Non-runners and MOT failures
Tell us why the car cannot be driven, if known, and whether it rolls and steers. Do not drive an unsafe or unlawfully roadworthy vehicle to make collection easier.
Free scrap car collection
Scrap your car in London with free collection
Ready to scrap your car? Send the registration, condition and full collection address. We check the vehicle and access before confirming free collection. Non-runner enquiries are welcome. Telephone enquiries 24 hours; collection availability agreed individually.
- Free collection
- Non-runner enquiries
- ATF paperwork
- DVLA guidance
£0Accepted scrap collection
Non-runnersAssessed before booking
CoDIssued by the ATF
24/7Telephone enquiries
To scrap your car in London, send CityGrip Recovery the registration, present condition and actual collection address. Free scrap car collection is part of an accepted scrap booking, with the vehicle and access checked first. Disclose missing parts, extra waste or restricted loading before agreeing the arrangement. CityGrip collects and delivers to a receiving Authorised Treatment Facility; the ATF handles treatment and the Certificate of Destruction. You still need to make your own DVLA notification.
Free scrap car collection, from enquiry to handover
- Send the car and collection details. Call or WhatsApp with the registration, make, model, year and condition. Give the full current address, not just the address on the log book. Include keys, rolling wheels, steering, missing parts and safe photographs where useful.
- Confirm the free-collection arrangement. We assess the vehicle, loading access and receiving arrangements. Agree acceptance, any exceptional work, the collection window and payment details before booking. An enquiry alone does not reserve a collection.
- Prepare the authorised handover. Ask which identification and documents are needed. Resolve owner, finance, workshop or insurer release conditions. Retain a private registration first if required, remove personal belongings and arrange the agreed on-site contact.
- Keep the ATF and DVLA records. Confirm the receiving Authorised Treatment Facility and keep the handover details. Tell DVLA yourself that the vehicle has gone to the ATF. Keep the Certificate of Destruction when an eligible vehicle is completely scrapped.
CityGrip is based at 68 Ruckholt Road, Leyton, London E10 5NP. Call 07960 200253. Collection areas are served from this base; they are not separate depots.
When free collection applies
Free collection is part of our agreed scrap service. Confirm the actual vehicle and loading situation first, especially the following.
Missing parts and extra waste
Describe missing wheels, engine, gearbox or other essential components. Identify loose parts and anything stored inside. A complete non-runner and a stripped shell require different assessments.
Restricted or difficult access
Give entrance height, ramps, gates, slopes, soft ground and any blocked exit. We assess suitable loading and any exceptional work before acceptance, rather than assuming every garage or site is accessible.
Owner and insurer release
Establish authority before disposal. Resolve finance, lease, workshop and insurer requirements. If an insurer still needs an inspection, obtain release instructions before collection or destruction.
Collection from a home, workshop or car park
Give the full postcode and actual vehicle entrance. For a managed building, include the level, bay, clearance board and barrier contact. For a workshop, give opening hours, the release contact and what remains fitted after diagnosis. On a public street, check the actual loading restrictions; a booking does not reserve a parking bay.
For an electric or hybrid car, identify the exact model and powertrain. Disclose battery warnings, collision damage or water exposure and share manufacturer or insurer instructions. Do not attempt high-voltage work. Collection equipment and the receiving facility must be suitable for the actual vehicle.
If the car is simply going to another address, ask for separately quoted vehicle recovery. Free scrap collection is an agreed disposal service.
What an Authorised Treatment Facility is, and why the law will not let anyone else do it
An Authorised Treatment Facility is a site that holds an environmental permit from the Environment Agency for the treatment of end-of-life vehicles. GOV.UK is unambiguous on the point: when your vehicle has reached the end of its usefulness, you must get it scrapped at an authorised treatment facility. ATFs are also called scrapyards, breaker's yards or dismantlers, but the permit is what makes the destruction lawful and what makes the paperwork real.
In England a site actually needs three separate permissions to treat end-of-life vehicles, not one. It needs the correct environmental permit for the treatment it carries out, it needs planning permission for the activity, and it needs a scrap metal dealer's licence from the local authority. An operator missing any one of the three cannot lawfully destroy your vehicle or close your DVLA record. That is the practical reason a man with a flatbed and a phone number cannot legitimately be the end of the chain: the destruction has to happen somewhere permitted.
