How to re-register a Cat S car with the DVLA
What re-registering a Cat S car means since the DVLA inspection ended in 2015: the V62 logbook, the £25 fee or free keeper slip, and getting back on the road.
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What re-registering a Cat S car actually means now
Most advice online still describes an inspection and a DVLA sign-off after the repair. That was the Vehicle Identity Check scheme, and GOV.UK confirms it closed on 26 October 2015. Today the DVLA step for a Cat S car is getting a new logbook (V5C) with the category recorded on it. It is paperwork about who keeps the car, not an approval of the repair.
Why a Cat S car needs a new logbook
When an insurer writes a car off as Cat S, the keeper sends the complete V5C to the insurance company, apart from the yellow motor trade section. If the owner keeps the car, GOV.UK says to apply for a free duplicate logbook on form V62, and DVLA records the category in the new one. A Cat N car is different: GOV.UK says the owner can keep the existing logbook.
If you bought it at auction
Salvage lots are listed with or without a V5C, so check before you bid. If the car comes with the green new keeper slip from the most recent V5C, send it to DVLA with form V62 and the new logbook is free. Without that slip, GOV.UK puts the V62 fee at £25. Either way the new V5C comes back in your name with the S category on it.
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Putting it back on the road
Once the repair is done, a Cat S car needs what any car needs: a valid MOT, vehicle tax and insurance that has been told about the category. There is no separate DVLA inspection. The MOT tests roadworthiness on the day, not the quality of structural repair, so keep before and after photos, parts invoices and ideally an independent engineer's report. Insurers and your eventual buyer will ask for them.
The marker stays
The Cat S category stays on the car's history and its logbook for good. You must declare it when you sell, and your buyer must declare it to their insurer. Price the resale accordingly and hand over your repair evidence with the car.
Confirm the write-off category, finance and stolen status, 5 credits
Related guides
- Can you get finance on a Cat S or Cat N car? - Getting finance on a written-off car is harder but not impossible. Which lenders consider it, and how the category affects your options.
- Old Cat C and Cat D write-offs: how they map to S and N - If a history check or old V5C shows Cat C or Cat D, that predates the 2017 rule change. What those categories meant and why they do not map to S and N.
- Certificate of Destruction: what it means and why it's final - A Certificate of Destruction is not another write-off category, it is the end of the road. What it is, who issues one, and why it should never be for sale.