Abandoning a vehicle is a criminal offence which carries a maximum fine of £2,500 or three months' imprisonment.
A vehicle can be considered to be abandoned if:
- it has not been moved for at least two weeks
- it is in poor condition, such as having flat tyres, or litter has built up under the vehicle
- there is evidence of damage, such as poor body work or broken windows
- It doesn’t have a valid MOT or road tax
Before you report an abandoned vehicle
Before you report an abandoned vehicle there are steps you must take to ensure it really is abandoned:
Check whether it has an MOT and tax
Simply enter the vehicle's details on the GOV.UK's online form below:
Check vehicle MOT and tax status
If the vehicle is taxed, has a valid MOT and has no visible damage
Please do not report it to us as it is highly unlikely we would be able to remove it. Reporting vehicles not classified as abandoned wastes our officers' time as well as your own.
If the vehicle is untaxed
Please report it to the DVLA. The DVLA is the only authority with the powers to remove untaxed vehicles from the public highway.
Report an untaxed vehicle to the DVLA
Is it actually nuisance or illegal parking?
It may be that the vehicle is not abandoned but has been parked illegally or the way is is parked is causing you a problem. Please go to our illegally parked vehicles page for more information on what can be done.
Report an abandoned vehicle
If after you have carried out the previous steps you are confident the vehicle can be classed as abandoned please report it to using the online form below.
We strongly recommend you use the photo upload function in the form as this helps us to identify the vehicle location.
A vehicle removed due to being abandoned will, depending on its value, either be disposed of or stored.
A Notice will either be sent to the registered keeper and/or attached to the vehicle stating the Notice period.
If a vehicle is stored it will be held for 7 days. If it is not claimed within that time it will be disposed of.