You can check the yard yourself before anything is handed over. GOV.UK runs a Find a vehicle scrapyard service covering England, and the Environment Agency publishes a public register of End of Life Vehicles Authorised Treatment Facilities on data.gov.uk. You can also ask to see the scrap metal dealer's licence, which every legitimate operator has and every legitimate operator expects to be asked for. One thing you should treat as a warning sign rather than reassurance: DVLA's terms allow a permit holder to say it participates in the CoD scheme but expressly forbid implying that DVLA has endorsed or approved the organisation. A 'DVLA approved' badge on a scrap website is not a credential.
Why nobody can legally pay you cash for a scrap car in London
A very large number of people search for scrap car cash, and the honest answer is that in England and Wales the transaction they are imagining is a criminal offence for the buyer. Section 12 of the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 says a scrap metal dealer must not pay for scrap metal except by a cheque which is not transferable under section 81A of the Bills of Exchange Act 1882, or by an electronic transfer of funds. The offence catches the dealer, the site manager and any person who makes the payment on the dealer's behalf. It was brought in to defeat metal theft: a traceable payment ties every load of scrap to a named, verified seller, and cash does not.
Two claims circulating on other scrap websites are wrong and worth correcting. The first is that the fine is capped at £5,000. Section 12 sets the penalty at level 5 on the standard scale, and section 85 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 removed the £5,000 ceiling on level 5 fines in England and Wales from 12 March 2015. The correct statement is an unlimited fine. The second is that you, the seller, commit an offence by accepting cash. Section 12 places the offence on the dealer and those paying for the dealer, not on the person selling the vehicle. The seller-side offence in the Act is section 11(3), giving a false name or address when delivering scrap metal.
So the real risk to you from a cash offer is not prosecution. It is that an operator willing to breach section 12 is operating outside the licensing regime that produces your Certificate of Destruction. No licence means no lawful destruction, which means no certificate, which means the DVLA record stays open in your name against a vehicle you no longer control. CityGrip Recovery pays by bank transfer. That is not caution, it is the only lawful way the payment can be made.
The Certificate of Destruction: what it is, who issues it and what it actually does
The Certificate of Destruction is the document that ends the vehicle's legal life. Its basis is section 17A of the Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) Regulations 2002 as amended, together with the End-of-Life Vehicles Regulations 2003. Regulation 27 of those regulations puts a duty on the ATF: when it accepts delivery of an end-of-life vehicle transferred to it for treatment, it shall issue a certificate of destruction to the last holder or owner. Regulation 28 says the ATF may not impose any charge for issuing it. If a yard tries to charge you for the certificate, it is charging you for something the law requires it to give you free.
What the certificate does is permanent and one-way. DVLA states that once a CoD is completed the notification automatically closes the vehicle record and no further action is processed against it, including a change of keeper or the issue of a replacement V5C. Regulation 34 bars the Secretary of State from recording further keeper changes once notified. DVLA adds that there is no legal provision to remove a CoD declaration from a vehicle record, so accuracy is vital. A vehicle carrying a CoD can never lawfully be sold on or returned to the road: once a CoD is confirmed the vehicle must be physically destroyed.
GOV.UK says the Authorised Treatment Facility should give you a Certificate of Destruction within seven days when an eligible vehicle is completely scrapped. Confirm the receiving ATF and how the certificate will reach you. If it has not arrived, contact the ATF and keep your handover and DVLA notification records. A vehicle repaired and sold by the ATF does not receive a Certificate of Destruction. Read the current GOV.UK consumer guidance.
Your log book, the yellow slip, and telling DVLA yourself
Hand the ATF the vehicle log book (V5C), but keep the yellow slip headed 'sell, transfer or part-exchange your vehicle to the motor trade'. That slip is the V5C/3. On the older blue and green log books it is Section 9; on the red version issued from 2012 onwards it is Section 4. If you are holding the document while reading this, that is the piece you tear off and keep. The rest of the book goes with the vehicle and does not come back: the ATF must write or stamp 'cancelled' in ink across the front of it and hold it securely for twelve months from the date it notifies the scrapping, for DVLA audit, before shredding it.
