Current write-off category
What is a Cat A car?
Category A is the most severe write-off category. The vehicle is damaged beyond any safe reuse, so the entire car must be crushed — including every component. Nothing from a Cat A vehicle may legally be sold on or reused.
- Can it return to the road?
- No — never. A Cat A vehicle can never legally return to the road under any circumstances.
- Can parts be salvaged?
- None. No component may be salvaged or resold.
- Logbook and DVLA
- The insurer notifies the DVLA and the vehicle is scheduled for destruction. The registration should never reappear on a road-going car.
What damage does Category A mean?
Catastrophic damage — typically severe structural destruction, extensive fire damage or deep flood damage, where the safety of any individual component can no longer be guaranteed.
Buying a car recorded as Category A
You cannot buy a Cat A car to repair, drive or put back on the road. The category exists specifically to take the vehicle out of circulation permanently.
If a car advertised for sale returns a Cat A marker on a history check, treat that as a serious warning sign rather than a bargain. It can indicate the registration has been reused on a different vehicle — the practice known as ringing or cloning — which is vehicle crime, not a discount.
The only legitimate handling of a Cat A vehicle is disposal through an Authorised Treatment Facility.
How to check for a Category A marker
Write-off markers are not printed on the V5C and a seller does not have to volunteer one. They show up on a vehicle history check against the registration. A Carpeep write-off check reports the recorded category, and the full car history check covers write-off status alongside outstanding finance, stolen markers, mileage and ownership history in one £15 report.
You can also start with a free car check for DVLA details, MOT history and tax status.
Category A vs Category B
Category A and Category B are the pair most often confused. Category B means: category b vehicles are damaged badly enough that the body shell must be destroyed, but usable components may be removed and sold on first. the car itself can never return to the r...
Category A FAQs
Can a Cat A car ever be repaired?
No. Category A means the vehicle must be crushed in its entirety. Unlike Cat S and Cat N, there is no repair route that puts a Cat A vehicle back on the road legally.
Can you sell parts from a Cat A car?
No. Cat A is the only category where even individual components must be destroyed. Cat B is the category that allows parts to be recovered before the shell is crushed.
What if a car I am buying shows as Cat A?
Stop and walk away. A Cat A vehicle should have been destroyed, so a Cat A marker against a car being offered for sale points to a registration being reused on another vehicle. Report it rather than proceeding.
Is a Cat A marker permanent?
Yes. Write-off markers stay on a vehicle record permanently. They are not removed by repair, a new MOT or the passage of time.
All UK write-off categories
- Category B Category B vehicles are damaged badly enough that the body shell must be destroyed, but usable components may...
- Category S Category S means the vehicle sustained structural damage — to the chassis, frame or another part of the shell...
- Category N Category N means the vehicle was written off for damage that did not affect its structure. The chassis and fra...
- Category C Category C is a legacy category, used before 1 October 2017. It covered vehicles that were repairable, but whe...
- Category D Category D is a legacy category, used before 1 October 2017. It covered vehicles with less severe damage that...
See the write-off categories overview for how the categories compare side by side.