V55/5 Cheque Calculator
Your V55/5 payment is the £55 first registration fee plus your first vehicle tax — and the tax depends on what you’re registering. Get the exact amount, so a wrong cheque doesn’t bounce your whole application.
Work Out Your Cheque Amount
The V55/5 payment covers the £55 first registration fee plus your first vehicle tax. Rates shown are the official 2026-27 figures from the DVLA V149 leaflet.
Box 24 on the V55/5 — this decides which tax scheme applies, even for imports.
How the V55/5 Payment Works
One payment, two parts
DVLA takes a single cheque or postal order covering the £55 first registration fee (box 4) and the first vehicle tax for the period you choose in box 3. Cash is not accepted, and a damaged or altered cheque gets the whole application rejected and returned.
The tax depends on the vehicle
Motorcycles are taxed by engine size, pre-2001 vehicles by engine size, 2001–2017 cars by CO2 band, and post-April-2017 cars at the standard rate — plus the expensive-car supplement if the list price was over £40,000 (£50,000 for EVs). Historic vehicles pay nothing.
Rates change most Aprils
Vehicle tax is usually uprated with inflation each 1 April. This calculator uses the 2026-27 figures from the DVLA V149 leaflet (April 2026 edition). If your tax start date (box 30) is in a different tax year, re-check before you post.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who do I make the cheque payable to for a V55/5 application?
Cheques and postal orders are payable to "DVLA" — the current V355/5 guidance says exactly that, and warns not to send cash or a damaged/altered cheque. "DVLA, Swansea, SA99 1BE" is the postal address for the application, not the payee.
How much is the DVLA first registration fee?
The first registration fee is £55, unchanged since 2004. It applies to almost all first registrations including imports; the main exemptions are vehicles previously registered in the UK, disabled-exempt first registrations, and re-imports under the personal export or new means of transport schemes.
Do I send one cheque or two with the V55/5?
One payment covering both the £55 fee and the first vehicle tax. DVLA guidance (INF54/1) says it "will be one payment made for vehicles first registered and taxed".
How much is the vehicle tax part for a motorcycle?
For 2026-27: £27 for bikes up to 150cc and electric motorcycles, £59 for 151-400cc, £90 for 401-600cc and £125 over 600cc for 12 months. Bikes up to 150cc have no 6-month option.
Does an imported car registered after April 2017 pay the first-year "showroom" rate?
Usually not. Under VERA 1994 section 62, a used import first registered abroad more than 6 months ago that has travelled more than 6,000km has no "first vehicle licence", so it pays the standard rate (£200 for 2026-27) rather than the CO2-based first-year rate. Nearly-new imports that fail either test pay the first-year rate.
What if my vehicle is in the Historic tax class?
Historic vehicles (built before 1 January 1986, as of the 2026-27 tax year) pay no vehicle tax, so the cheque only needs to cover the £55 registration fee — which a historic import registered in the UK for the first time still pays.
Related Tools & Guides
V55/5 Document Checklist
Every document to post with your application
Road Tax Calculator
Ongoing annual VED costs for any vehicle
After You Download
Printing, signing, payment and posting guide
Example scenario
A re-import with a possible fee exemption
A previously UK-registered vehicle can need different fee treatment from an import that has never been registered here. Select the actual registration history and check the exemption before adding the standard registration fee automatically.