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Letter to DVLA after selling a vehicle still registered to me (UK)
England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales · in English · for sellers
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For a former keeper in the UK who sold or passed on a vehicle but is still shown on DVLA's record and is getting reminders, a late licensing penalty or fines for it. If you still have the log book (V5C), tell DVLA first with GOV.UK's free online service, which updates the record at once. The letter is for what that cannot fix: it gives the date and time of the sale and the new keeper's details, says how DVLA was told, and asks DVLA to correct its record and stop action for the time after the sale. Sent first class to the address on DVLA's letter.
- Made for use in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales
- Last updated October 29, 2026
- Document in English
Where a UK document reproduces the words of legislation or of a government publication — UK, Scottish or Northern Irish — it contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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When to use this document
- You sold your car months ago but DVLA in the UK still has you as the keeper.
- Parking tickets and tax reminders for a car you no longer own keep arriving at your address.
- You got a late licensing penalty for a vehicle you had already sold or scrapped.
- You want to write to DVLA to correct the keeper record after selling your car.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Your full name
- Your address (flat, house number and street)
- Town or city
- Your postcode
- Date
- DVLA team or department, as on DVLA's letter (or simply “DVLA”)
- DVLA's address, copied from its letter, with postcode
- Vehicle registration number (number plate)
- Make and model
- Date the vehicle was sold or transferred
- Time the keys were handed over (for example 2:30pm)
- New keeper's full name (or the trader's name)
- New keeper's address, with postcode
- How DVLA was told of the sale
- Reference on DVLA's letter
- What DVLA should cancel (for example a late licensing penalty and its reference)
- Attachments
Common questions
- Can I correct DVLA's record online instead of writing?
- Often yes, and it is free: if you still have the log book (V5C), GOV.UK's service for telling DVLA you have sold a vehicle updates the record at once and sends a confirmation email. If you no longer have the log book, DVLA is told by letter with the date of sale and the buyer's name and address, which this letter gives. A record that is still wrong usually means the sale was never notified, the buyer's details were wrong or the V5C section went astray in the post.
- What should I send with my letter to DVLA about a sold vehicle?
- A copy of the receipt or sale agreement showing the date and time of the sale and the buyer's name and address, and a copy of any DVLA letter you are answering, with its reference. Never send your only copy of a document. DVLA's address depends on the matter, so use the one printed on the letter it sent you.
- Am I responsible for parking tickets and speeding fines after I sold the car?
- Councils (and, in Northern Ireland, the Department for Infrastructure), parking operators and the police write to the keeper on DVLA's record, so they may write to you. Reply to each, with a copy of your sale receipt and the buyer's details, explaining that you were no longer the keeper; answer a police notice to name the driver within the time it gives (28 days in Great Britain). Once DVLA's record is corrected, new notices go to the buyer.
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
DocMuse sells documents, not legal advice. Acceptance always depends on the recipient's rules and your local law.
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