Abandoned vehicles

An abandoned vehicle is one that's been left in an open area or on a road and doesn't appear to have a known owner.

A vehicle may be abandoned if it's been stationary for a long period of time, is damaged or run down and unroadworthy (wheels missing, broken windows, covered in moss etc), or if it's burned out. A vehicle could still be abandoned even if it's taxed.

If a vehicle is causing a nuisance, obstruction, is untaxed, or is dangerously parked, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s abandoned.

Penalty for abandoning a vehicle

Abandoning a vehicle is an offence. If you're found guilty you can face a fixed penalty of £200 or a fine up to £2500.

If you need to dispose of an unwanted vehicle, you should arrange for a private vehicle dismantler to do this. They'll charge you for this service, but this will be less than the amount you could be fined if you abandon it. Only sites licensed to accept 'end of life vehicles' will be able to accept your vehicle. Contact the Environment Agency for advice on where you can take an unwanted car.

Before reporting an abandoned vehicle to us

Before you report an abandoned vehicle to us, check if the vehicle is taxed and has an MOT. You'll need to tell us the vehicle's tax and MOT expiry dates when making your report.

If a vehicle isn't abandoned and you just want to report it as untaxed or not having a valid MOT, you should:

report an untaxed vehicle to the DVLA
report a vehicle without an MOT to the police - either online or by calling 101

You should report vehicles which are dangerously parked or causing an obstruction to the police on 101.

Report an abandoned vehicle

You can report an abandoned vehicle to us using our online form below. In the form you'll need to tell us:

the vehicle's tax and MOT expiry dates (we can only accept your report and take action if you provide these)
the registration number
the make and colour of the vehicle
the precise location of vehicle
whether the vehicle’s causing an obstruction or parked in a way that causes risk or injury to others

Report an abandoned vehicle

What happens next

If the vehicle you've reported hasn't already been dealt with, we'll go out and inspect it. If we decide that it's been abandoned we'll place an order to have it removed as soon as possible.

If the vehicle's damaged and only fit for destruction we'll arrange for it to be destroyed.

If we feel the vehicle may have some value we'll try to find the owner and serve a seven day notice on them, asking them to remove the vehicle. If the vehicle isn't collected we'll destroy it.

If the vehicle's on private land we have to serve a 15 day notice on the occupier before we can remove it, and we must have their permission.

If it is unreasonably expensive to remove a vehicle we won't move it.