The yellow slip carries an 11-digit reference number, and that number is what lets you notify DVLA online in a couple of minutes. Do it the same day the vehicle is collected. The alternative is notifying by post, which can take weeks to be processed, and during those weeks the record still shows you as keeper. Keep the confirmation email or a photograph of the slip until the Certificate of Destruction arrives.
The consequence of not telling DVLA is the £1,000 figure quoted on GOV.UK, but the realistic first step is smaller and worth knowing. DVLA's published enforcement policy sets an out of court settlement of £55 for failing to notify a sale or transfer to a motor trader, insurer or dismantler, reduced to £35 if paid within 17 days. If it goes unpaid the case can reach a magistrates' court where the maximum is £1,000. None of that is inevitable and all of it is avoidable by spending two minutes on the DVLA website on collection day.
No log book, no keys, no wheels, no engine: what actually stops a collection
A missing log book, key or major component needs explaining before booking. Tell us which documents you have and why the car cannot move normally. Ask what identification and authority evidence the receiver needs, and obtain the correct DVLA notification instructions if the V5C is missing.
Lost keys, seized brakes, a flat battery or missing wheels can affect the loading assessment. State the actual condition and access so suitable equipment and acceptance can be checked. Do not force a release mechanism, improvise towing or move an unsafe vehicle for the enquiry.
Free manufacturer take-back and free collection from a particular address are different questions. The GOV.UK end-of-life vehicle guidance describes producer obligations. For our collection, disclose missing essential components, extra waste and exceptional access, then confirm acceptance and the full arrangement before booking.
How the price is arrived at, and why a fixed national figure should worry you
A scrap vehicle's value is not a fixed number and no honest operator can publish one. Four things move it. Kerb weight, because the bulk of the value is ferrous metal sold by the tonne. Whether the catalytic converter is still fitted, because the non-ferrous content in a cat is worth a meaningful share of the whole vehicle and a stolen or removed cat takes that with it. The live scrap metal market, which moves week to week with global ferrous and non-ferrous prices. And whether any panels, wheels, glass or components have resale value as parts rather than as metal.
That is why you should treat a fixed price quoted sight-unseen with caution, particularly one advertised as a national flat rate. A figure produced before anyone knows whether the cat is present or the vehicle is complete is a figure that can be revised downward at the kerbside, which is exactly when you have least leverage. CityGrip Recovery quotes a fair price before collection, based on what you tell us about the vehicle, and the price you are given is the price paid.
Payment is by bank transfer for the reasons set out above. Expect to be asked for photo identification and proof of address, and expect the buyer to record the transaction. That is not bureaucracy for its own sake: section 11 of the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 requires the dealer to verify your full name and address from a reliable and independent source, and sections 13 and 15 require records of the description, form, condition, weight and identifying marks of the metal, the date and time received, the registration of the vehicle that delivered it, your verified name and address, a copy of the identifying document and a copy of the cheque or transfer receipt, all kept for three years. An operator who does not ask for any of that is not keeping the records that make your disposal traceable.
Tax, insurance, private plates and the things that cost money if you get the order wrong
Sequence matters more than most people expect. If you have a private or retained registration on the vehicle, you must take it off before it is scrapped. It costs £80, and the vehicle must be registered with DVLA in the UK, able to move under its own power, of a type that needs an MOT or HGV test certificate, taxed or SORN continuously for the past five years and currently, and available for inspection. GOV.UK warns that you must have your V778 and new log book before you scrap or sell the vehicle, otherwise you lose the right to use the private number. Once a CoD is raised the record is closed permanently and the number is gone with it.
Vehicle tax is refunded automatically once DVLA is told, but only in whole months and only calculated from the date DVLA receives your information, not the date the vehicle was collected. That is another reason to notify the same day. The refund cheque goes to the name and address on the log book, any Direct Debit is cancelled automatically, and there is no refund of the 5% surcharge on some Direct Debit payments or the 10% surcharge on a single six-month payment.
