The DVLA has confirmed a major new car tax update has made renewals “easier” for drivers in a major boost to road users. Previously, drivers were unable to tax their vehicles without access to their vehicle log book (V5C). 

This meant motorists who lost or simply misplaced their V5C form would have to wait up to five days for a new one to arrive before they could renew their tax. With heavy fines in place for not renewing car tax on time, a simple legislative procedure was hitting motorists hard. The DVLA said thousands had called up about the issue, which promoted a major change from which every road user could benefit.

The DVLA posted on X: “We’ve made taxing your vehicle even easier!

“You can now tax your vehicle even if you’ve lost your log book (V5C) – just apply for a new one online, and you’ll be able to tax at the same time.”

This means there is no longer a need to wait for a new log book to arrive before a vehicle can be taxed. 

The new service means road users no longer need to fill out forms, pay postage or wait for an application to be processed. 

“Insight also showed that, because of this, many of you ended up calling our contact centre instead – around 2,500 of you a month in fact!

“We asked ourselves how we could improve your journey as a customer. Our answer was to link the online vehicle log book service to the online vehicle tax service, so you can tax your vehicle at the same time. 

“Previously, you would have had to wait for your replacement log book to arrive before you could tax your vehicle. But now, due to this service update, you can continue to use your vehicle instead of keeping it off the road.”