Certificate of Destruction
A Certificate of Destruction (CoD) is a document issued by DVLA to a registered Authorised Treatment Facility (ATF). Legally, all cars recycled by an ATF must be issued with a CoD.
Legally, all cars which are recycled by an ATF must be issued with a CoD. However not all vehicles collected by ATF's are recycled, as the DVLA advise it is up to the ATF what they wish to do with the vehicle.
Lots of people are confused about what they need to do when they scrap or salvage a car, we hope the following information will help clear things up for you.
At Remove My Car, we prefer to give you the choice about what happens to your car and if you want a CoD, especially if you are scrapping your car with us on the basis that one of our ATF members are to scrap your vehicle and issue a CoD, however you will need to tell us you want a CoD up front, as scrapping your car will affect its value for Salvage quotes.
Do I still need to tell DVLA that I have sold the vehicle if I requested a CoD?
Yes, in all cases , you still need to advise DVLA that you have sold your vehicle to a motor trader, this is your responsibility, otherwise the vehicle, although recycled will still be in your name.
You can either do this by using the yellow slip on the (V5C) logbook, or via the DVLA website https://www.gov.uk/sold-bought-vehicle
This is the most important step as this transfers any responsibility from you to the ATF company from the day of the collection.
So whats the confusion ?
The confusion is that even DVLA advise that if you do not have the certificate as proof that you've handed over the vehicle for scrap, you could still be liable for traffic offences and vehicle tax, however they also do say if the ATF decides to repair or sell on the vehicle then they can do at their discretion.
In Summary the best thing to do is send off the yellow section of the logbook or fill in the details online, you will not be responsible for what happens to the vehicle once sold and any tax owed will be refunded by DVLA.
If you are sending the yellow section via post, we would recommend you send this recorded/signed for delivery for your peace of mind.