How to tax your vehicle

The whole thing takes about five minutes once you have your paperwork to hand.

1. 1

   Find your reference number

   It's on your V11 reminder, your V5C logbook, or the green new-keeper slip if you've just bought the vehicle.

2. 2

   Check you're insured and MOT'd

   The DVLA checks both automatically. Tax will be refused if either is missing.

3. 3

   Go to the official service

   Taxing is free to do at gov.uk/vehicle-tax. You only pay the tax itself.

4. 4

   Choose how to pay

   Twelve months up front is cheapest. Six-monthly or monthly Direct Debit adds around 5%.

5. 5

   Keep the confirmation

   There's no paper disc — your record updates online within a few minutes.