What is a Certificate of Destruction?

When a vehicle is scrapped for whatever reason a Certificate of Destruction must be obtained.

This is a legal requirement.

The vehicle must be taken to an authorised treatment facility (ATF) if it needs to be scrapped.  They will make sure that it’s dismantled in an environmentally friendly way.

The vehicles you can take are:

  • cars
  • light vans
  • three-wheeled motor vehicles – excluding motor tricycles

Authorised treatment facilities

The ATF will give you a Certificate of Destruction (CoD) straight away if they agree to take your vehicle. They’ll also tell DVLA that you’re no longer responsible for the vehicle. Keep the certificate as proof that the vehicle has been destroyed and you’re no longer responsible for it.

If you have a vehicle other than those already mentioned, you still need to take your vehicle to an ATF to ensure it’s destroyed to environmental standards. They’ll arrange for the vehicle record at DVLA, to be updated with a Notification of Destruction.

A requirement of the End of Life Vehicles (ELVs) regulations is that the last holder of any vehicle depolluted/dismantled in the following classes is issued with a Certificate of Destruction (CoD):

Scrapping your vehicle website

Certificate of Destruction