Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
Casework & Specialist Advice
D16
DVLA
Longview Road
Swansea
SA6 7JL
Telephone
01792 788582
Fax
01792 78 4546
Mark-William:Baker
Textphone
[email address]
Email
Website
www.direct.gov.uk/motoring
Your Ref
Our Ref
Date:
6 May 2009
Dear Mr William:Baker
Thank you for your request for information under the Freedom of Information Act. As your
request for information falls within the Agency’s day to day business, your request is
subsequently being treated as ‘Business as Usual’.
The register maintained by the Agency is based on vehicles and the registered keepers who
are responsible for the use and licensing of vehicles on the roads. It is not a register of legal
title to vehicles. The register held at DVLA is essentially maintained to assist in revenue
collection, road safety and law enforcement generally. It is clearly essential for all these
purposes that the register shows the people in possession of vehicles and responsible for its
day to day use on the road. For this reason the law requires keepers to notify the Agency as
they acquire and dispose of vehicles and Vehicle Registration Certificates (V5C) are issued to
them to help this process.
You have stated that you are the owner of your vehicle. However, this is not the case for all
our customers, and to this end, V5C’s are not documents of legal title or proof of ownership.
There is a prominent note on the certificate to makes it clear that the registered keeper is not
necessarily a vehicles legal owner and the fact a certificate is issued does not affect the legal
ownership of a vehicle.
It is a legal requirement to license a vehicle that is to be used or kept on a public road.
However, I should explain that it is also a legal requirement to display a tax disc. The non-
display of a current tax disc is an offence.
All vehicle registration and licensing is governed by the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act
1994 (as amended) (VERA) and the Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) Regulations
2002. The offence of using or keeping an unlicensed vehicle on a public road is contained in
Section 29 of the Act. The offence of using or keeping a vehicle on a public road while not
displaying a valid tax disc is contained in Section 33 of the Act.
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Yours sincerely
Policy and External Communications Directorate
Casework & Specialist Advice
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