The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) operates a comprehensive package of measures to ensure that vehicle excise duty is convenient to pay but very hard to avoid.
There are a variety of ways to license a vehicle, with online and telephone services now being used by a large and growing number of vehicle keepers. Those who fail to license their vehicles are subject to enforcement measures ranging from automated penalties from the vehicle record to direct enforcement action such as the wheel clamping, impounding and, ultimately, disposal of the unlicensed vehicle.
The most recent statistics estimate that the DVLA was successful in collecting 98.5 per cent. of all vehicle excise duty payable in 2007-08, demonstrating that this approach is proving effective.