Is My Car Taxed and Insured?

Is My Car Insurance Valid Without Tax?

In the UK, everyone who owns a car must pay vehicle excise duty (also known as VED).  This is the official name for car tax motorists must pay when they own a car.  The level of tax you pay depends on the car and its CO2 emissions.

If your car is not taxed or the tax and MOT expire, this will invalidate your car insurance. Therefore, you should never forget to make sure your car’s MOT certificate and tax payments are on date and have not expired.

Can You Tax A Car Before Insuring It?

There is no real reason or excuse not to tax your car.  You can tax your vehicle online 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, and it has never been easier to tax your car if you are a car owner.

If you are unsure of the date your tax needs to be renewed, you can also check the tax status of your car on the government’s website. All you need to hand when you make the check is the registration number of the car.

You will be unable to tax a car without a valid insurance policy in place.  It is illegal to drive a car without valid insurance in place, and if caught driving without insurance, you will face hefty fines and penalties.

The DVLA has a comprehensive database called the Motor Insurance Database (MID) that they use to discover if a car has a policy of insurance, tax and MOT. So before you tax your car, the system will do a check of the MID, and if it appears that you do not have valid insurance in place relating to the car, you will not be able to tax your car.

If you are purchasing a brand new car, then the dealer selling the car to you should also sort out the tax and insurance at the point of sale.

For second-hand cars, please remember that the tax paid by a previous owner will not automatically transfer to you when you take ownership of the car.  You will need to sort out the tax and insurance before you take the car from the previous owner.  The previous owner will notify the DVLA that the car has changed ownership and refund any overpaid tax.

Can You Tax A Car With Temporary Insurance?

The answer to this question is yes.  You can tax your car with temporary car insurance.  Just make sure that the insurance company that issues your temporary policy updated the MID with your details so you can arrange to have your tax payments sorted.

There are many reasons motorists get temporary insurance, including the following:

• They are only using the car for a weekend or short period
• The motorist needs to use someone else’s car
• Drivers who are test-driving a car only need a short term policy
• If you have purchased a brand new car and want to drive it home

Temporary insurance policies can be a week, month, 2 months, 3 months or 6 months long.

Can I Insure And Tax A Car On The Same Day?

Technically you can insure and tax your car on the same day. However, if you arrange insurance for your car in the morning, hoping to tax it the same day, you might find that the DVLA records have not been updated to show the insurance is in place.

The DVLA database can take up to 7 days to update itself, and if no insurance is showing for your car on the database, you will find it challenging to get your car tax sorted.  If you do insure your car on the same day you tax it, ask your insurer to email you a copy of the policy document and then call the DVLA to arrange your tax.

Can I Tax A Car Without The Insurance Certificate?

It is always best to make sure you have the insurance certificate before you tax your car.  However, as long as your insurance policy shows up on the MID, then the DVLA can check it is in place, and you can go ahead and tax your car.