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Car Tax Check
Check whether any UK vehicle is currently taxed, SORN'd, or untaxed — free and instant, using live DVLA data. Enter a registration number to check now.
What you'll see instantly
Everything in one free check
01
Tax Status
Instantly see whether the vehicle is currently taxed, SORN'd, or untaxed — live DVLA data.
02
Tax Expiry Date
See the exact date the current road tax expires so you know when renewal is due.
03
SORN Detection
Find out if the vehicle has been declared off the road — critical information before buying.
About this check
Everything you need to know about checking car tax
Vehicle Excise Duty — commonly known as road tax — is a legal requirement for any vehicle driven or parked on a public road in the UK. It is managed by the DVLA, and enforcement is handled automatically using ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) cameras that can detect untaxed vehicles without any human involvement.
Checking the road tax status of a vehicle is most commonly done when buying a used car. A car declared SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification) cannot legally be driven to you and tells you the vehicle has been officially taken off the road — which could indicate it has been sitting unused for some time or has issues significant enough that the owner decided not to keep it taxed.
It is also important to understand that road tax does not transfer on sale. Unlike the MOT certificate, which stays with the vehicle, road tax is cancelled automatically when ownership changes. The DVLA refunds any unexpired months to the previous owner, and the new owner must tax the vehicle before driving it — even just to drive it home from the seller.
Our car tax check uses live DVLA data and is completely free. The result is returned in seconds — just enter the registration number above.
Got questions?