Tough new measures to tackle car crime by tightening vehicle registration and licensing have been announced by the Secretary of State for Transport, Alistair Darling.

The measures will help motorists buying used vehicles, preventing stolen vehicles being given false identities and strengthening the checks on vehicle ownership. The changes will mean that:

All cars written off or scrapped due to accident damage and then repaired must undergo a vehicle identity check (VIC) before they can go back on the road;

To get a tax disc at the post office every motorist will have to show either their renewal notice (form V11) or their log book (form V5);

All car owners will be obliged to surrender their log books to the DVLA if they sell a car with substantial accident damage to the bodywork. This will ensure that those vehicles cannot be re-licensed without their identities being checked through the VIC scheme;

Any vehicle which undergoes a VIC check will have this recorded permanently on the log book.

The change to the tax disc rules will mean that motorists can no longer get a licence at the post office by applying for a new or duplicate log book at the same time.

Vehicles can be re-licensed without the renewal notice or log book at one of the DVLA's Local Vehicle Licensing Offices, where on-line checks will be made to confirm the vehicle's keeper.

Announcing the changes Mr Darling said: "Vehicle crime is a serious problem which the government is committed to tackling. It accounts for a fifth of all recorded crimes and costs about £3 billion each year. Nearly 400,000 cars are stolen every year and 120,000 are never recovered.

"These measures will help safeguard people from being duped into buying stolen vehicles.

"The need for vehicles to undergo an identity check will make it harder for criminals to pass off stolen vehicles as written-off ones a practice known as ringing.

"The changes to the tax disc system will help prevent criminals licensing and selling vehicles which are not rightly theirs.

"Every motorist should be especially careful with their vehicle registration documents and tax disc renewal forms, as this will make it easier when you have to renew the disc.

"For people buying used vehicles the message is clear; never buy a car unless it has a log book or you know it has passed an identity check."

The mandatory showing of the renewal notice or log book will take effect from February 1 next year and the vehicle identity checks will begin on April 7.