Insurance is the reverse: cancel it once you hold the Certificate of Destruction, not before collection. A registered vehicle that is neither insured nor declared SORN falls under Continuous Insurance Enforcement, which carries a £100 fixed penalty, a court fine of up to £1,000, and the power to clamp, impound or destroy the vehicle. And be careful with SORN itself. A vehicle is only off the road if you do not keep or use it on a public road, for example in a garage, on a drive or on private land. A car waiting on a London street cannot be SORN'd, so it must stay taxed while it waits. DVLA's out of court settlement for keeping an untaxed vehicle is £30 plus one and a half times the outstanding tax, rising in court to £1,000 or five times the tax chargeable, and a clamped vehicle costs £100 to release, £200 if impounded, plus £21 a day storage. Waiting on a public road is the expensive option.
Vans, 4x4s and anything over 3,500kg
Van and 4x4 enquiries need the actual model, body, plated weight if known and present condition. Collection suitability, the free arrangement and applicable disposal paperwork must be confirmed for the particular vehicle and receiving site. Do not assume that paperwork for every body or weight category is identical.
That is not a loophole and it is not a downgrade in service. A Notification of Destruction still closes the DVLA record; it simply does not produce a certificate document. If you are scrapping a Transit, a Sprinter, a Luton or a tipper, ask which applies to your specific vehicle and keep the evidence you are given, because your own DVLA notification is the record that protects you either way.
Practical van points: signwriting and vinyl wraps do not need removing, tools and stock do (anything left inside is treated as waste added to the vehicle, which affects the free take-back position), and a ply-lined van full of building waste is a disposal job rather than an end-of-life vehicle job. Strip it out and the collection is straightforward.
Written off in an accident? Scrapping and salvage are not the same thing
If the vehicle is being scrapped because it was damaged in a crash, the salvage category decides whether scrapping is even a choice. Category A means the vehicle must be crushed entirely, including all parts. Category B means the shell must be destroyed although some parts may be salvaged. DVLA states that seriously damaged vehicles in categories A and B will never be put back on the road. Categories S and N describe structurally and non-structurally damaged vehicles that can be repaired and re-registered, so a Category S or N car is not automatically a scrap car, and raising a CoD against one destroys an asset that still has road value.
This is the practical difference between scrapping and salvaging. Scrapping ends the vehicle: the CoD closes the record and the vehicle must be physically destroyed and cannot lawfully be sold on. Salvaging keeps a route back, either as a repairable vehicle or as parts sold on to keep other vehicles running. Do not let anyone raise a certificate against a repairable car simply because it is faster.
One more thing worth saying plainly, because it is the alternative some people are actually weighing up. Abandoning the vehicle is a criminal offence. Section 2 of the Refuse Disposal (Amenity) Act 1978 makes it an offence to abandon a motor vehicle without lawful authority on any land in the open air or on land forming part of a highway, punishable on summary conviction by a fine of up to £2,500 and, on a second or subsequent conviction, up to three months' imprisonment. A local authority may issue a £200 fixed penalty instead. A free collection that produces a certificate and a closed record is a better outcome than a fixed penalty and a car that is still legally yours.
Collection across London, the M25 and the Home Counties
CityGrip Recovery is based at 68 Ruckholt Road, Leyton, London E10 5NP. We take scrap collection enquiries across London and the wider M25 service area. Give the actual collection address so access and availability can be confirmed before booking. Call or WhatsApp 07960 200253.
London collections come with constraints that rarely apply elsewhere, and telling us about them at booking is what gets the right vehicle sent first time. Narrow terraced streets with parking on both sides limit which recovery vehicle can turn and load. Controlled parking zones, permit bays and red routes affect where the truck can legally stop and for how long. Underground and multi-storey car parks have height restrictions that rule out some equipment entirely. Vehicles blocked in on estate parking, on grass verges or behind bollards need different handling. These details can affect acceptance and the loading arrangement, so confirm them before booking.
There is a licensing point specific to London that most operators never mention. The Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 creates two licence types. A site licence is issued by the local authority where the site sits and permits the holder to transport scrap to and from its sites from any local authority area. A mobile collector's licence only authorises collection within the issuing authority's area, and the Home Office's supplementary guidance is explicit that a separate licence would need to be obtained from each local authority in whose area the individual wished to collect. Greater London is 32 boroughs plus the City of London, which is 33 licensing authorities. Anyone claiming London-wide mobile collection under a single mobile collector's licence is describing something the guidance does not support. Separately, anyone transporting waste, including an end-of-life vehicle, must be registered with the Environment Agency as a waste carrier, and GOV.UK states you can get an unlimited fine if you do not register.
