Vehicle recovery

You are legally required to make contact with the police within 7 calendar days of the date of seizure notice or letter to claim your vehicle. If contact is not made the police have the authority to dispose of the vehicle. If contact is made this can be extended to 14 days.

When your vehicle was seized you will have been given a vehicle seizure form.

You will only be able to produce the relevant documents required for your vehicle to be released at the police station specified on the seizure form.

They will also be able to tell you where your vehicle is being kept and where it can be collected from.

You should check the force website to confirm opening times for your nominated station before you attend. If your nominated police station is closed, you need to attend one of the open prescribed police stations:

• Bath
• Bridgwater
• Broadbury Road
• Burnham-on-Sea
• Chard
• Chipping Sodbury
• Fishponds
• Frome
• Keynsham
• Kingswood
• Minehead
• Nailsea
• Patchway
• Radstock
• Shepton Mallet
• Southmead
• Taunton
• Weston-super-Mare Town Hall
• Yeovil

Once your documents have been validated, an email will be sent to the recovery agent authorising the release of your vehicle.

You can then attend the vehicle recovery operator’s pound to collect your vehicle during their stated opening hours.

You will need to pay the seizure fees and show the recovery operator your documentation before the vehicle is released.

We do not allow vehicles to be removed from a pound without insurance on a trailer of any kind.

You will need to consider:

• bringing a set of keys with you in case the driver did not leave the keys in the vehicle
• we cannot advise on whether your vehicle is roadworthy
• having a professional recovery operator collect the vehicle if it was in a collision
• taking your vehicle to a garage for a safety check if it was stolen
• attaching valid replacement number plates to your vehicle if it does not have the correct ones

If you are driving under a provisional licence, you must:

• bring someone who is over 21 and has held a licence for more than three years
• make sure you have L plates on the vehicle

When you attend the police station to reclaim your vehicle you must bring the vehicle seizure form with you.

Proof of identity with valid photo ID

For example:

• passport
• valid driving licence
• EU national identity card
• immigration document

Valid driving licence

Your driving licence must be either:

• a UK photocard driving licence – if you have the old paper licence, you need to bring your passport or another verifiable form of photo ID (from the above examples)
• an EU/EEAA photocard driving licence, along with a passport or EU/EAA identity card
• a non-EU/EEA driving licence, together with an International Driving Permit or an official translation, plus a passport or other evidence or immigration status and date of arrival in the UK

If you have been disqualified on a UK licence, the disqualification stands for any driving licence being used in the UK.

If you were disqualified in another EU member state or EEA country, that disqualification applies in the UK as well.

Valid certificate of motor insurance

You will need to produce a valid certificate of motor insurance that permits the release of a vehicle impounded by a government authority before your vehicle will be released, even if you do not intend to drive it on a public road.

We will accept:

• electronic copies of the certificate from your mobile device
• copies sent by email, if they have come directly from your insurer

Short-term insurance or temporary cover may not be valid to reclaim a seized insurance. Check the certificate before you come to the police station.

A motor trader cannot release a seized vehicle on your behalf. A motor trade policy will only permit the release of a vehicle that was:

• the property of the motor trader
• in their custody and control at the time of seizure

Proof of ownership

• the full vehicle registration document (V5C) in your name, together with proof or address to match the registered address, or
• an unaltered and in-date new keeper supplement (V5C/2), together with a verifiable bill of sale and proof of name and address to match the new keeper supplement

If a vehicle ‘in trade’ has been driven on the road without a valid trade licence displayed, it must be registered to the owner immediately.

MOT

If your vehicle is over three years old and does not have a current MOT test pass certificate, you must:

• bring evidence from a garage of a pre-booked MOT appointment, or
• arrange recovery at your own expense

Vehicle tax

If the vehicle’s tax has expired, the vehicle may be seized again by police or DVLA if it is driven or parked on a public highway.

The current registered keeper is responsible for taxing a vehicle. The road tax is not transferred when the vehicle is sold to a new keeper.

As the registered keeper or owner of a seized vehicle, you are legally responsible for it and you must attend the prescribed police station in person to prove ownership.

This legal requirement will only be waived if you can provide evidence that:

• you are out of the country (for example, a copy of flight tickets)
• you are in custody
• you are in hospital
• you are immobile, due to age injury or disability
• there are compelling medical or compassionate circumstances that stop you being able to attend the pound in person

If any of the above circumstances apply to you, the third party collecting the vehicle on your behalf must attend the prescribed police station with:

• the evidence of the valid reason you cannot attend in person
• a letter of authority – a letter signed by you authorising the third party to collect the vehicle on your behalf
• a copy of your passport or driving licence as proof of your identity and signature

If you cannot drive the vehicle yourself

If you can attend the prescribed police station in person to establish your ownership but you cannot drive the vehicle yourself, you may nominate someone to collect it on your behalf.

