A SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification) is the notice you give DVLA when you take a vehicle off the road and want to stop taxing and insuring it. While the SORN is in place, the vehicle has to be kept off public roads, for example “in a garage, on a drive or on private land”, in GOV.UK’s words.
How it works
You can make a SORN online for free, by phone or by post. GOV.UK says you’ll “automatically get a vehicle tax refund for any full remaining months”. A SORN doesn’t need renewing: it’s “automatically cancelled when you tax your vehicle again or if you sell, permanently export or scrap your vehicle”.
The one thing to plan around is moving the vehicle. “You can only drive a vehicle with a SORN on a public road to go to or from a pre-booked MOT or other testing appointment.” So if you’re putting a bike into storage, get it there before you make the SORN, or have it carried on a trailer or van.
At Wigwam
A unit is a good winter home for a motorbike, or somewhere to keep it while you’re working away. You can store a motorbike with us as long as the fuel and oil are drained and the battery is taken out. Keeping anything flammable out of the units protects everyone’s belongings, yours included, and the battery is easier to look after at home. We’d suggest a ground-floor unit, and helmets and riding kit can go in alongside the bike.
Everything stored needs contents cover, through our contents protection or your own policy, with a motorbike valued at its market value. If you keep the bike insured rather than making a SORN, tell your insurer where it’s kept.
Thinking of storing a car or van? Call us on 0800 2545585 before you plan anything and we’ll tell you what we can offer near you. For the car itself, our guide to preparing a car for storage covers the tyres, battery, tax and insurance.
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