Abandoned and untaxed vehicles

If you have noticed a vehicle that you think is abandoned or untaxed, you can report it to us.

A vehicle is abandoned if it has been intentionally left on or off the road and the owner does not intend to return to it.

To report an abandoned vehicle, use our report an abandoned vehicle online form. You can also contact our Customer Services team using the contact details on the right of this page.

An untaxed vehicle is not necessarily abandoned.

To report an untaxed vehicle, please also use our report an abandoned vehicle online form or contact our Customer Services team.

How to tell if a vehicle has been abandoned

There are some things to look out for that can help identify an abandoned vehicle:

• If the vehicle has not moved for a long time and has no apparent owner
• If the vehicle is in a poor state of repair e.g. broken glass, flat tyres 
• If the vehicle is untaxed 
• If the vehicle is in an unusual location e.g. in a park or green space

What happens when you report an abandoned vehicle

We will inspect the vehicle and make contact with its registered keeper. If we do not hear from them and agree that the vehicle has been abandoned, we will apply a statutory notice stating our intention to remove the vehicle.  This will give the owner of the vehicle or the owner of the land that is is parked on an opportunity to remove it.

If after the notice expires, the vehicle is still in the same position, it will be removed.  If the owner does claim the vehicle it will be their responsibility to remove it. 

Getting rid of you car

If your car is ready to be scrapped, we can take it away for you for free. To arrange this please contact our Customer Services team using the contact details on the right of this page. To use this service, you must have the V5 registration document for the vehicle.