What is impound insurance?

When your car is impounded, it’s taken by the police or a local authority and stored at a secure compound until you pay fees and provide valid documents to retrieve it.

You typically have 7 to 14 days to recover the vehicle before it risks being scrapped or auctioned.

It often begins with a traffic stop—perhaps you’re pulled over for no insurance, or your tax has lapsed. In other cases, the car might be towed while parked, especially if it’s deemed abandoned, dangerously positioned, or reported stolen. Once seized, it’s moved to an approved police pound and you’re issued a seizure notice.

What many drivers don’t realise is just how quickly things escalate after that. Each day your car sits in the pound, fees increase. The clock starts immediately. If you can’t provide proof of ownership, valid ID, and correct insurance (that meets specific impound requirements), the vehicle remains impounded—and your costs stack up.

Here’s how the cost and timeline typically look:

 
If you’re reading this with a car already seized, act fast. Pounds don’t offer extensions, and once the disposal process begins, you’ll have very limited recourse.

We’ll explain shortly how to meet the insurance requirements—but for now, understand this: speed matters, documents matter, and knowing the system gives you leverage.

To get impound insurance, you’ll need to apply through a specialist provider who offers policies that are specifically accepted at UK police pounds.

You’ll usually need to provide proof of ID, proof of address, and documentation showing you’re the vehicle’s registered keeper or legally entitled to recover it.

This isn’t something you can typically sort through your usual car insurer. The major brands on TV rarely touch this kind of cover. Instead, it’s handled by smaller providers and brokers who specialise in high-risk or short-term insurance. Many offer online applications, though you’ll often need to speak with someone directly to finalise the policy—especially if you’re on a tight deadline.

What you need to have ready before applying:

• A valid driving licence (provisional won’t cut it)
• Proof of address, like a utility bill or bank statement (dated within 3 months)
• The V5C logbook (in your name, or a valid reason why it’s not)
• A Police seizure notice or compound reference number

One common stumbling block? Ownership. If the car’s registered to someone else and you’re trying to get it out, most insurers won’t issue a policy in your name unless you can prove legal entitlement. That’s a conversation you’ll need to have up front.

Another pitfall is assuming you can just buy a one-day or seven-day policy. You can’t. Most impound-compliant policies must last at least 30 days to be accepted, regardless of how long you plan to drive the vehicle. That’s a standard set by police pounds—not something you can negotiate.

Once the policy is in place, the insurer should issue you with a CID code. Without that, even a 30-day policy can still be rejected at the counter.

If you’re under time pressure, aim for providers who explicitly state their cover is valid for impound release. Many will mention this in their product details. And be wary of policies sold on aggregator sites—they often look cheap but don’t meet impound standards.

Now that you know how to get covered, the next step is understanding what that cover will cost—and why the price often catches people off guard.

Standard car insurance doesn’t meet the legal and procedural requirements set by UK police pounds for releasing a seized vehicle.

Even if it appears valid, most policies don’t include the specific documentation or duration required—and won’t be accepted.

It catches a lot of people off guard. You’re fully insured. You’ve got your certificate. But when you show up at the pound, you’re told it’s not valid. This isn’t down to a mistake. It’s because your policy isn’t designed to be used in this scenario—and the staff are trained to follow strict criteria.

Here’s what often goes wrong:

• Your cover is valid for driving, but not accepted for vehicle release because it doesn’t include a CID code
• It’s a policy with less than 30 days’ duration (e.g. 7-day cover or drive-away cover from a dealership)
• You’re insured to drive other vehicles—but not to release someone else’s impounded vehicle
• The policy is under a different name or doesn’t match the V5C document

Police compounds have zero flexibility here. Even if your insurer is willing to confirm your cover verbally or provide a letter, it won’t be enough. If the insurance doesn’t match what the pound requires—and it isn’t registered on the Motor Insurance Database in a way that flags it as release-ready—it will be turned away.

This is why insurers who offer impound insurance go to the trouble of issuing CID code policies. It’s an industry-specific standard. If your paperwork doesn’t include it, the pound staff will assume the policy isn’t compliant—and they’ll simply refuse to release the vehicle.

So the issue isn’t that you’re uninsured—it’s that you don’t have the right kind of insurance. And when it comes to getting your car back, that distinction is everything.

Yes—you’ll still need valid motor insurance after the vehicle is released, even if your impound insurance was only intended to recover it.

Most impound policies last 30 days, but they don’t automatically switch into a full-time cover plan or exempt you from ongoing legal requirements.

This is one of the more overlooked issues. Many drivers assume the impound policy is a ‘one and done’ product—just enough to collect the car and forget about it. In reality, it’s legally binding cover for a fixed period, and once that period expires, you’ll be uninsured again unless you take further action.

Here’s where it gets tricky. Some drivers use impound insurance purely as a compliance step—never intending to drive the car after it’s released. But unless the vehicle is declared off-road (SORN) and stored somewhere legal, it still needs to be taxed, insured, and MOT’d under the rules of continuous insurance enforcement. Failing to do so can result in a fixed penalty notice or even prosecution.

If you’re planning to drive the vehicle beyond the initial release window, the smart move is to arrange a follow-on policy—either with the same provider or a mainstream insurer who’s willing to take it on. But be warned: some insurers view a vehicle seizure as a red flag, and you may struggle to get affordable quotes in the short term.

There’s also the matter of tax and MOT. If either has lapsed, you can’t legally drive the car—even with insurance—so be sure to check everything’s current before you put the keys in the ignition. Otherwise, you could end up right back where you started.

In short, think of impound insurance as a temporary bridge—not a long-term solution. You still have responsibilities the moment the car’s back in your hands.

Cars are usually impounded for driving without insurance, failing to pay road tax, parking illegally, or being involved in criminal activity.

The police also have the power to seize vehicles for anti-social driving or if they believe the driver isn’t properly licensed or insured.

The most common reason by far is driving without valid insurance. This alone gives the police the right to seize your vehicle on the spot under Section 165A of the Road Traffic Act. But that’s just one of several triggers.

Here are some of the main scenarios that lead to impoundment:

• No insurance: Instant seizure. No excuses accepted, even if you thought you were covered.
• No tax: If a car is spotted on the road without valid tax, DVLA enforcement or ANPR systems can trigger impounding.
• Unlicensed driver: If the driver doesn’t hold a full UK licence—or is disqualified—the car can be seized.
• Illegal parking: Especially in restricted zones, private land, or obstructing traffic.
• Abandoned vehicle reports: Councils and police can remove cars left stationary or unattended for extended periods.
• Anti-social use: Street racing, reckless driving, or excessive noise—especially under Section 59 of the Police Reform Act.

While some of these are avoidable mistakes, others stem from a misunderstanding of what “insured” really means. Being named on a policy doesn’t always mean you’re legally entitled to drive a particular car. That’s a nuance police officers are trained to detect—and they act on it.

There’s also the administrative side. Failing to update your V5C, forgetting to renew road tax, or assuming your MOT is still valid can land you in trouble, particularly with automated enforcement systems now flagging non-compliant vehicles in real time.

The common thread across most impoundments? Assumptions. Drivers assume they’re covered, assume they’re fine to park, or assume no one will notice. But enforcement is tighter than ever—and the consequences, as you now know, are expensive.