Insurance Write-Offs: Cat N and Cat S Cars

When an insurer writes a car off, the category it gives decides what can happen to the car next. This page explains the categories, what happens to the log book, and how a written-off car you have kept can be valued and collected.

  • Category N and S accepted
  • Free collection
  • Paid on collection
  • Certificate of Destruction if scrapped

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What an insurance write-off means

When you claim for damage, your insurer decides whether the car is ‘written off’ and tells you how much it will pay. A written-off car is paid out at its current value instead of the cost of repairing it. The insurer also puts it in a category, which DVLA records.

Write-off categories

CategoryRepairing the vehicleUsing the vehicle
ACannot be repairedThe entire vehicle has to be crushed
BCannot be repairedThe body shell has to be crushed, but other parts can be salvaged
NCan be repaired following non-structural damageCan be used again if repaired to a roadworthy condition
SCan be repaired following structural damageCan be used again if repaired to a roadworthy condition

Source: GOV.UK: insurance write-offs.

Category N

Category N means the car can be repaired after non-structural damage. It can be used on the road again once repaired to a roadworthy condition. If you keep a Category N car, the insurer pays out and sells the car back to you, and you can keep the log book.

Category S

Category S means the car can be repaired after structural damage. It can be used again once repaired to a roadworthy condition. To keep a Category S car, you send the complete log book to the insurer and apply for a free duplicate using form V62. DVLA records the category in the log book.

Categories A and B

Category A and B cars cannot be repaired. A Category A car has to be crushed entirely. With Category B, the body shell has to be crushed but other parts can be salvaged. Your insurer will usually deal with scrapping them.

What happens to the V5C

When a car is written off, GOV.UK sets out these steps:

  1. If you want to keep the registration number, apply to take it off the vehicle first.
  2. Send the V5C log book to your insurer, but keep the yellow ‘sell, transfer or part-exchange your vehicle to the motor trade’ section.
  3. Tell DVLA the vehicle has been written off. You can be fined £1,000 if you do not.

If you keep a Category N or S car, the log book rules above apply instead.

Write-off or accident damage?

‘Written off’ is an insurance decision. A car can be badly damaged without being written off, for example if you did not claim or the insurer chose to repair it. In that case, see accident damaged cars. This page is for cars an insurer has categorised.

Scrapping a Category N or S car you kept

If you bought a Category N or S car back from your insurer, or bought one that was already categorised, and now want to scrap it, it can be valued like any other damaged car. When you enquire, give:

  • the write-off category;
  • what was damaged and whether any repairs have been done or started;
  • whether the car starts and drives;
  • where it is kept and how a recovery vehicle can reach it;
  • whether you have the V5C and any outstanding finance.

A person at the collection company values it from those details. The value depends on which parts are still usable, the car's weight and materials, and its make and model. The car is inspected on collection, and the valuation can be revised if it differs from the description. See scrap car prices.

Collection and paperwork

Collection is free and is arranged with the collection company once you accept its valuation (free scrap car collection). When the car is scrapped, give the V5C to the treatment facility but keep the yellow section, then tell DVLA. If the car is completely scrapped, you receive a Certificate of Destruction within 7 days. The step-by-step is on how it works.

Who does what

  • Scrap A Car For Cash (operated by Lead Stack Ltd, company number 15877625) takes your enquiry and passes it to an affiliated vehicle collection company that covers your area.
  • The collection company values the vehicle, collects it free of charge and pays you on collection, in line with the terms you agree with them.
  • If the vehicle is completely scrapped, that happens at an authorised treatment facility (ATF), which gives you a Certificate of Destruction. A vehicle that is repaired and resold instead does not get one.

More detail: how it works and our terms and conditions.

Related guides

Accident damaged carsDamaged cars that have not been written off.Scrap car pricesWhat decides a valuation and why it can change.How it worksValuation, collection, payment, V5C and DVLA.Free scrap car collectionArranging collection and what to have ready.Non-running carsCars that will not start or drive.

Get a valuation for a written-off car

Tell us the registration, postcode and write-off category, and the collection company covering your area will contact you with a free, no-obligation valuation.

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