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Your vehicle log book
Write your new name in section 3 and post the whole log book to the DVLA address printed there, with a short letter saying why. Add your Deed Poll if that is how you changed it; after a marriage or divorce, GOV.UK needs no proof. It is usually free, there is no online route for a new name, and the new log book can take up to 6 weeks.
A new driving licence leaves the log book in your old name, and GOV.UK says you must update the V5C yourself: not telling DVLA about a change of name can mean a fine of up to £1,000. It is one envelope, and usually costs nothing but the postage.
It depends on the style of log book, why your name changed and whether you are moving too. Answer three questions and the envelope fills in; without script, everything is listed with who it is for.
Everything GOV.UK asks for, and who each part is for:
Freeusually
From GOV.UK’s log book guidance, checked October 2026.
No. DVLA’s online log book service changes an address only, and GOV.UK lists “you just need to change your name” among the reasons not to use it. A name and address together go by post as well, just as they do on your driving licence.
Ordering a replacement V5C online or by phone is no way round it: those services work only when every detail stays exactly as it was. The one counter option is a Post Office that deals with vehicle tax, and only when the vehicle needs taxing in the next 4 weeks.
Pay the correct postage, as GOV.UK reminds you: the whole log book is inside.
GOV.UK’s two log book pages, for a new name and for a new name and address together, ask for slightly different things.
| Why the name changed | A new name only | With a new address |
|---|---|---|
| A Deed Poll | A letter, and proof such as your Deed Poll | Proof such as your Deed Poll |
| Marriage | A letter. No proof needed | Proof such as your marriage certificate |
| Divorce | A letter. No proof needed | Proof of the change of name |
| A business keeper | A letter, and proof such as a certificate of incorporation | Proof such as a certificate of incorporation |
A name spelt wrongly in the log book by mistake is put right the same way, and GOV.UK needs no proof for it. From changing your name on a V5C and changing your name and address.
Free
GOV.UK says updating the log book is usually free.
6 weeks
For the new log book, once you have posted the old one.
4 weeks
Contact DVLA if nothing has arrived by then.
£25
Not received after 6 weeks and DVLA not told? A replacement is charged.
£1,000
The most GOV.UK says you can be fined for not reporting a new name.
Apply for a new one on form V62, the application for a log book, with a letter explaining why you are applying and a cheque or postal order for £25 made payable to ‘DVLA, Swansea’. It goes by post, and can take up to 6 weeks.
You need a UK address to apply. Moving abroad? GOV.UK says to apply before the vehicle leaves the UK. The online and phone replacements cannot help here, because your name has changed.
£25by cheque or postal order
DVLA keeps the records for vehicles across the whole United Kingdom, so a V5C in Northern Ireland is a DVLA log book and changes in exactly the same way: section 3, by post, to the address printed in it. nidirect sends Northern Ireland keepers to GOV.UK for it.
One difference GOV.UK notes: if you tax the vehicle at a Post Office at the same time, take your latest MOT test certificate when the vehicle needs one every year. It must still be valid when the tax starts.
Your licence is the DVA’s job, not DVLA’s: form DL1, explained.
A separate application, on form D1 by post, and free. After a wedding, your certificate is the proof; after a divorce, your papers or a Deed Poll. A lorry or bus licence uses form D2, and CPC and tachograph cards have their own steps.
Married or divorced? GOV.UK says you can contact DVLA by phone. After a Deed Poll, write instead, with your address, date of birth, bank name, account number and sort code, and a copy of your Deed Poll, to DDC, DVLA, Swansea, SA99 1ZZ.
Post the V750 or V778 with a letter giving your new name, and a copy of your marriage or civil partnership certificate, divorce papers or Deed Poll, to DVLA Personalised Registrations, Swansea, SA99 1DS. This is for a number held on a certificate or retention document rather than one already on a vehicle.
Your insurer, finance company and breakdown cover are on the driver’s tick list. For everyone else who has your old name: who to tell, and in what order.
Write your new name in full in section 3, without initials, and post the whole log book to the DVLA address printed in that section, with a letter saying why the name has changed. On an older log book with no coloured numbered blocks on the cover, it is section 6, signed, sent to the address in section 8. What goes in the envelope.
No. DVLA’s online V5C service changes an address only, and a name and address together also go by post. The online and phone replacement services work only when every detail stays the same. If the vehicle needs taxing within 4 weeks, a Post Office that deals with vehicle tax can update your details and tax it at the same time.
Not for a change of name alone. GOV.UK says no proof is needed when you change your name because you married or divorced: send the log book with a letter explaining the change. If you are changing your address at the same time, include proof, such as your marriage certificate.
Yes. GOV.UK asks for proof when you change your name legally, and gives a deed poll as its example. If your original is with DVLA for your driving licence, wait until it comes back before posting the log book.
Up to 6 weeks after you post it, GOV.UK says. Contact DVLA if nothing has arrived after 4 weeks: if 6 weeks pass and you have not told DVLA, a replacement costs £25.
Yes. Failing to tell DVLA about a new name can cost up to £1,000 in fines, according to GOV.UK, while updating the log book is usually free.
Yes, by post only. Write the new name and address in section 3 (section 6 on an older log book), not a PO Box address, and send the whole log book with evidence of your new name, for example your marriage certificate or Deed Poll.
The same way as in Great Britain. DVLA keeps vehicle records for the whole UK, so a Northern Ireland V5C is changed in section 3 and posted to DVLA, and nidirect points to GOV.UK for it. Your Northern Ireland driving licence is separate: that goes to the DVA on form DL1. Northern Ireland.
The same way as a change of name: write it correctly in section 3 and send the whole log book with a letter explaining the mistake. GOV.UK says no proof is needed for a spelling mistake in the log book.
Send form V62 with a letter explaining why you are applying and a cheque or postal order for £25 payable to ‘DVLA, Swansea’, to DVLA, Swansea, SA99 1DD. You need a UK address, and it can take up to 6 weeks. A lost log book.
Something else? Ask a paralegal and we will answer, usually the same working day.
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