The third party must pay the charges and have:

• a letter of authority – a letter signed by you authorising the third party to collect the vehicle on your behalf
• a copy of your passport or driving licence as proof of your identity and signature

Collection by a third party

If your vehicle is being collected by another person on your behalf, that person must hold a valid driving licence and a valid certificate of motor insurance that allows them to reclaim the seized vehicle from a police pound.

The insurance company should be aware that the insured person is and was not the owner at the time of a seizure or recovery. If you are taking out a short term policy, you must collect the vehicles between the date and times stated.

The legal requirement for the impounded vehicle to have valid motor insurance before it leaves the pound applies, even if a recovery operator is collecting the vehicle from the pound on your behalf.

You will need to attend a police station in order to get authorisation for any property to be removed from a seized vehicle.

We will only give property from the vehicle to the owner or registered keeper of the vehicle, or to the driver at the time of seizure.

We require proof of ID in all cases.

If the registered keeper or owner is collecting property, we will require proof of ownership or a V5C. The driver’s details can normally be confirmed from the seizure notice.

If the registered keeper or owner cannot come to the pound in person to collect the property, we will require a letter of authority and proof of signature.

If you do not want to reclaim your vehicle, you must let the DVLA know you are no longer the registered keeper.

Dependent on the seizure reason, we will dispose of the vehicle either seven or fourteen days from the date of your notification letter, or from the date it was seized.

If your vehicle has been issued with a PG9 prohibition notice, is not roadworthy or will not start, you need to arrange for a fully trained, equipped and insured vehicle recovery operator to collect it at your own expense.

We do not allow vehicles to be repaired while they are at the pound (this includes changing tyres or repairing windscreens).

Where possible, the pound staff will try to help you with jump starting. You will have to sign a jump-starting indemnification form.

If you do not believe your vehicle should have been seized, you will still need to follow the above procedure and pay the recovery charges.

You will then need to fill out the make a complaint form.

The case will be reviewed to find out if you are eligible for a refund.

New legislation now allows different lengths of time for disposal of vehicles depending on reason for seizure.

The amendments affect vehicles administered under the following legislation:

• The Police (Retention and Disposal of Motor Vehicles) Regulations 2002 – covering vehicles seized under Section 59 of the Police Reform Act 2002 for anti-social behaviour related offences
• The Road Traffic Act 1988 (Retention and Disposal of Seized Motor Vehicles) Regulations 2005 – covering vehicles seized under Section 165A of the Road Traffic Act 1988 for driving without insurance or otherwise than in accordance with a driving licence
• The Police (Retention and Disposal of Vehicles) Regulations 1995 – covering vehicles seized under Section 62(1) of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 in connection with unlawful trespass

Under the above legislation, vehicles will be disposed of within 7 days. However, if contact is made with the Vehicle Recovery office, this time increases to 14 days.

The Vehicle Recovery Office can be contacted by calling 01278646505/500.

Once the vehicle has been authorised for disposal or left the pound, it is not our responsibility and we will not stop any auction or scrapping.

Cost is dependant on the vehicle type, position, and condition. There is also a daily storage charge.

Vehicle types

• Type 1: Vehicle equal to or less than 3.5 tonnes MAM
• Type 2: Vehicles exceeding 3.5 tonnes MAM but equal to or less than 7.5 tonnes MAM
• Type 3: Vehicles exceeding 7.5 tonnes MAM but equal to or less than 18 tonnes MAM
• Type 4: Vehicles exceeding 18 tonnes MAM

Cost based on vehicle position and condition

• Vehicle on road, upright and not substantially damaged. Any two-wheeled vehicle whatever its condition or position on or off the road
  • Type 1: £192
  • Type 2: £256
  • Type 3: £448
  • Type 4: £448
• Vehicle, excluding a two-wheeled vehicle, on-road but either not upright or substantially damaged or both
  • Type 1: £320
  • Type 2: £832
  • Type 3:
    • Unladen: £2,561
    • Laden: £3,842
  • Type 4:
    • Unladen: £3,842
    • Laden: £5,763
• Vehicle, excluding a two-wheeled vehicle, off-road, upright and not substantially damaged
  • Type 1: £256
  • Type 2: £512
  • Type 3:
    • Unladen: £1,281
    • Laden: £1,921
  • Type 4:
    • Unladen: £1,921
    • Laden: £2,561
• Vehicle, excluding a two-wheeled vehicle, off-road, upright and not substantially damaged or both
  • Type 1: £384
  • Type 2: £1,089
  • Type 3:
    • Unladen: £3,842
    • Laden: £5,763
  • Type 4:
    • Unladen: £5,763
    • Laden: £7,684
• Daily storage charge
  • Type 1: £26
    • Two-wheeled vehicles: £13
  • Type 2: £32
  • Type 3: £38
  • Type 4: £45
• Disposal
  • Type 1: £96
    • Two-wheeled vehicles: £64
  • Type 2: £128
  • Type 3: £160
  • Type 4: £192