Driveroneuk:
If they tell me it has been taxed online (or by telephone) but the new disc has not yet arrived, then I’d take it out but only on the 1st 5 days of the new month.
Five business days, not just 5 days. If the last day of the month is a Friday and the Monday is a bank holiday you would be good for 10 days for example.
Maybe I need new glasses?
Common questions:
I have not received the tax disc. Can I use the vehicle without the tax disc displayed?
When you apply for a tax disc online or by using DVLA’s phone service you are able to legally continue to drive your vehicle for up to 5 days after the tax disc has expired while you wait for the new tax disc to arrive. This will only apply when you have applied for a new tax disc before the current one expires. You should continue to display the expired disc on your vehicle, until the new one arrives.
My underlining.
GasGas:
I thought you were committing an offence driving a vehicle not displaying a current VED disc, irrespective of who the owner/reg keeper was.
Correct in law although whether an employed driver would be issued with a fine I don’t know. The O licence, as said above, is no concern of the driver though.
IIRC the driver is ‘using’ the vehicle and the keeper is ‘allowing or permitting’ the offence.
Two fines for one collar as far as the law is concerned
GasGas:
IIRC the driver is ‘using’ the vehicle and the keeper is ‘allowing or permitting’ the offence.Two fines for one collar as far as the law is concerned
+1
this 
it is an offence for the driver to use a vehicle without a current VED disc displayed , wether it is taxed or not the disc has to be displayed
It is also an offence to allow a vehicle to be used without a current VED or it being displayed
double whammy both the operator and driver can be fined, although as said it is not an endorsable offence
the “grace period” is NOT enshrined in law but is observed by most law enforcement agencies, but if you fail the attitude test its a option they have
Rikki-UK:
the “grace period” is NOT enshrined in law but is observed by most law enforcement agencies, but if you fail the attitude test its a option they have
That’s not what the official source state. It claims that you ‘legally’ can.
The offence is
" not displaying a valid tax disc", as yet I haven’t found anything that says different… If you have I stand corrected , please post a link
(note: the offence is not wether the vehicle is taxed or not, simply wether a valid disc is displayed)
Already posted above:
Driveroneuk:
I have not received the tax disc. Can I use the vehicle without the tax disc displayed?
When you apply for a tax disc online or by using DVLA’s phone service you are able to legally continue to drive your vehicle for up to 5 days after the tax disc has expired while you wait for the new tax disc to arrive. This will only apply when you have applied for a new tax disc before the current one expires. You should continue to display the expired disc on your vehicle, until the new one arrives.My underlining.
It states legally although this may / may not be true.
Many years ago a mate of mine got a ‘failure to display’ ticket off a traffic warden because the disc holder had fallen off the windscreen: he argued it could still be seen lying on top of the dash.
No dice…still had to pay the fine…but didn’t get charged for back duty because the prosecution accepted the car was taxed.
On a lighter note: much more recently another mate had his motorbike parked on his drive: traffic enforcement attendant (free enterprise traffic warden) put a ticket on it for failure to display tax disc. Mate went to police, said unless ticket was cancelled he wanted them to investigate theft of the disc and trespass by the traffic enforcement officer. Ticket placed on bike was submitted as evidence of both offences. Police highly sympathetic and cancelled ticket for him & gave attendant ‘retraining’ (management speak for bollocking).
Own Account Driver:
tuckman:
It isnt okay if it is on lease the company as 28 days to get one for the vehicle.Weekend Wheeltapper
I’m one of these and god have mercy I’m with an agency too…I hear you scream SCUM but give me 5 seconds to ask 
I’m a bit confused, perhaps the regs have changed and I’ll look like a idiot now, but an idiot I be when I come to these matters. And I don’t profess or know the answer either.
Bearing in mind my library and I can’t afford The Transport Manager’s & Operator’s 2012 - 2013, so I am reading the 2010 version, it states that offences are committed for which prosecution and a court appeareance may follow if a:
windscreen licence disc is not displayed.
