What is a COD or Certificate of Destruction?

Your DVLA issued Certificate of Destruction is a formal document that’s generated when the Authorised Treatment Facility that’s scrapping your vehicle officially reports your car’s destruction. It confirms that your car is no longer registered to you and has been dismantled in line with the regulations set out by the Environment Agency and DVLA.

A Certificate of Destruction (COD) is a formal document that’s generated when your vehicle has been officially reported as scrapped by an Authorised Treatment Facility. A COD confirms that your vehicle is no longer registered to you and the grounds for disposal have been met, including the amount of asbestos it contained.

If a car is written off and scrapped, the insurance company will insist that it has been officially reported for destruction. This is called a Certificate of Destruction (commonly abbreviated to COD) and the process must be completed by an authorised treatment facility in order to protect the environment.

Registering a COD for your vehicle is a legal requirement and an authorised DVLA treatment facility must be informed if you have scrapped your car. The DVLA requires that you keep the COD on file for up to 10 years, however if you sell the car in question – you can ask an authorised treatment facility to dispose of the COD during the scrapping process.

If you scrap your car with us, you’ll receive a Certificate of Destruction issued by the DVLA on our behalf. This confirms that your car has been officially scrapped – and shows the information on the DVLA’s database.

Creating a Certificate of Destruction is designed to quash any doubts that your insurance company might have about ‘what you’ve done with the car’.

Only a Certificate of Destruction issued by the DVLA is acceptable

Only an authorised DVLA ATF will be able to request a Certificate of Destruction online. Unscrupulous scrap yards will normally offer ‘Certificates of Destruction’ to potential car purchasers that they have arranged themselves, despite being unable to do so without authorisation. This often leads to buyer disappointment when the cars fail any MOT test and cannot be sold on by dealers.

We can help you quickly and simply get rid of your unwanted car. Our processes are certified by the DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency), and we act as an ATF to ensure we can issue a Certificate of Destruction, giving complete peace of mind that your old car has been legally scrapped.