SORN stands for Statutory Off Road Notification. It is a declaration to DVLA that a car is being kept off the public road and is not taxed. A SORN car cannot be driven or parked on the road, except to drive it to a pre-booked MOT test. If you buy one, you must tax it in your name before you drive it anywhere else.
A SORN is not a warning sign in itself. Plenty of cars are declared off the road for ordinary reasons. But it does change how you get the car home, and a long SORN can tell you something about the car's recent past.
What a SORN is
Every car on a public road must be taxed. When a keeper stops using a car, they can declare it off the road rather than keep paying tax. That declaration is the SORN. Once it is made, any tax left is refunded for the full months remaining, and the car no longer needs to be taxed.
The car then has to stay off the public road. That means a driveway, a garage or private land, not the street outside the house. A SORN lasts until the car is taxed again, sold or scrapped.
Common reasons for a SORN include:
- the car is being stored over winter or while the owner is away
- it is waiting for repairs or parts
- it failed its MOT and the owner has not had it fixed
- it is a project car or second car that is rarely used
- the owner was preparing to sell it
Can a SORN car be driven?
No, with one exception. A SORN car can be driven to a pre-booked MOT test. It needs to be insured for that journey. Any other driving on a public road, including a test drive, needs the car to be taxed.
That matters when you are viewing one. If the seller offers a test drive in a SORN car, ask how it is taxed. If it is not, the drive would be on private land only, or not at all.
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Buying a SORN car
A SORN does not transfer to a new keeper, and neither does tax. When you buy a car that is declared off the road, you have two choices:
- Tax it, if you want to drive it.
- Make your own SORN, if you want to keep it off the road, for example while you repair it.
You cannot simply carry on with the seller's SORN.
How to tax a SORN car you have bought
- Make sure the car has a valid MOT, unless it is exempt. If the MOT has run out, you cannot tax the car, so book a test first.
- Insure the car in your name.
- Tax it online or by phone using the reference number on the new keeper slip (V5C/2) the seller gives you. You do not need to wait for the new V5C to arrive.
- Only then drive it on the public road.
If the car has no MOT and you cannot get it to a pre-booked test, you will need to collect it on a trailer or have it transported. Our guide to how car tax is calculated explains what the tax will cost once you are ready to pay it.
What a long SORN tells you
A car that has been off the road for a few weeks over winter is unremarkable. A car that has been SORN for years deserves more questions, because cars that sit still deteriorate in ways that are not always obvious on a viewing.
Things that often suffer after a long period off the road:
- Tyres, which can develop flat spots or perish with age even with plenty of tread
- Brakes, where discs can rust and calipers can seize
- The battery, which may need replacing
- Fluids and seals, which can dry out or leak once the car is used again
Ask the seller why the car was declared off the road and when. Then compare their answer with the MOT history. A long gap between tests that lines up with the SORN supports their story. A failed MOT just before the gap, with no pass since, suggests the car was taken off the road because it needed work. Our guide to MOT advisories helps you read those last results.
How to check whether a car is SORN
You can see a car's tax status from its registration. Our car tax check shows whether a car is taxed, untaxed or declared SORN, with the tax due date where there is one. It is part of the free check, which also shows the MOT status and the full MOT history with mileage, so you can see how long the car has been off the road.
If you are serious about the car, the £9.99 full history check adds outstanding finance, write-off and stolen records. A car that has been SORN for a long time is worth checking for those too, since it may have been taken off the road after an accident.
Common questions
Can I drive a SORN car home after buying it?
Not until you have taxed it in your name and insured it. To tax it, the car needs a valid MOT unless it is exempt. If the MOT has expired, the only journey allowed is to a pre-booked MOT test.
Does SORN transfer to the new keeper?
No. A SORN does not pass to you when you buy the car. If you plan to keep it off the road, you need to make your own SORN; if you plan to drive it, you need to tax it.
Can a SORN car be parked on the street?
No. A SORN car must be kept off the public road, for example on a driveway, in a garage or on private land.
Is a SORN car a bad buy?
Not necessarily. Many are stored for good reasons. A long SORN is a reason to look more closely at the MOT history, the paperwork and the condition of the car, not a reason to walk away on its own.
Written by James Parry. Last reviewed 11 November 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.