Current write-off category
What is a Cat B car?
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 road.
- Can it return to the road?
- No — never. The body shell must be crushed. A Cat B vehicle can never legally be repaired and driven again.
- Can parts be salvaged?
- Yes. Components such as engines, gearboxes, seats and wheels may be recovered by authorised dismantlers before the shell is destroyed.
- Logbook and DVLA
- The insurer notifies the DVLA and the shell is destroyed. As with Cat A, the registration should not reappear on a road-going vehicle.
What damage does Category B mean?
Severe damage that rules out safe repair of the structure, but leaves individual components — often mechanical or interior parts away from the impact — serviceable.
Buying a car recorded as Category B
You cannot buy a Cat B car to put back on the road. What is legitimately traded is the parts, and only through authorised dismantlers.
The practical consequence for used-car buyers is indirect: second-hand parts on the market may have come from a Cat B vehicle. That is legal and often perfectly sound, but it is worth knowing where a cheap major component came from.
A Cat B marker on a car advertised as roadworthy is a red flag for registration misuse, in the same way a Cat A marker is.
How to check for a Category B 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 B vs Category A
Category B and Category A are the pair most often confused. Category A means: 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...
Category B FAQs
What is the difference between Cat A and Cat B?
Both mean the vehicle can never return to the road. The difference is parts: Cat A requires everything to be crushed, while Cat B allows usable components to be salvaged before the body shell is destroyed.
Can you drive a Cat B car?
No. The body shell must be crushed, so there is no legal route to repairing and driving a Cat B vehicle.
Are Cat B parts safe to buy?
Parts salvaged by authorised dismantlers are legally sold and widely used. The category tells you the donor vehicle was structurally beyond repair, not that every component from it is faulty — but the seller should be reputable.
Does a Cat B marker ever come off the record?
No. Like every write-off category, it stays on the vehicle record permanently.
All UK write-off categories
- Category A Category A is the most severe write-off category. The vehicle is damaged beyond any safe reuse, so the entire...
- 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.