Now I imagine that is for the Transport company’s to be taken potentially to court and not the driver? And they get the fine? Or am I wrong and the regs have changed as well nowadays■■?
Own Account Driver:
No - you can run the same hire/lease vehicle up to a month without it being specified on the o- licence.Edit to add: This isn’t aimed at you particularly OP but there seems to be a lot of posts on here where drivers think their employer/TM is trying to get one over on them or BS them. The absolute vast majority of HGV operators in this country run their vehicles in a fully compliant manner and take road safety seriously regardless of the size of the fleet or age of vehicles but there seems to be an expectation amongst a lot of drivers posting on here that they won’t be. Yes you do need to look out for your licence but a lot less than some drivers seem to think there is no need to appoint yourself to the Territorial VOSA.
I just told my dispatcher about the O Licence not being displayed and put a cross on the defective sheet. He said “Don’t worry, that lorry came in last night”, that lorry was at the depot for 3 weekends I was in and I used it again on the final third weekend, before I took it back to the hire yard on Saturday to pick another one up to replace it. 
I wasn’t that worried about the O licence thing until I read it in that book recently. (Only got that book out because i “think” Wheelnut said it was the best one to explain how to calculate axle weights - man that’s a minefield for me at the moment even with an engineering degree, got to think so carefully on it) but I think I’ll just carry on taking them out without an O licence like I always have done and if I ever get stopped speak nicely to said officer and play dumb to all the problems they find if the find any at all.
C
Rikki-UK:
GasGas:
IIRC the driver is ‘using’ the vehicle and the keeper is ‘allowing or permitting’ the offence.Two fines for one collar as far as the law is concerned
+1
thisIt is also an offence to allow a vehicle to be used without a current VED or it being displayed
double whammy both the operator and driver can be fined, although as said it is not an endorsable offence
the “grace period” is NOT enshrined in law but is observed by most law enforcement agencies, but if you fail the attitude test its a option they have
You’re not doing good here Rik !! 
The grace period IS enshrined in law . Another point to mention is that you cannot display a valid RFL if there is no current RFL for the vehicle. It is of course a summary offence not to licence a vehicle or SORN it, thats down to the Operator of the vehicle. Thats why they make more money i guess, because they have more responsabilties.
Rikki-UK:
The offence is
" not displaying a valid tax disc", as yet I haven’t found anything that says different… If you have I stand corrected , please post a link
(note: the offence is not wether the vehicle is taxed or not, simply wether a valid disc is displayed)
We used to get 14 days when I was a lad
Then it went to 5 working days
Now a vehicle must be taxed within 14 days
What goes around comes around.
hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/ved_administration.pdf
Many believe a vehicle is not insured if it isn’t taxed, this is nonsense and would require the insurance company to prove that a missing tax disc was the reason for a crash or accident. Even so the vehicle will still be insured for third party cover.
Yes m’lud, the sun was very low in the sky that morning and if the vehicle had been displaying a disc, the sun would not have dazzled the driver 
Interesting link Malcolm, on first reading (first para) it appears to only refer to nil rate band discs (i.e historic vehicles, police vehicles, etc.) and trade plate licences, but reading it again, its just the way its worded.
It also states the current exemption at 5 working days as Neil said, but the link I put up says 5 days. Can’t both be right?
Do we know when this will kick in?
Driveroneuk:
Interesting link Malcolm, on first reading (first para) it appears to only refer to nil rate band discs (i.e historic vehicles, police vehicles, etc.) and trade plate licences, but reading it again, its just the way its worded.It also states the current exemption at 5 working days as Neil said, but the link I put up says 5 days. Can’t both be right?
Do we know when this will kick in?
Operative date
The measure will have effect on and after the date that Finance Bill 2013 receives Royal
Assent.
Historically July of that year. So July 2013 before the change becomes law