Jaguar vehicle guide
Jaguar scrap collection in London
For a Jaguar XF, XE, XJ, SUV or an electric I-PACE, prepare the model, powertrain, condition and loading details before requesting a collection.
Read our Jaguar scrap collection guide for the model checklist, quote factors, I-PACE considerations and paperwork. Free scrap collection is arranged after the vehicle and access are confirmed.
More specific collection guides
A Rolls-Royce or a central address?
For an unwanted or non-running Rolls-Royce, our Rolls-Royce scrap collection guide explains the vehicle brief, the decision between transport and disposal, and Central, West and North London access. For any car in a managed building, courtyard or controlled street in the centre, use the Central London scrap car collection page. Confirm the exact vehicle, the intended outcome and loading arrangements before booking.
After the disposal decision
Accident-damaged car disposal
If permanent disposal has been agreed, use our London accident-damaged car disposal guide or Central London damaged-car disposal guide. Free collection and disposal apply to accepted scrap bookings after the vehicle, access and release authority are checked. An unresolved claim, existing storage bill or separate recovery needs its own arrangement.
Prepare a more useful enquiry
Collection guidance for your car.
The exact model and condition help us assess a collection. These guides explain different vehicle and access questions, alongside the shared booking and ATF paperwork steps.
BMW
Scrap your BMW in London. A BMW at a workshop needs a complete release brief.
Mercedes-Benz
Scrap your Mercedes-Benz in London. Make the release authority as clear as the collection address.
Audi
Scrap your Audi in London. Keep the body style, powertrain and damage description together.
Land Rover or Range Rover
Scrap your Land Rover or Range Rover in London. Modifications and the route off the property belong in the first message.
Porsche
Scrap your Porsche in London. Finish the repair-or-disposal decision before arranging destruction.
Prepare the actual car
Mercedes-Benz model collection guides.
If you have one of these Mercedes-Benz passenger cars, the model guides explain the vehicle and access details to send before booking.
Mercedes-Benz S-Class
Scrap your Mercedes-Benz S-Class in London. Start with the S-Class you have, not a generic saloon description.
Mercedes-Benz E-Class
Scrap your Mercedes-Benz E-Class in London. The E-Class body and its present contents change the collection brief.
Mercedes-Benz G-Class
Scrap your Mercedes-Benz G-Class in London. Describe the actual G-Wagon, including everything fitted to it.
Plan the removal
An unwanted Lamborghini ready to leave?
If an unwanted Lamborghini needs to leave a garage, workshop or property, our Lamborghini removal and scrap collection guide explains the model, low-clearance access, hybrid and release details to send. Confirm whether the instruction is permanent disposal or transport elsewhere before booking.
Vehicle-specific removal guidance
Arrange the car’s removal in one conversation.
For a Bentley collection, prepare the body, powertrain and managed-parking details. For Ferrari removal, explain low clearance and the garage route. Our Aston Martin disposal guide covers stored cars, model identification and release arrangements. These enquiries can be arranged on WhatsApp, with the collection date and time confirmed after assessment.
Practical reading before collection
Documents, access and disposal decisions.
Scrap car FAQs
Is scrap car collection really free?
Free collection is part of an accepted CityGrip scrap-car booking in London. Send the registration, present condition and full collection address first. Disclose missing essential components, extra waste, locked wheels and exceptional access. Acceptance, suitable loading, any exceptional work and the full arrangement must be confirmed before booking. Free scrap collection is not a general transport service to another address. Manufacturer free take-back rules have their own conditions and do not by themselves guarantee free doorstep recovery in every situation.
Can I get cash for my scrap car in London?
No, and no lawful operator can offer it. Section 12 of the Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 makes it an offence in England and Wales for a scrap metal dealer to pay for scrap metal in cash. Payment must be by electronic transfer or by a non-transferable cheque so the transaction is traceable. The penalty is an unlimited fine, not the £5,000 figure many websites still quote, because the cap on level 5 fines was removed in England and Wales in March 2015. You do not commit an offence by accepting cash, but an operator offering it is working outside the licensing regime that produces your Certificate of Destruction. Payment here is by bank transfer.
