global auto imports
What is V5C and what does it look like?
V5C, log book or simply V5 – these are three different names for one document. Because it is an extremely important document for the owner and user of the vehicle in Great Britain, it is worth knowing a bit about it. What is V5C, what information it contains and what it looks like – we answer these questions later in the article.
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What is V5C?
In Poland, this document used to be called a British registration document and there is a lot of truth in this statement. Indeed, it is the right source of information about British car registration data and its users. And here it is important to pay special attention that in V5C there is data of users, not owners car. The person using the vehicle can, of course, also be its owner, but this is not a rule and you need to remember about it. A good example of a situation where the owner and the user are not one and the same person is a car purchased through an instalment loan. The buyer can drive the purchased car, and his details are visible in the registration document. In the light of the law, however, he is not the owner of this vehicle – and thus, he cannot sell it either.
Proof of ownership of a vehicle in the UK can be, for example, a bill, invoice, receipt, purchase and sale agreement, or even a simple receipt of payment for the vehicle being sold.
What information does the log book contain?
The log book contains all important information about the vehicle. So here you can find comprehensive technical data:
- make and model of the vehicle,
- engine capacity,
- chassis number, VIN,
- exhaust emissions.
In addition, there are details of the first registration, vehicle history (for example, registered damages), information about current and previous users.
What does an English registration document look like?
The English registration document is significantly different from our native document. These are two sheets of paper, folded in A4 format. The cover is currently red with two blue stripes. Already on the cover of this document you can find information that it does not confirm the ownership of the vehicle (This document is not proof of ownership).
Although the log book does not constitute proof of ownership of the vehicle, you should make sure when buying that the owner has this document. In any case, when it turns out that the registration certificate is missing or its appearance is questionable (it is copied or does not have a watermark), you should consider buying a car with great vigilance.
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