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What is a Logbook or Vehicle Registration Certificate?

If you own a vehicle, Irish law requires you to get the vehicle registered within 30 days of purchasing it. The vehicle registration process involves providing some personal information and details of your vehicle to the authorities and paying a registration fee. However, if you buy a new vehicle, the dealer will register it for you. If you buy a vehicle from a private seller, you will have to take care of the registration yourself.

The documentation certifying ownership of a vehicle will be in the form of a ‘Vehicle Registration Certificate (VRC)’ or ‘Vehicle Licensing Certificate (VLC)’. These documents are also generally referred to as the logbook in Ireland. Which document your vehicle will get (VRC or VLC) depends on when the last change of ownership was done or the age of the vehicle.

The VRC, which is the registration certificate of the vehicle, is the newer document and the Vehicle Licensing Certificate (VLC) is the older form of the vehicle ownership document. The logbook is an important document because it tracks the taxation and registration history of the vehicle, and proves your ownership of it.

How does the logbook look like?

The logbook of a car is red in colour, after years of being printed in blue and it contains key details pertaining to your vehicle.

logbook vlc

How do you fill out the V5C?

  • If you are purchasing a new car, it’s important to check whether the owner has the V5C. If you are selling your car, you will need to notify the DVLA that the vehicle ownership is being changed. You can do this online by providing the authorities the email address of the new owner. You will then have to complete section VSC/2 ‘new keeper’s details’ on the document, tear off the document and provide it to the new owner.
  • If you are unable to change the ownership of the car online, you can fill out the V5C manually. If the V5C was issued before 15 April 2019, the seller will need to complete section two, fill in the date of sale in section six and provide it to the buyer. The seller will then have to send the V5C to ‘DVLA, Swansea, SA99 1BA’.
  • If the V5C was issued before 15 April 2019, the seller will need to complete section six of the document, the seller and buyer will have to sign the declaration available in section eight. The seller will then have to fill up section 10 and give it to the buyer. After this, the seller will need to send the V5C to ‘DVLA, Swansea, SA99 1BA’.

Change details in the V5C

You have to update your V5C if you change your name or address and this is usually done free of charge by notifying the DVLA online or by post. Failure to notify the DVLA of any change in your V5C can result in a fine.

Replace a lost V5C logbook

If you have misplaced your V5C, you can apply to the DVLA for a new document by submitting the Replacement Document Application Form RF 134. The replacement is provided to you at a cost.

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