Can I scrap my car without the V5C log book?
Yes. DVLA tells Authorised Treatment Facilities directly that they can still make a Certificate of Destruction declaration for a vehicle without the V5C, as long as the vehicle details were captured by a physical check of the vehicle before it was destroyed. Instead of the log book, a legitimate yard will ask for photo identification and a proof of address in your name and will want to be satisfied you are entitled to dispose of the vehicle. Without the yellow slip you notify DVLA in writing rather than online, giving the registration, make, model and the name and address of the Authorised Treatment Facility.
What is a Certificate of Destruction and who issues it?
A Certificate of Destruction is the document confirming a vehicle has been destroyed at an Authorised Treatment Facility. It is issued by the ATF itself, not by DVLA and not by the company that collected the vehicle. Regulation 27 of the End-of-Life Vehicles Regulations 2003 places a duty on the ATF to issue it to the last holder or owner, and regulation 28 forbids charging you for it. Once it is issued the DVLA record is closed permanently: no change of keeper and no replacement V5C can ever be recorded against that registration again, and DVLA says there is no legal provision to remove a CoD declaration once made.
How long does the Certificate of Destruction take to arrive?
GOV.UK says the Authorised Treatment Facility should give you a Certificate of Destruction within seven days when an eligible vehicle is completely scrapped. Confirm the receiving ATF and how the certificate will reach you. If it has not arrived, contact the ATF and keep your handover and DVLA notification records. A vehicle repaired and sold by the ATF does not receive a Certificate of Destruction.
Do I have to tell DVLA myself, or is it done for me?
Both happen, and you should still do your part. The Authorised Treatment Facility notifies DVLA electronically through the Certificate of Destruction system. Separately, the registered keeper has a duty to tell DVLA that the vehicle has been taken to an ATF, and GOV.UK states you can be fined £1,000 if you do not. Use the 11-digit reference on the yellow V5C/3 slip to notify online on the day the vehicle is collected. It takes about two minutes and the confirmation is worth keeping until the certificate arrives.
What happens if I forget to tell DVLA I scrapped my car?
DVLA's published enforcement policy sets an out of court settlement of £55 for failing to notify a sale or transfer to a motor trader, insurer or dismantler, reduced to £35 if it is paid within 17 days. If the settlement goes unpaid the case can be taken to a magistrates' court where the maximum penalty is £1,000. Alongside the penalty, an open record means your road tax refund is delayed, because the refund is calculated from the date DVLA receives your information rather than the date the vehicle was collected.
Which part of the log book do I keep?
Keep the yellow slip headed 'sell, transfer or part-exchange your vehicle to the motor trade'. That is the V5C/3. On the older blue and green log books it is Section 9, and on the red version issued from 2012 onwards it is Section 4. Tear that section off and hand everything else to the Authorised Treatment Facility. You will not get the rest back: the ATF must write or stamp 'cancelled' in ink across the front of the V5C and keep it securely for twelve months from the date it notifies the scrapping, for DVLA audit, before shredding it.
Will you collect a car that does not start, has no wheels or has no keys?
Non-runner, missing-key and missing-wheel enquiries can be assessed. Describe what is missing, whether the wheels roll, steering turns and parking brake releases, and where the vehicle stands. Send safe photographs if possible. We confirm acceptance, suitable equipment, access and any exceptional work before booking; do not force a release mechanism or move an unsafe car for collection.
How much is my car worth as scrap?
It depends on four things and no honest operator can publish a fixed figure. Kerb weight matters most, because the bulk of the value is ferrous metal sold by the tonne. Whether the catalytic converter is still fitted matters a great deal, because the non-ferrous content is a meaningful share of the total. The live scrap metal market moves week to week. And any panels, wheels or components with resale value as parts add to it. Call 07960 200253 with the registration and the condition and you will be given a fair price quoted before collection, and that is the price paid.
Can I scrap a car that still has outstanding finance on it?
