DVLA have just informed me I have committed an “offence” for not insuring my tax exempt 1983 MHR. My insurance expired 27/02/25. The bike has not been on the road for at least six months. It is in storage. Is it really an offence not to insure it?
Taxed but not insured? Normally they cancel tax if your insurance runs out. If it’s not insured as above you have to sorn it but seems silly in a tax exempt vehicle
If it's not SORN then you have to insure it. Even tax exempt vehicles have to have their registration ('tax') renewed every year, but at no cost. DVLA are tightening up on this. If your insurance runs out and you don't renew it immediately you must SORN it even for a few days.
Their “dispute” form has no option for “the vehicle is taxed”, so I think as said above, if tax expires, is not renewed then the law says you must SORN. The insurance thing has yet to be explained. The phone number is only for paying the fine.
Working my way through all the small print, it looks like you have been caught out by the DVLA ‘continuous insurance enforcement’ rule. This applies to all classes of vehicle driven on public roads and despite a vehicle being tax and/or MoT exempt, this rules still applies. If you are not going to insure a tax and/or MoT exempt vehicle for any period of time, you must apply for a SORN to avoid a fine. Andy
https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-insurance/uninsured-vehicles I'm not sure when that sneaked in but it's a bit rich having to insure a bike that is off road & not being used.
I registered a 1958 Gilera last autumn and got an age related plate. I quickly got a you need to tax or SORN your vehicle letter, and as tax is free, I did that. I haven't yet insured it as I'm still doing some work on it. Last month I got a letter saying the vehicle was taxed, but uninsured, and that I had 28 days to insure or SORN it. For the time being I have Sorned it. No fine.
You're not wrong reading the page, but for those of us of a certain age if it was off the road & not being used it didn't need to be taxed, insured or SORNed and this strikes me as typical of a bit of legislation that achieves little other than revenue collection. It is also something that seems to have appeared with very little fanfare. I certainly have a large degree of sympathy for the OP. The one thing I do find fascinating, if you don't have to insure your vehicle if it is SORNed, is why that rule is called "continuous insurance enforcement" when the insurance is not then continuous...
