DVLA issues £1,000 warning to drivers who forget to tax their vehicle - how to renew car tax

Drivers in the UK have been issued with a warning from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency  (DVLA) to remind them to tax their vehicles. By law, it’s an offence to drive a vehicle on a public road in the UK without road tax and motorists who do not keep up to date can be fined up to £1,000.

The (DVLA) put out a tweet, with a video of a car receiving a yellow ‘untaxed vehicle sticker’ to remind UK drivers to renew their tax if it is due.

The Tweet read: “Don’t let this happen to your car. If your tax is due, do it now.  #TaxItDontRiskIt.”

Statistics published by the Department for Transport show at least 719,000 untaxed vehicles are being used in the UK. The registered keeper of the vehicle is responsible for keeping the tax up to date.

However, the RAC website explains there are exemptions such as if you’re taking your car to a pre-booked MOT test, you can drive your vehicle on a road without it being taxed. The law doesn’t state how far you can travel, but if you stop off at the shops on the way or cover an unreasonably long distance it could be deemed that you’re using the vehicle for other purposes and the exemption won’t apply.

Disabled drivers may be exempt from paying vehicle tax, while certain vehicles such as electric cars and historic motors may also be excused.