What is SORN and when do you need it?

SORN is one of those principles that have no equivalent in Polish law. When buying a car in the UK, you can come across such a term, which is why we will explain what it means, who it applies to and when it is necessary to report the car to SORN.

What will you learn from this article?

What is SORN?
When is it necessary to report a vehicle to SORN?
How to de-register a car?

What is SORN?

The term is an abbreviation for ‘Statutory Off Road Notification’, i.e. a statement about the exclusion of a vehicle from traffic – for example a passenger car or van. By making this declaration, you are telling the DVLA that your car:

is not and will not be used in the near future,
is parked on private property – e.g. in a driveway or in a garage,

A prerequisite for registering a car as SORN is parking it off public roads.

For what purpose can such a declaration be made? Most often to avoid having to pay tax and insurance for a car that is not used . Moreover, if you have already paid the tax, you will receive a refund for each full unused month. However, you should remember to tax the car again before it gets back on the road. The exception is when you have to complete formalities such as technical inspection or another mandatory type of fitness test (e.g. ordered by the manufacturer).

When is SORN necessary?

In certain circumstances, deregistering your vehicle is not only a good idea, but a necessity:

the car is not taxed,
the car has not been insured – even if the break in insurance is short and occurred, for example, due to a delay in renewing the policy,
you intend to dismantle the car for parts before it is scrapped,
you buy a car that you will not use and you will park it away from the public road.

Buying a car from SORN
It should be emphasized that SORN does not pass from one vehicle owner to another (buyer). So if you buy a car that has been deregistered and you also do not intend to use it temporarily, you must register it as SORN.

How to deregister a car?

The procedure for deregistering an unused vehicle is very simple.

The form can be completed and sent online at sorn.service.gov.uk. It is worth making sure that the user details shown on the V5C document are up to date, because the office will use them to send the tax refund. If necessary, you can update the address here: https://www.gov.uk/change-address-v5c. To apply, you need basic information about the vehicle, such as the 16-digit V11 number.
By post – if you intend to register a car registered in a name other than your name, you must send this statement to the DVLA by post. Form V890 (downloadable from gov.uk) is appropriate.
By phone – there is a 24-hour line on 0300 123 4321.

When will the notification take effect? You have the option to deregister the vehicle immediately or from the first day of the following month.

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