What is SORN? Your complete guide
Stautory Off-Road Notification — SORN for short — has been part of car since 1998. Our guide tells you everything you need to know about how SORN affects you.
- Making a car SORN can be done online or by post
- SORN no longer has to be renewed each year
- SORN is part of the Continuous Insurance Enforcement scheme
Relative to other countries, owning a car in Britain is simple but in 1998, a big change in tracking car usage meant the DVLA had to be officially notified of vehicles not in use. This resulted in the Statutory Off-Road Notification, known as SORN for ease.
To declare a car off-road with a SORN, you must make the DVLA formally aware of the fact. Simply parking the vehicle on private land and off the highway hasn't been sufficient for indicating it's not in use for almost 30 years — in other words, it won't be accepted as a legitmate excuse by the authorities. It's easy to get caught out when changing ownership or a vehicle runs out of Vehicle Excise Duty (that's VED or road tax).
Our complete guide to everything SORN will help you avoid unexpected fines.
What is SORN for?
The Statutory Off-Road Notification (SORN) system was introduced as a way of cutting down the number of untaxed cars in the 1990s. Vehicle Excise Duty (VED, but commonly referred to as road tax) was the main means the government had of tracking the insurance and MOT status of vehicles on the road before extensive computerisation. The number of untaxed, uninsured and essentially, unroadworthy vehicles on the road by this point was unimaginable now.
Enforcement came down to the presence of a paper 'tax disc' in the windscreen, which could be forged, stolen, returned for a refund or transferred to a new owner. Since the introduction of SORN, all of these things have changed. There are still people driving untaxed and uninsured cars with lapsed MOTs, but with computer records, automatic enforcement programmes and ANPR cameras on streets and in police vehicles, there's a far greater chance of being caught.
SORN isn't just about vehicle tax — it's equally important for vehicle insurance, under the DVLA's Continuous Insurance Enforcement legislation. This came into force in 2011, following provisions in the 2006 Road Traffic Act and works on the assumption that any vehicle that is not declared off the road must, therefore, be on it, requiring valid insurance if it's not temporarily within the used car trade.
When should you make a SORN?
You should make a SORN whenever your car is off the road for an extended period and uninsured or you don't want to pay VED road tax on it even if it is insured. Such circumastances could include:
- If you are not using the car for a while, it's parked off the public highway and you don't want to tax it
- If your insurance has lapsed and you can park off road
- If you've just bought the car and are keeping it on private property before you need to use it
- If your car has failed the MOT and you're breaking it for parts
- You are a trader and the car has been untaxed for three months
You should not make a SORN if the car is parked on a public road or being used for anything other than to be taken to a pre-booked MOT appointment.
Making a SORN is free and can be done online on the government's website and doesn't need to be renewed every year. To cancel a SORN, you just need to pay the VED road tax for the car — which is also, conveniently, do-able online.
You cannot backdate a SORN, so it should be applied a soon as the vehicle tax or insurance expires. You'll get a refund for whole months of tax unused and paid in advance.
What are the benefits of declaring a car off the road?
You won't be chased for road tax and as long as the car is really off the road, you won't be targeted by DVLA enforcement initiatives on tax, insurance or MOT status. If your car's number plate is cloned, it will be immediately obvious to agencies that the car shouldn't be on the road. The chances are that it's less likely to be cloned anyway because criminals can also check the status of a car online.
You can still retained a cherished plate from a car that has recently been declared SORN, or sell/transfer the car's registered keeper.
If the car is valuable but not on the road, you can get laid-up insurance from many providers. It's generally quite cheap given that it does not need to cover road risks.
What happens to SORN when you buy or sell a car?
Whenever the DVLA is notified of a change of keeper the car's taxed or SORN status reverts to untaxed. This means that you must either tax it, which will run from the start of the applicable month, or declare it SORN as the new keeper.
You can do this online using the reference number from the green slip of the V5C document. You should have been given this when you bought the car and it's important to do it as soon as possible because it will flag as untaxed to the authorities.
If you don't have the green slip then you should receive the new logbook (V5C) in your name within the month — taxing the car immediately will ensure there is no break in its status. If you don't receive the logbook and the car is showing as untaxed, you can apply for a replacement V5C. However, this may mean a break in taxation for the car which you'll be liable to pay.
We recommend doing the change of registered owner online, at the time of purchase, then relaxing or declaring SORN at the same time — this can be done up to 19:00. As a failsafe — and if you have your smartphone to hand — once the deal is agreed and paid for take a picture of the V5C and the green slip section.
That way you have the reference numbers needed to verify that the DVLA has been informed of the change of keeper, as well as to tax or declare it SORN, even if the change of keeper is overlooked or lost in the post.
What are the consequences of not declaring SORN?
