Can you SORN your car during coronavirus lockdown?

29 April 2020, 16:01

Many are left wondering if it's worth keeping their vehicles on the road during lockdown and if SORN-ing the car is the best option?

Lockdown has left many not using their cars whatsoever as they're not travelling to and from school, work, and so on.

Understandably it's crossed millions of Brits' minds that maybe they should SORN their vehicles during this time.

What is SORN?

SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification) means declaring your car as off the road, and you don't pay tax or insurance.

However, this means you can't have your car parked on the street outside your house, it must be on private property/locked in a garage.

Can you do it during lockdown?

Yes, it is of course possible for your car can be taken off the road at any time.

Registering for a SORN is very easy and can be done in a number of ways, either online, by post or over the phone.

The process is free of charge so it's worth doing if you are not using your vehicle during the lockdown and want to save a bit of money.

However, there is a bit of hassle involved when it comes to other aspects of cancellation.

As previously mentioned, you cannot keep your car on a public road, it would need to be on private property, which isn't an option for many car-owners.

You'll then get a refund for any full months left of remaining tax you've paid on the car (this won't be applicable if you pay monthly).

You can of course stop paying insurance on the vehicle one it's SORNed, which is a huge motivator for many.

However, this can be a bit of a hassle if you're ending a policy and re-starting it, as you can't be guaranteed the cost of insurance won't go up once you're back on the road.

What are the risks of SORNing your car

However, if you're caught driving a car with a SORN you could be fined up to £2,500.

You can also be fined £80 for failing to tax a car that hasn't been declared SORN, and you could be fined a hefty amount for having a car declared SORN parked on a public street.

The DLVA's chief executive said last year: "The number of untaxed vehicles on the road is falling, but we are determined to reduce this even further.

"We operate a range of measures to make vehicle tax easy to pay and hard to avoid, so there really is no excuse if you fail to tax your vehicle."