How do I get the V5C when I buy a used car?
Published 20 October 2026 · reviewed 20 October 2026
In one paragraph
The seller tells the DVLA the car has changed hands, and you receive a new V5C log book in the post as the new keeper. You do not need the book in your hand to drive away: the V5C reference number lets you tax the car online straight away, and the insurance must be live first.
The V5C — the log book — is the document people worry about most and understand least. It is not a receipt, it is not a key, and you do not need it in your hand to drive away. Here is what actually happens to it when a car changes hands.
How do I get the V5C log book when I buy a used car?
The seller tells the DVLA that the car has changed hands, and you receive a new V5C log book in the post as the new keeper. You do not fill the old book in and send it off yourself; the seller's job is to notify the DVLA, and the DVLA's job is to post you a book in your name at the address you gave.
So there are only two things for you to get right at the point of sale:
- make sure your name and address are given exactly as they should appear
- make sure the seller actually does the notification before you leave
When you buy from a dealer, that notification is part of handing the car over rather than something you chase.
Can I drive the car home before the log book arrives?
Yes — what stops you driving away is insurance and tax, not the log book. A car must be insured before it is driven on a public road, including the drive home after buying it, so the insurance has to be in place before you turn the key, not when you get home.
The log book will follow in the post. Nobody expects you to wait for it, and no part of the law asks you to.
Do I have to tax the car myself?
Yes. Vehicle tax does not transfer with a car — the previous keeper's tax does not come with it. As the new keeper you must tax the car before it is driven on a public road, and that can be done straight away online using the V5C reference number.
That is the single most common thing people get caught by, so it has its own page: /read/guides/do-you-need-to-tax-a-car-before-driving-it-home.
How do I tax a car when the V5C has not arrived yet?
You use the reference number rather than the book itself, which is exactly why the system works this way — you can tax the car online immediately with the V5C reference, long before a book lands on your mat. Ask the seller for that reference as part of the handover and the whole thing takes a couple of minutes on GOV.UK.
A short checklist for the day you collect:
- insurance live on that registration
- the V5C reference to hand so you can tax it
- tax done before the car moves on a public road
- your name and address given correctly for the new book
How much does the tax cost on the car I am buying?
It depends on when the car was first registered, not on how old it looks. A car first registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017 is taxed by its CO2 emissions band. A car registered from 1 April 2017 is on a standard yearly rate instead, with an extra charge for five years if its list price when new was above the threshold.
Two cars of the same size and age can therefore sit a long way apart. We have gone through what drives that at /read/costs/what-makes-a-used-car-cheap-to-tax.
What else should come with the car besides the log book?
The MOT history, the service record and the invoice matter as much as the book, and you can check one of them yourself before you go anywhere. Anyone can check a vehicle's MOT history free on GOV.UK with the registration number — every test result, the advisories, the failures, and the mileage recorded at each test.
Every ONECARS car page old enough to have been tested already shows that MOT history from the DVSA, test by test, with the mileage at each test, alongside the car's photographs and its full spec. So there is nothing to request and nothing to take on trust before you drive over. There is a fuller list of what to expect at /read/guides/what-paperwork-should-come-with-a-used-car and a how-to at /read/guides/how-to-check-a-used-cars-mot-history.
Does the car need an MOT before I can tax it?
In England and Wales a car needs its first MOT by the third anniversary of its registration, and then a test every year after that. For any used car old enough to have been tested, that test has to be current for the car to be taxed and driven.
It is worth looking at when the current test runs out as part of deciding what to buy, not after.
What does ONECARS do about the paperwork?
Every car we sell is checked on 34 points by ONEFIX, our own workshop on the same site at Plas Acton in Wrexham, and the published list of those points is at /how-we-check-our-cars. Anything that needs doing is done by ONEFIX before the car is handed over, which is a rule in our own system rather than a promise in a brochure.
The same applies to the dull administrative end of it: the notification to the DVLA, the V5C reference you need to tax the car, the invoice, the MOT history already on the page. There is no admin fee for any of it — the price shown is the price paid. And because the workshop is next door, ONEFIX is also who services, repairs and MOTs the car afterwards. Every car comes with a free three-month warranty on the engine and gearbox up to 2,500 miles, with the work done by ONEFIX on site, and longer paid cover is available: /guides/what-our-warranty-covers.
Can I hold a car while I sort the insurance out?
Yes. A reservation holds the car for fourteen days; within those fourteen days you can cancel for any reason and the fee is refunded in full, and if you go ahead it comes off the price. That is room to get quotes on the registration and line the insurance up properly instead of in a hurry on the forecourt — see /read/guides/how-a-used-car-reservation-works.
If you buy online and have it delivered, it is a distance sale: you have fourteen days from delivery to change your mind and return the car. Delivery is free within 20 miles of Plas Acton on weekdays in hourly slots, and the car is checked, valeted and fuelled before it leaves us. Something small and straightforward to tax and insure, like this 2010 Volkswagen Polo at £2,995, is the usual starting point for a first car.
Where do I come and do this in person?
Plas Acton Garage, 282 Chester Road, Wrexham LL12 8DU — Monday to Friday 9 to 5, Saturday 10 to 4, viewings by appointment, with a second forecourt at Ruyton near Shrewsbury. The office number is 01978 356983, the forecourt is at /used-cars, and you can reach us at /contact. Next question most people have: /read/guides/do-you-need-to-tax-a-car-before-driving-it-home.