For most drivers failing to declare SORN and leaving a car untaxed will result in inconvenience, such as not being able to retain a cherished plate online due to the gap in taxation history. Leave it long enough and you'll get fined.
The DVLA periodically reviews its records and will send enforcement notices for vehicles which are untaxed or uninsured. In addition to an £80 fine for not declaring SORN, fines from £100 up to £1000, if they go to court, are issued for untaxed cars that are also not insured.
These fines are automatic and are unrelated to whether the car is on or off the road at the time. If the car is used on the road while untaxed and/or uninsured, and caught by police officers or pinged by ANPR cameras, the DVLA's penalties would be in addition to any other enforcement. A £300 fine and six penalty points for lack of insurance isn't uncommon.
Cars which are parked on the road and untaxed and/or uninsured, will ultimately be clamped and removed, with substantial penalties levied against the registered keeper. The only time a vehicle with a SORN in place can be used on the road is travel to or from a pre-booked MOT or other statutory test.
Valid insurance must be in place to use a car on the road in these circumstances — if you're not sure the car will pass, it may be worth taking out a short-term policy.
SORN and cars in the motor trade
As with a sale or transfer to a private individual, putting a car into trade ownership (using the yellow slip of the V5C or online) will cancel the car's current tax/SORN status. Traders are not expected to tax cars immediately and cars in the trade are not checked against continuous insurance enforcement for three months. If they are driven on the road for repair work or demonstration, they must be insured and on red and white trade plates.
Exemptions for motor traders apply for vehicles 'temporarily in their possession'. If the vehicle ownership has been transferred so the trader is the registered keeper, then it must be taxed or SORNed and have an insurance policy in place if it is on the road.
Vehicles that are in the trade for an extended period may need extra validation checks from the DVLA when registration plates are changed, any inspections are required, or a change of taxation class such as disabled or historic is applied for.
To avoid problems when selling a car to a trader, use the DVLA's online service to transfer the car's ownership as soon as they take possession of it.
Putting a SORNed car back on the road
If your car has been SORNed for a short time and still has valid MOT and insurance, you only need to tax it. You can do this online and can be paid for monthly using direct debit. This is ideal for classic or sports cars that are only used for part of the year.
When you make a SORN and the car tax is paid by direct debit, the SORN is immediate but the tax is paid in whole months — ideally it's best to wait until the month-end to lose the least money.
If the car has been SORNed for an extended period of time you need to make sure it has valid insurance and a current MOT. Once those are in place, taxing it will cancel the SORN and it will be legal to use on the road.
SORN and registration transfers
You can transfer a registration number, such as a private plate, from a car which has been on SORN for less than five years. If it has been on SORN for longer it will need to be taxed first, which means it will need to pass an MOT. If there has been a break in SORN or tax during those five years, the DVLA will usually ask for the paperwork to be sent in rather than allowing a transfer online.
If there is a longer break, or the car has been off the road for longer than five years, it may been to be inspected before a plate can be transferred from it.
If you are selling your car and want to remove the cherished number and declare SORN to avoid paying tax while waiting for it to find a buyer, you should declare it SORN while it is on the current plate. Wait for the DVLA records to update and then retain the registration online.
This will avoid a delay waiting for the new V5C to be issued and will negate the risk of losing your plate when you sell the car. Don't forget to inform your insurance of your plate change, plus if you intend to allow test drives of the car for sale it should be taxed before using it on the road.
Tax or SORN status does not change when a registration number transfer is completed. You can transfer a plate to a car that is declared SORNed as long as it has been taxed in the last five years and there is no break in the taxed or SORN status.
Historic cars and cars in long-term storage
Cars which qualify for the historic tax class need to be 'taxed' every year. Since they are also MOT exempt, this is a useful reminder that they exist if you have them in long-term storage. However, they are subject to Continuous Insurance Enforcement and you are likely to get automatic fines if the cars are taxed and not insured against road risks and listed on the Motor Insurance Database (MID).
You can SORN a classic car but if you have it in long-term storage and move house, remember to update your address with the DVLA. Not only will this make it easier to tax the car when it does need to go back on the road, it will mean you're notified of any fraudulent attempts to apply for a logbook.
If your car has reached MOT exemption while on SORN you may be able to put it into the historic tax class without MOTing it, but it must still be in roadworthy condition. Once it is shown as taxed it must also be insured, otherwise it is likely to end up with an automatic fine.
Generally, the best plan for a classic or modern car in long-term, off-road storage is to make sure all the registered keeper details are correct, make a SORN and get laid-up insurance cover appropriate for the vehicle's value and the security of the location. You may also want to install a simple tracker — motorbike trackers with 10-year battery life, that only activate when the vehicle is disturbed, are ideal for this application.
