Vehicle checks
Free SORN check
Enter a registration to see whether the car is declared off the road on the DVLA record. The MOT history beside it gives you a fair idea of how long it has stood.
How do I check if a car is SORN?
Type the registration into the free check. If the keeper has declared the car off the road, the tax status on its DVLA record reads SORN. The record doesn’t say when the SORN started, so read the MOT history beside it to judge how long the car has been laid up.
What SORN means
SORN is short for Statutory Off Road Notification. It’s the keeper’s declaration that a vehicle is kept off public roads: in a garage, on a drive or on private land. While the SORN stands, the vehicle needs no tax or insurance.
- It starts straight away, unless it’s made in the month the tax is due to run out. Then it starts on the first day of the next month.
- It can’t be backdated.
- It never needs renewing.
- It ends when the vehicle is taxed again, sold, exported for good or scrapped.
- The vehicle has to stay in the UK for the SORN to count.
Buying a car that is SORN
A SORN can’t be passed on. It ends when the car is sold, so from the moment it’s yours the car is untaxed.
To keep it off the road, make a SORN in your own name. To drive it, tax and insure it first. Most cars can’t be taxed without a valid MOT, so if the MOT has run out too the car needs a new one before you can tax it.
Work out how you’ll get it home before you agree a price.
GOV.UK: If you buy or sell a vehicleCheck when the MOT runs out
How long has it been off the road?
The DVLA record shows that a car is SORN but not since when. The MOT history fills that gap.
- Find the date of the last MOT test. A car laid up for years will often have missed the tests it would otherwise have had.
- Check whether that MOT has run out. If it has, the car needs a full test before it can be taxed.
- Read the advisories on the last test. Anything flagged then has had time to get worse while the car stood, tyres and brakes above all.
- Ask the seller why the car came off the road and what was done to it while it stood. Ask for the invoices for any repairs.
Checking a SORN on your own car
Once the DVLA approves a SORN, the record can take up to two working days to change. Run the check again after that to see SORN against your registration.
Any full months of tax left come back to you as a refund. To use the car again, tax it. Taxing it cancels the SORN.
GOV.UK: Register your vehicle as off the road (SORN)GOV.UK: Check if a vehicle is taxed
FAQ
Questions people ask
Is the SORN check free?
Yes. A SORN shows in the tax status on the free check. You don’t need an account and you don’t pay anything.
Can you drive a SORN car to an MOT?
Yes, as long as the test is booked in advance. Going to or from a pre-booked MOT or other test is the only time a SORN vehicle can be used on a public road.
Does a SORN pass to the new keeper?
No. A SORN can’t be transferred and it ends when the car is sold. A buyer who wants to keep the car off the road makes a new SORN in their own name.
How long does a SORN last?
Until the vehicle is taxed again, sold, exported for good or scrapped. There’s nothing to renew.
Why doesn’t my car show as SORN yet?
The DVLA record can take up to two working days to update after your SORN is approved. Check again once that time has passed.
Guides
More checks before you buy
Free car check
Check it before you go and see it
DVLA details, tax and MOT status, mileage and the full MOT history, free for any UK registration.