the 11-digit reference from the V5C, so without it you write in.
Guides
Start with the registration and postcode. A licensed buyer covering your area comes back with an offer, and collection is free.