Not until the agreement is settled. On hire purchase or PCP the finance company remains the legal owner of the vehicle until the final payment, so it is not yours to dispose of. Contact the lender for a settlement figure and clear the agreement first. A legitimate Authorised Treatment Facility will run a check that flags an outstanding interest and will stop the job, which protects you as much as it protects them. If the vehicle is beyond repair and you cannot settle, speak to the finance company directly, because they deal with this situation regularly and may have their own process.
What happens to my private number plate?
You must take it off the vehicle before it is scrapped. It costs £80, and the vehicle must be registered with DVLA in the UK, able to move under its own power, of a type that needs an MOT or HGV test certificate, taxed or SORN continuously for the past five years and currently, and available for inspection. GOV.UK is explicit that you must have your V778 retention document and the new log book before you scrap or sell the vehicle, otherwise you lose the right to the number. Once a Certificate of Destruction is raised the record closes permanently and the number cannot be recovered.
Do I get my road tax back when I scrap my car?
Yes, automatically, once DVLA is told. The refund covers whole months of remaining tax only, and it is calculated from the date DVLA receives your information rather than the date the vehicle was collected, which is why notifying on collection day is worth money to you. The cheque is sent to the name and address on the log book and any Direct Debit is cancelled automatically. There is no refund of the 5% surcharge applied to some Direct Debit payments or the 10% surcharge on a single six-month payment.
When should I cancel the insurance?
Once you hold the Certificate of Destruction, not before collection. Under Continuous Insurance Enforcement, a registered vehicle that is neither insured nor declared SORN attracts a £100 fixed penalty, a court fine of up to £1,000, and can be clamped, impounded or destroyed. Keeping cover in place until the record is closed costs very little and removes that exposure entirely. If the vehicle is off the road on a drive or private land you can make a SORN, but a car waiting on a public street cannot be SORN'd and must stay taxed until it is collected.
Can you scrap vans and 4x4s as well as cars?
Describe the exact vehicle, body, plated weight if known, condition and access so the collection and receiving arrangements can be assessed. The free scrap arrangement must be confirmed for that vehicle, including missing essential components or extra waste. Disposal paperwork can differ by vehicle category, so confirm what applies with the receiving ATF rather than assuming every van or 4x4 receives the same certificate.
What actually happens to the car after it is collected?
It goes to a permitted Authorised Treatment Facility and is depolluted before anything else. Operators must remove fuel, oils, coolant, brake fluid and other fluids, the battery, the catalytic converter and explosive components such as airbags and seatbelt pretensioners. That is precisely why a vehicle cannot go straight to a shredder from your driveway. After depollution, reusable parts are recovered, and the remaining shell is shredded and separated into ferrous and non-ferrous metal streams for recycling. The Certificate of Destruction is issued off the back of that process.
How do I check a scrapyard or collector is genuine?
Use the official sources rather than the operator's own claims. GOV.UK runs a Find a vehicle scrapyard service covering England, and the Environment Agency publishes a public register of End of Life Vehicles Authorised Treatment Facilities on data.gov.uk. Ask to see the scrap metal dealer's licence, which every legitimate operator holds. Treat two things as warning signs: an offer to pay cash, which is unlawful for the dealer, and any 'DVLA approved' or 'government approved' badge, because DVLA's own terms permit a facility to say it participates in the Certificate of Destruction scheme but forbid it implying DVLA has endorsed or approved the organisation.
My car was written off in an accident. Is scrapping the right route?
It depends on the salvage category. Category A means the vehicle must be crushed entirely, including all parts, and Category B means the shell must be destroyed although some parts may be salvaged. DVLA confirms that Category A and B vehicles will never be put back on the road, so scrapping is the only route. Categories S and N describe structural and non-structural damage on vehicles that can lawfully be repaired and returned to the road, so those are not automatically scrap. Raising a Certificate of Destruction against a repairable car is irreversible, so establish the category before anything is destroyed.
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Updated 13 November 2026. Telephone enquiries 24 hours; collection availability agreed individually. Call 07960 200253.
Book a free scrap car collection across London and the M25
Send the registration, condition, full collection address and access details. Confirm acceptance, the collection arrangement and any exceptional work before booking. CityGrip delivers scrap vehicles to a receiving ATF; retain the paperwork and make your own DVLA notification.