If the notice is for a date after you sold, scrapped or part-exchanged the vehicle, there is a specific legal ground for you in every scheme on this site. It is one of the most successful challenges, as long as you can show the date the vehicle left you.
The ground in each scheme
| Scheme | Ground | Regulation |
|---|---|---|
| Clean Air Zones, Dart Charge, merseyflow | Had ceased to be the registered keeper before the time of the journey | SI 2013/1783 reg 8(3)(a)(ii) |
| ULEZ, Congestion Charge, Blackwall and Silvertown tunnels | Had ceased to be the person liable before the date | SI 2001/2313 reg 13(3)(a)(ii) |
| Scottish LEZs | Was not the registered keeper on the detection date, or the vehicle had been sold or transferred | SSI 2021/177 reg 8(4)(b)–(c), reg 5(3) |
Evidence that works
- The DVLA confirmation letter or email that you are no longer the keeper, or the V5C/2 new keeper slip with the date.
- A dated receipt, bill of sale, dealer part-exchange invoice or scrapyard certificate of destruction.
- The buyer's name and address if you know it. Both the England and London regulations say your representations must include them if they are in your possession.
Why the DVLA date matters
Under the England regulations, if you told the DVLA about the sale before the journey, the penalty is payable by the person using the vehicle (regulation 6(3)), and the date of your notification is the date the DVLA is treated as having received it. If you sold the car but never told the DVLA, the authority sees you as keeper. You can still use the ground, but you must prove the sale another way, which is why the receipt matters.
Notify the DVLA now if you have not, and keep the confirmation.
When the authority writes back
If your representations are accepted, the authority can serve a fresh notice on the new keeper. Outside London, if you hear nothing within 56 days of the authority receiving your representations, they count as accepted (reg 8(10)).
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Questions people ask
I sold it privately and have no receipt.
Use what you have: messages with the buyer, the advert, the bank transfer, the DVLA confirmation. Describe the sale with dates in your representations.
The dealer had it but had not registered it.
A motor trader using a vehicle it is not the keeper of is itself liable under the England regulations (reg 6(4)) and the Scottish regulations (reg 5(5)). Give the dealer's details.
Sources
Last checked: 13 November 2026. Every fact on this page was checked against these official pages. How we check