SORN a motorbike for winter: tax, insurance and MOT

If your motorbike will spend the winter in a garage, on a drive or on private land, you can make a SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification) with DVLA. From then on you do not have to tax or insure it, and DVLA refunds any full months of tax left. The catch is simple: until you tax it again, the bike cannot be used on a public road, apart from going to or from a pre-booked MOT.

This is a summary of what GOV.UK says, not legal advice. GOV.UK is the authority, and the rules below are for vehicles registered with DVLA. Northern Ireland has its own rules for MOTs and insurance.

When riders use a SORN

A SORN is for a bike that stays off the road. That is the whole point of a winter lay-up, so riders who park from November to March often SORN the bike rather than keep paying tax on it.

It is a poor fit if you want the odd ride on a dry, cold Sunday. Any ride, however short, needs the bike taxed and insured again, and taxing it cancels the SORN.

GOV.UK also says you must make a SORN if the bike is not taxed, or not insured even for a short time. Without one, DVLA fines you £80 automatically. If you drop the insurance without a SORN, the registered keeper can be fined £100, have the bike clamped, impounded or destroyed, or face a court fine of up to £1,000.

How to make a SORN

There are three ways, all listed on the Make a SORN page:

• Online, if the bike is registered in your name. You need the 11-digit reference from the log book (V5C) or the 16-digit reference on a vehicle tax reminder.
• By phone on the DVLA vehicle line, 0300 123 4321, which runs 24 hours.
• By post, with form V890. If the bike is not registered to you, send the relevant part of the log book with it.

Timing matters. The SORN starts on the day you make it if your tax has already expired, or if you are not applying in the month the tax runs out. Apply in the month the tax runs out and it starts on the first day of the next month. You cannot backdate it. You can check the bike's SORN status online afterwards.

What happens to your tax

DVLA cancels the tax and sends a refund cheque for any full months left, counted from the date it gets your SORN. The cheque goes to the name and address on the log book, and GOV.UK says to contact DVLA if it has not arrived after 8 weeks. If you pay by Direct Debit, the Direct Debit is cancelled automatically. Card fees and Direct Debit surcharges are not refunded.

Part months are lost, so a SORN made late in a month saves less than it seems.

Insurance during a SORN

Under continuous insurance enforcement, a vehicle must be insured unless it is declared off the road with a SORN. So a SORN removes the legal duty to insure the bike while it sits.

It does not remove the risk. A bike in a garage can still be stolen or damaged. Whether you keep any cover for that over winter is between you and your insurer, so ask what your policy offers for a bike that is off the road before you cancel anything.

The MOT does not stop

A SORN does not pause the MOT. If the MOT runs out over winter, it is still out in spring. You cannot tax the bike again while the MOT has expired, so book the test first.

You can ride a SORN bike to and from a pre-booked MOT, and only there. GOV.UK warns of prosecution and a fine of up to £2,500 for using it on the road for any other reason. The ride to the test centre still needs insurance, because you must be insured to drive on a UK road. You can get an MOT up to a month (minus a day) before the old one runs out and keep the same renewal date.

How to cancel a SORN in spring

There is no separate form. Tax the bike again and the SORN is cancelled automatically. A SORN also ends if you sell, scrap or permanently export the bike, and you do not have to renew it while the bike stays off the road. It does not pass to a buyer: a new keeper who wants the bike off the road makes their own.

The order that works for most riders in spring:

1. Book the MOT if it has run out, and arrange insurance for the ride there.
2. Tax the bike, which ends the SORN.
3. Make sure the insurance is in place before the first proper ride.

Lay-up checklist

The paperwork is the easy part. The bike also needs looking after while it sits:

• Deal with fuel, battery, oil and tyres before you park it. The winter storage checklist says what Can-Am, Battery Tender and ADAC each recommend.
• Note the date the MOT runs out, so it does not surprise you in March.
• Write down the odometer reading on the day you park.
• Before the first ride back, check tyres, brakes, chain and lights. The same checklist lists the recommissioning steps.

In the app: Storage Mode (Rydger Pro)

If you use Rydger, Storage Mode is a Pro feature for exactly this stretch. It gives you a lay-up checklist, records the date the bike went into storage and pauses reminders that depend on kilometres or engine hours. Calendar reminders such as the MOT and insurance keep running. When you take the bike out, it asks for the odometer reading before normal reminders resume. It does not make or cancel the SORN for you; that is done with DVLA.