Both the registered keeper of a car and its owner don’t necessarily have to be one person. Each has their own responsibilities.
Although they may be mistakenly assumed to be one and the same, the registered keeper and owner of a car are sometimes different people. The owner is either the person who purchased the car or the one who received the car. The main owner of the car is the registered keeper.
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An example of a car owned by a company is the car where the registered owner and keeper are not identical. The registered keeper is the employee who drives it.
Both parties have responsibilities. If they allow someone to drive the car, the owner must ensure that it is properly insured. The registered keeper must ensure that the car is properly taxed and has a valid MoT certificate.
Any parking or speeding tickets associated with the car will be sent to the registered keeper. Also, queries regarding traffic collisions and incidents that the car may have been involved in will also be sent to the registered keeper. The registered keeper will be notified of any parking fines or speeding violations. Also, queries about traffic collisions or incidents that the car might have been involved in should be directed to the registered keeper. These details will appear on the V5C registration document for the car, also known as the logbook.
The receipt should be kept by the owner when purchasing a car. The receipt should include the date of purchase, exact amount and payment method as well as the manufacturer, model, and registration number. It is important that the receipt be given to the person receiving the car as a gift so they can prove ownership when they sell it.
A registration document (V5) does not prove ownership. The registered keeper is the person who actually uses or keeps the car. This does not necessarily mean that the car’s owner is present or that the person is paying for it. This person is responsible for car communications with the police/DVLA, etc. but the owner is the one who paid the cash or gave it as a gift.
The DVLA makes it clear that the registered keeper is not always the owner. This is especially true for company cars. However, the registration document should clearly show who is the registered keeper. The day-to-day user (this could be an employee who uses it as a perk of his/her job).
If a car is used by a married couple, ownership is generally considered joint. If the wife/husband was stopped from driving the car without insurance, the police would likely accept that the spouse was the joint owner. They will not seek out the other partner for any additional offenses, such as the owner allowing no insurance. Parking tickets, etc. will be handled by the registered keeper. It is a good idea to change the registration document if you are the owner but not the keeper.
You could also be charged with an offense if you are the registered keeper or owner of a car. If you allow someone to use your car even though it isn’t insured or roadworthy,