Buying a car
Cat S and Cat N: what the write-off categories mean
Cat S and Cat N are the two insurance write-off categories a car can come back from. Either one means an insurer paid out on the car instead of paying to repair it. The letter tells you what kind of damage it had.
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What do Cat S and Cat N mean?
Cat S means an insurer wrote the car off after damage to its structure, such as the chassis or a crumple zone. Cat N means the damage was not structural. Either kind of car is allowed back on the road after a repair that makes it roadworthy. The insurer’s category remains on the car’s record afterwards.
The four write-off categories
| Category | Damage | Back on the road? |
|---|---|---|
| A | Too badly damaged to repair | No. The entire car has to be crushed |
| B | Too badly damaged to repair | No. Its body shell is crushed but its other parts can be reused |
| S | Structural damage that can be repaired | Yes, after a repair that makes it roadworthy |
| N | Damage elsewhere that can be repaired | Yes, after a repair that makes it roadworthy |
Cars written off before October 2017 may carry the older categories C or D instead. Those were based on what a repair would cost against the car’s value. S and N describe the kind of damage instead.
Cat S or Cat N: which matters more?
Cat S is the more serious of the two. The car’s structure was damaged, so the quality of the repair decides how the car holds up in another crash. A Cat N car was damaged somewhere else, such as its panels, glass or electrics.
Neither letter tells you how bad the damage was. An insurer writes a car off when the repair is not worth paying for. So an older car can be written off for damage that would have been repaired on a newer one.
Checks to make before you buy a repaired write-off
- Ask the seller straight out whether the car has ever been written off.
- Run a write-off check on the registration. A write-off is not part of the free DVLA and MOT record, so it takes the paid CAR Confidence Score report.
- Look at the V5C logbook. GOV.UK says the DVLA records the write-off category in it.
- Ask who carried out the repair. Ask to see the repair invoices and any photos taken before and after.
- Read the MOT tests since the repair. An advisory on the part of the car that was damaged deserves a question.
- Before you pay, get a mechanic or an independent inspector to go over the car. On a Cat S car this matters most.
- Get an insurance quote with the category declared before you agree a price.
V5C logbook checkWhat an MOT advisory meansRead the MOT history free
Price, insurance and selling on
A repaired write-off sells for less than an identical car with a clean history, because buyers see more risk in it. That gap is still there when you come to sell, since the next buyer will find the category too.
Insurers ask whether a car has been written off. Answer truthfully: a wrong answer on a quote can put a later claim at risk.
When to walk away
- The seller says the car has never been written off and the check says it has.
- There are no invoices for a Cat S repair and nobody can say who did it.
- The asking price is what the same car would fetch with a clean record.
- The V5C logbook is missing.
Citizens Advice suggests a private history check before you buy any used car. One of the things it can turn up is a car that was written off, repaired and put back on the road.
Citizens Advice: Buying a used carQuestions to ask the seller
FAQ
Questions people ask
Is it safe to buy a Cat N car?
It can be, if the repair was done properly. Cat N damage did not affect the structure. Ask for the repair invoices, read the MOT history since the repair and have the car inspected before you pay.
Is a Cat S car legal to drive?
Yes, after a repair that leaves it roadworthy. It needs tax and a valid MOT like any other car. Tell your insurer the category when you get a quote.
Does the free check show Cat S or Cat N?
No. Our free check reads the DVLA record and the MOT tests. Neither of them holds insurance write-offs. The CAR Confidence Score report checks insurance write-off records and shows the category.
What were Cat C and Cat D?
The categories used before October 2017. Cat C meant a repair would cost more than the car was worth. Cat D meant it would cost less but the insurer still chose not to pay for it. The current letters replaced both.
What do the letters S and N stand for?
Structural and non-structural: the kind of damage the insurer recorded. Neither letter is a grade of how much damage there was.
The checks in this guide
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