There are lots of reasons that we can own a car but not be using it on the road. But whatever the case, there is a special provision within the DVLA that allows the vehicle to be kept off road and not pay full car tax – it is known as a Statutory Off Road Notice or SORN. To put this in place, you need the DVLA SORN contact number and this new number makes the whole process much easier. You can use this contact number for DVLA to advise that your vehicle is still going to be yours but will no longer be used on the road. This is the SORN declaration and means that you also don’t have to have insurance or an MOT on the vehicle – as long as it is kept off road such as on a driveway or on private property. There is an application form to complete to start the process, called form V890 and once you have submitted this, you can simply keep informing DVLA that this is the ongoing position with the vehicle.

The number also works as a DVLA tax contact number if you decide that you want to use the vehicle on the road once more and take it off the SORN declaration. This means you do need to insure the vehicle once more and get an MOT certificate for it then you can continue to use it as normal.
If you then sell the car, the number also serves as a DVLA tax disc refund if you have paid for the car tax in full and want to get a refund for this payment. Alternatively, if you pay by Direct Debit each month, you can notify DVLA to stop the payments and refund you any excess payment you have made for the time on cover.