How to check if a car is taxed
Vehicle tax status is public. The registration alone tells you whether a car is taxed, when it runs out, and whether it has been declared off the road instead.
Updated 14 October 2026
Taxed, SORN, or neither
Every registered vehicle is in one of three states. Taxed and legal to use on the road. Declared SORN, Statutory Off Road Notification, which is free, and means it is kept off public roads entirely. Or neither, which is the one that costs money.
A SORN car may not be parked on a public road, not even outside the owner’s house. It has to be on a drive, in a garage or on private land.
SORN lasts until you tax the vehicle again or sell it. It does not expire on its own.
Tax does not transfer when a car is sold
Since October 2014, vehicle tax ends when a car changes hands. The seller gets an automatic refund for the remaining full months; the buyer must tax it before driving it away.
This catches people out constantly. "It has ten months tax on it" has not been true of any private sale for over a decade, whatever the advert says, it is untaxed the moment you own it.
So tax it before you drive it home, not after. You can do it online with the V5C/2 green slip the seller gives you.
Why you cannot always tax it straight away
The DVLA checks for a valid MOT when you tax a vehicle. If the MOT has expired, you generally cannot tax it until it has passed a test.
That is worth knowing before you agree a price on a car with no MOT. You cannot legally drive it away except to a pre-booked test.
Refunds, direct debits and moving house
A refund for full remaining months is issued automatically when you sell a car, declare SORN, scrap it or export it. You do not apply for it, and it goes to the name and address on the V5C, which is why an out-of-date logbook address turns a refund into a cheque you never see.
Paying by direct debit renews the tax automatically each year, which removes the commonest cause of an accidental lapse. It does not survive a change of keeper: selling the car cancels it.
A replaced or expired bank card is the other quiet failure. The payment bounces, the reminder goes to the address on file, and the first you hear of it is the penalty.
Checking it alongside everything else
Odomint shows road tax status and the due date next to the MOT date on the same screen, free, from the registration, because in practice they are the same question asked twice.
It also reminds you before the tax runs out, which matters most for anyone who pays annually rather than by direct debit.
Common questions
Can I check if a car is taxed for free?
Yes. Vehicle tax status is public information and can be checked from the registration number alone.
Does road tax transfer when I buy a car?
No. Since October 2014 the tax ends on sale. The seller is refunded the remaining full months and the buyer must tax the car before driving it.
What does SORN mean?
A Statutory Off Road Notification. It is free, it removes the requirement to tax the vehicle, and it means the car may not be kept or used on a public road.
Check any car before you buy it
MOT history, every advisory and the full mileage record are free for any UK registration. An Odomint Check adds outstanding finance, insurance write-offs, stolen markers and salvage history, with a £10,000 data guarantee.