The V5C names the registered keeper, not the owner. Check that the document is genuine, that its details match the vehicle and that the DVLA's record agrees. An export marker, a mismatched VIN or a seller who is not the keeper are reasons to stop before you buy.
The V5C registration certificate, the logbook, is the first document a dealer asks for. It shows the registration, the vehicle's details and who the DVLA has on record as its keeper.
What it does not show is just as important. The V5C says in print that it is not proof of ownership. It does not record finance, and a convincing forgery looks much like the real thing. Used well, it is a strong check. Used as a formality, it is a risk.
Keeper is not owner
The registered keeper is the person responsible for registering and taxing the vehicle, which is usually but not always the owner. A vehicle on hire purchase is owned by the finance company, a company vehicle by the company, and a family vehicle may be kept by one person and owned by another.
Ask the seller directly whether they own the vehicle outright, and record their answer. When the seller is not the keeper named on the V5C, find out why before going further. Genuine reasons exist, but they come with paperwork.
Check the document itself
A genuine V5C carries a DVL watermark you can see when you hold it up to the light. Blank certificates have been stolen in the past, and GOV.UK names the serial number ranges to refuse: BG8229501 to BG9999030 and BI2305501 to BI2800000. A V5C in either range may be stolen.
Then match the document to the vehicle. The VIN on the V5C must match the VIN on the vehicle, usually stamped on the body and visible at the base of the windscreen, and the engine number should match too. Check the make, model and colour as well. A V5C for the right registration with the wrong VIN means the vehicle may be cloned.
Check the DVLA's record
The V5C is a printed copy of what the DVLA held on the day it was issued. The record itself is more recent: the vehicle's details, its tax and MOT status, and markers such as export.
An export marker is a reason to stop. A vehicle the DVLA has recorded as exported should not be standing in front of you on its UK registration. It may have come back without being registered again, or its identity may be in use on another vehicle.
When you buy and when you sell
When a dealer buys, the keeper tells the DVLA the vehicle has gone to the motor trade, online or by post, and hands you the rest of the certificate. Keep it with the vehicle's file until you sell.
When you sell, the new keeper's details go to the DVLA. Do it promptly, online where you can, and give the buyer the new keeper slip to keep until their own V5C arrives. A late or missed notification leaves you answering for a vehicle you no longer have.
What the V5C cannot tell you
Outstanding finance, insurance write-off categories and stolen markers are not on the V5C. They come from a provenance check, which is worth its cost on every vehicle you buy outside the trade.
Put the checks together. A genuine V5C that matches the vehicle, a DVLA record without warning markers, a clean provenance check and a seller who is the keeper and owns it outright: with all of them in place, you can buy with confidence.
