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DVLA Late Licensing Penalty (LLP) / Out of Court Settlement letter — the untaxed vehicle letter

This is an automatic DVLA letter because its register shows your vehicle as untaxed and not declared off-road (SORN). A Late Licensing Penalty of £80 applies to an unlicensed record; if the vehicle was actually used or kept on a road untaxed, an Out of Court Settlement is offered instead.

How serious: needs actionAlso called: LLP letter, DVLA £80 fine, Out of court settlement letter, Untaxed vehicle letter, DVLA enforcement letter

DVLA issues this letter automatically when its register shows a vehicle as untaxed with no SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification) in place. If the vehicle was merely unlicensed on the record, a Late Licensing Penalty of £80 is issued, reduced to £40 if paid within 33 days.

If the vehicle was actually used or kept on a public road while untaxed, DVLA offers an Out of Court Settlement instead — a payment to avoid criminal prosecution. The settlement is £30 plus a multiple of the outstanding tax.

New keepers commonly get these after buying a car, because vehicle tax no longer transfers with the vehicle. A similar fixed penalty exists for uninsured vehicles: £100, reduced to £50 within 33 days.

Who sends it

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) — the government agency that registers vehicles and collects vehicle tax (VED).

A DVLA-headed letter referring to your vehicle registration number, stating the vehicle was untaxed, and demanding a Late Licensing Penalty of '£80 reduced to £40 if paid within 33 days' or an out of court settlement amount (£30 plus a multiple of the outstanding tax).

The deadline

LLP: £80, 'reduced to £40 if paid within 33 days'. Insurance (uninsured vehicle) fixed penalty: £100, reduced to £50 within 33 days.

For a Late Licensing Penalty: £80, 'reduced to £40 if paid within 33 days' of the date of the penalty letter. For an uninsured vehicle fixed penalty: £100, reduced to £50 within 33 days.

If you do nothing

For an unpaid LLP: 'the case will be referred to a debt collection agency'. For an unpaid Out of Court Settlement: because using an untaxed vehicle is a criminal offence, the case may be pursued in the magistrates' court, with a maximum penalty of '£1,000 or five times the amount of tax chargeable, whichever is greater' (where a SORN was in force: '£2,500 or five times the amount of tax chargeable, whichever is greater'). Untaxed vehicles can also be wheelclamped or impounded: £100 clamp release within 24 hours, £200 impound release, £21 a day storage, and the vehicle 'is stored for a statutory period of between 7 and 14 days' before disposal.

Compute your date

The rule above is what the law sets. Put in the dates on your own letter and it becomes a date.

How it escalates

  1. 01LLP unpaid: referral to a debt collection agency.
  2. 02Vehicle used on a road untaxed: an Out of Court Settlement of £30 plus 1.5 times the outstanding tax (£30 plus twice the tax if a SORN was in force).
  3. 03OCS unpaid: prosecution in the magistrates' court — maximum £1,000 or five times the tax chargeable, whichever is greater (£2,500 or five times the tax, whichever is greater, in the SORN case).
  4. 04Vehicle found untaxed on the road: wheelclamping or impounding with release, surety and storage fees; disposal of the vehicle after the statutory 7-14 day storage period.

Your options, procedurally

  • The reduced penalty (£40 LLP / £50 insurance penalty) can be paid within 33 days.
  • The vehicle can be taxed, or a SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification) made if it is kept off-road.
  • If you were not the keeper at the time (for example the vehicle was sold), DVLA can be contacted with evidence that the keeper change was notified.
  • For a Continuous Insurance Enforcement penalty, the vehicle can be insured or the record updated.

How to respond

Response types

  • Confirm paymentPay a DVLA fine (Late Licensing Penalty / Out of Court Settlement) · Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 (DVLA enforcement policy for late licensing penalties and out of court settlements)
  • File the objectionAppeal to DVLA (appeal a DVLA fine)

Where and how

  • Pay a DVLA fine
  • Telephone
  • Post (first class / ordinary mail)
  • Royal Mail Signed For / Special Delivery Guaranteed

What makes it count

Payments and appeals count when DVLA receives them, not when they are posted, so the 33-day reduced-rate window has to be met by arrival - online payment through the GOV.UK service is timestamped and is the safest route. Postal appeals should be sent with proof of posting; DVLA confirms receipt by writing back about next steps. Paying settles the penalty but does not license the vehicle, and taxing the vehicle or filing a SORN does not by itself cancel a penalty already issued.

Common questions

I just bought the car. Why am I getting this?

Vehicle tax no longer transfers with the vehicle. A new keeper's vehicle is untaxed until the new keeper taxes it, and DVLA's register shows that.

How much is it?

The Late Licensing Penalty is £80, reduced to £40 if paid within 33 days of the letter. The uninsured vehicle fixed penalty is £100, reduced to £50 within 33 days.

What is an Out of Court Settlement?

An offer to pay £30 plus a multiple of the outstanding tax instead of being prosecuted, made where the vehicle was actually used or kept on a public road untaxed.

I sold the vehicle before this. What then?

DVLA can be contacted with evidence that the keeper change was notified.

Sources

Facts verified against the sources below on 28 August 2026.