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Motorists who have a car listed as 'off the road' are being told they 'must' take action before driving again - or risk hefty fines running into the thousands.

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) has issued a fresh reminder that any car declared off the road under a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN) must be taxed before it is used again. Failing to do so could trigger an automatic penalty - and, in the most serious cases, court action with fines of up to £2,500.

The warning comes as part of a social media push urging drivers to check their vehicle status before getting back behind the wheel after time away.

Drivers who forget to tax their vehicle - or fail to declare it SORN - can be hit with an automatic £80 penalty, reduced to £40 if paid quickly. But ignoring the issue can prove far more costly.

If a vehicle remains untaxed, the DVLA can escalate enforcement action, including:

• Additional out-of-court settlements
• Clamping or impounding the vehicle
• Referral to debt collectors

And if the case reaches court, fines can soar to £1,000 or more depending on the offence.

The biggest penalties are reserved for those who take a SORN vehicle back onto public roads without taxing it first.

In those cases, drivers face:

• An initial settlement of £30 plus twice the outstanding tax
• Or, if prosecuted, a fine of up to £2,500 or five times the tax owed

Vehicles can also be clamped on the spot, with extra release and storage charges piling on top.

The DVLA uses a central database and automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras to spot untaxed vehicles, meaning offenders can be identified without being stopped.

Drivers are legally required to either:

• Tax their vehicle, or
• Declare it off the road with a SORN

There is no grace period - and even vehicles kept off the road must be properly registered.

The DVLA's message is simple: if your car has been SORN, you must tax it before using it again. Even a short trip could leave motorists facing penalties far exceeding the cost of the tax itself. And with fines starting at £80 but rising to as much as £2,500, failing to act could turn a post-holiday drive into a very expensive mistake.