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.