What does it mean to SORN your vehicle?

SORN stands for ‘Statutory Off-Road Notification’ and is utilised when a vehicle owner will be not be driving for a period of time. This releases them from their responsibility to tax and insure the vehicle (for the time it is off the road).

Why SORN your vehicle?

There are a number of reasons why you may want to SORN your vehicle including if your vehicle has yet to be taxed, it isn’t insured for any amount of time, you are planning to break a vehicle down to parts prior to it being scrapped or you have bought or received a car and want it to remain off the road.

A SORN cannot be transferred from a previous vehicle, therefore even if your new vehicle had been off the road prior to you purchasing it, you must also SORN it under your own name. Failure to tax and insure a vehicle without a SORN will result in an automatic fine of £80 with an additional fine for no insurance.

Once a SORN has been put in place for your car, it can no longer be stored on a public road, it must instead be parked on a driveway, in a garage or on private land. Please be aware should the vehicle be stolen or damaged at this point you will have no vehicle insurance to claim upon.

How to SORN your vehicle

There are a few options available to you when looking to SORN your vehicle, online, by post or over the phone. More information on this can be found here. Any remaining tax made on a vehicle will be automatically refunded within six weeks of completing a SORN.

There is no need to renew a SORN, it will apply continuously until you once again tax and insure your vehicle, or it is sold or scrapped.

What happens if you need to drive your vehicle whilst it is under SORN?

The only time you are permitted to drive your vehicle on a public road when it is under SORN is to drive it to a pre-booked MOT or testing appointment.

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