VIN & V5C
Insurance write-off category
Also known as: Cat S, Cat N, Cat A, Cat B
Marker recorded against a vehicle's DVLA record when an insurer settles it as a total loss.
Categories A and B are vehicles that should never return to the road — Cat A must be crushed entirely, Cat B may have parts recycled but the structure must be destroyed. Categories S and N (introduced October 2017, replacing Cat C and Cat D) describe the type of damage: S for structural, N for non-structural. Both can be repaired and returned to the road, and both must be re-registered with the DVLA.
The category marker stays on the DVLA record for the life of the vehicle in the UK. Re-registration in another country, however, can strip the marker — see Irish-reg laundering.