Car tax - insurance cover note

[Mojooo]

Situation

New car bought
Existing car insurance to change over to new car tomorrow evening at 8pm
Need to tax car tomorrow before picking up Thursday
Insurers have sent electronic cover note as proof of insurance to tax

2 questions

- Can you tax a vehicle when it doesnt have CURRENT insurance but it is due to come on later that day?

- The insurance cover note is basically a screenshot of the insruance companies staff PC and does not looklike a proper insurance document (the proper certificate I guess take times to produce and send). I can imagine getting laughed out the post office with it. Anyone had this problem before?

[jbush]

I use the electronic cover notes all of the time, they are just a screen shot of their screen (take about 5 minutes to generate the PDF), as long as it doesn't look tampered with and is readable, they are fine. But you do need current insurance, insurance that comes into play tomorrow doesn't count as current.

[Mojooo]

To clarify - I may be going to the post office at 4pm. The insurance would be due to come into force at 8pm that day.

Technically not 'in force' at the time I get the disc but I wonder whether the system can differntiate or allow it.

Its not a major deal - its the cover note I am more worried about.

[jbush]

To be fair, it won't hurt to try. At worst they will say sorry this won't do. I came across that when they noticed the insurance had my truck as RBF, not sure how insurance heard that rather than RBP, but a quick call to insurance, a new print off and I was back in the PO 10 minutes later and walked out with a tax disc.

But you could buy your tax at 8pm online and then you get a 2 week grace to drive around without the tax disc until the posty drops it on your door mat.