Impounded vehicles
If you’ve received a form 3708 seizure notice or your vehicle was seized on suspicion of being driven without a driving licence or valid insurance, go to our seized vehicles page to find the right information.
Here, you'll find information on what to do if your vehicle was impounded by the police because it was:
- stolen, and found by us
- involved in a collision
- parked illegally
- involved in a crime
- driven in an anti-social manner
- causing an obstruction or danger
- abandoned after an incident involving the police
- trespassed on land
- surrendered property as part of a dispersal order
How to reclaim your vehicle
If your vehicle has been impounded and is being kept at one of our pounds you’ll receive a notice letter when it’s ready for collection. This letter will contain detailed instructions and let you know which pound your vehicle is being kept at.
To reclaim your vehicle you'll need to either:
- Attend the correct pound in person to prove your identity and your ownership of the vehicle and pay any statutory charges; or
- Use the Met Police Self Service Portal (SSP) to submit evidence of your claim, pay any statutory charges and arrange for an appointment to collect the vehicle. Details of how to access the SSP will be contained in the letter you receive from the police asking you to claim and collect the vehicle.
What you must bring with you
You must bring the following documents with you to the car pound
Valid photo ID
One of the following:
- passport
- driving licence
- EU national identity card
- immigration document
- Freedom Pass
- Citizencard
- Digital Tacho card
- Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) card
- a recognisable and verifiable government agency identification card, such as identification cards provided to members of the armed forces and veterans
We won't accept the following as a valid form of ID:
- student cards
- identity cards issued by an employer
- cash and carry cards
- club membership cards
- debit or credit cards
Your driving licence must be either:
- a UK photo card driving licence; if you have the old paper licence you need to bring your passport or another verifiable form of photo ID (one from the proof of identity list above)
- an EU/EEA photo card 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 of immigration status and date of arrival in the UK
If you've already given your valid driving licence to us as a form of photo ID, you don't need to produce any additional photo ID or driving documents (subject to the CBT certificate requirement).
Provisional driving licence holders
If you’re driving under a provisional licence you must bring someone who is 21 or over.
The person accompanying you must also (all the following apply):
-
be qualified to drive the type of vehicle you're driving, for example, they must have a manual car licence if they're supervising someone in a manual car
-
have held a full driving licence for at least three years (from the UK, the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein)
-
not currently be banned from driving
Make sure you have L plates on the vehicle or bring a set with you to collect the vehicle.
Compulsory Basic Training (CBT)
If you're a learner reclaiming a motorcycle you'll need to produce the original copy at the police pound. We don't accept photocopies or photographs.
If you've lost your CBT certificate, further guidance can be found on the Replace a lost or stolen motorcycle CBT certificate page on the government website.
This means either:
- the log and current vehicle registration logbook (V5C) in your name, showing you as the registered keeper, together with proof of 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 bill of sale; or
- a verification email from DVLA's online system confirming a change to the registered keeper. Where this email confirmation and/or change to the registered keeper cannot be reasonably matched to the claimant, further verification, as detailed above, may be requested.
You must 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 don’t intend to drive it on a public road.
We’ll accept:
- a physical copy of the document
- electronic copies of the certificate on your mobile device - you'll be required to send us a copy by email
- copies sent by email, if they've come directly from your insurer
We won't accept public liability insurance or vehicles listed on home insurance policies.
Unless the vehicle is being removed from the pound on a recovery truck it will need either:
- a valid MOT (depending on the age of the vehicle), or
- evidence of a pre-booked MOT appointment from the relevant garage
If someone is reclaiming the vehicle on your behalf
If the legal owner of the vehicle can't go to the pound in person then someone else can collect on their behalf.
The person collecting the vehicle on your behalf must bring with them the documents listed above and also:
- an authority letter – a letter signed by you giving the person the authority to collect on your behalf
- a copy of your passport or driving licence – so we can verify the signature on the letter of authority
- a valid certificate of insurance
If your vehicle has been issued with a PG9 prohibition notice, isn't roadworthy, can't be driven or won’t start
You'll need to arrange for a fully trained, equipped and insured vehicle recovery operator to collect it at your own expense.
We don’t allow vehicles to be repaired while they’re at the pound (this includes changing tyres, repairing windscreens or jump starting).
Where possible the pound staff will try to help you with jump starting. You'll have to sign a jump-starting indemnification form.
Payment of charges
You can find full details about the statutory charges you'll have to pay in The Removal, Storage and Disposal of Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Regulations 2023.
For vehicles impounded before 6 April 2023 you'll have to pay the charges listed in The Removal, Storage and Disposal of Vehicles (Prescribed Sums and Charges) Regulations 2008.
These charges are set by government, not the police, and vary depending on the weight and condition of the vehicle.
Please note, the daily storage charges start from midday the day after the vehicle was seized.
We can’t accept payment over the phone; the cardholder must come to the pound.
We don’t accept cheques or American Express card payments.
We do accept:
- cash (British currency only)
- Visa card
- MasterCard
- Maestro card
- Solo card
Recovery operators
If you're a recovery operator collecting a vehicle from the pound you must:
- read and sign the ‘Recovery instructions and operator’s declaration’ (available in Downloads below)
- produce the correct paperwork as explained in the ‘Documents required by recovery operators for recovery from the pound’ (available in Downloads below)
- comply with the ‘Loading and unloading guidelines for recovery operators’ (available in Downloads below)
- bring a letter of authority from the owner or keeper, as explained above, if they don't come to the pound with you
Other things to consider
- Bring a set of keys, in case the driver didn't leave the keys in the vehicle.
- If the vehicle was in a collision and you’re not sure it’s roadworthy, consider having it recovered by a professional recovery operator.
- We strongly recommend having your vehicle recovered and taken to a garage for a safety check if you're getting it back after it has been stolen.
- The police, including all pound staff, can't advise on whether your vehicle is roadworthy.
- If your vehicle doesn’t have correct number plates and you’re planning on driving it, you must bring valid replacement plates when you collect it.
Collecting property from an impounded vehicle
If you want to get property from the impounded vehicle, but not the vehicle itself, you need to bring proof that you're the vehicle's owner.
Someone else can collect on your behalf. They need to bring:
- a letter of authority, signed by you, giving them permission to collect property from the vehicle
- a copy of your passport or driving licence so we can verify the letter is signed by you
Please note, if the vehicle is badly damaged it might not be possible to get into it to remove property.
If you don’t want to reclaim your vehicle
If you don’t want to reclaim your vehicle, this is called 'disclaiming', you need to go to the pound with proof of identity and proof of ownership.
You'll have to pay the disposal charge (where applicable), but you won't be asked to pay for the outstanding removal and storage charges.
You're still liable for any penalty charge notice that may have been issued for a parking offence (where applicable).
Disposal charges:
- Car and light van: £96
- Two wheeled vehicle: £64
Once you sign the vehicle disclaimer, it will be disposed of straight away, by scrapping or by sale at auction. You'll no longer be responsible for taxing and insuring the vehicle.
Downloads