Do I have to tell DVLA that my car has been written off?

Yes. DVLA must be notified when the vehicle has been written off, and the insurer will normally guide you through the required documentation.

In relation to “Do I have to tell DVLA that my car has been written off?”, vehicle admin is easiest when you complete the official step at the same time as the handover and keep the confirmation.

For “Do I have to tell DVLA that my car has been written off?”, write-off category, ownership of salvage and DVLA paperwork are separate issues. Keep the insurer’s settlement letter because it can clarify what happened to the vehicle after the claim.

For “Do I have to tell DVLA that my car has been written off?”, this answer is written for a Northern Ireland user, but some vehicle-registration, consumer-credit and insurance functions operate on a UK-wide basis. The attached sources — GOV.UK - Selling a vehicle, GOV.UK - Tell DVLA you sold, transferred or bought a vehicle, and GOV.UK - SORN — are therefore deliberately mixed where the responsible authority is UK-wide. That is more accurate than forcing every point into an NI-only source.

Practical next step for “Do I have to tell DVLA that my car has been written off?”: complete the relevant official keeper, tax or SORN action and save the confirmation with a dated receipt. If another person now has the vehicle, record the handover date and time as well.