What is a car's V5C?

A V5C is a document issued by the DVLA that tells you who the car's registered keeper is, as well as how many previous keepers the car has had, and some of the details about the engine and emissions. Note we say registered keeper rather than the owner of the car – if your car's on finance or you're leasing it, the car legally belongs to the finance company until you've paid it off. The V5C – otherwise known as logbook – has sections to fill out if you sell, scrap or write off your car.