From today you no longer have to stick a tax disc on the inside of your car windscreen to alert officials that your car is taxed, registration and identification is now all done electronically in the UK.

The paper system that has been in effect since 1921 has finally moved into the modern, although that does mean that the government will be paying closer attention to your car's registration plate.

To ensure that you have paid your yearly vehicle tax, hundreds of thousands of automatic number plate recognition cameras dotted around the country will be employed to snoop on moving and parked cars on Britain's roads.

The switchover was announced some time ago, but the demand for online registration has still caught the Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) by surprise. It has currently suspended the service due to high demand. "We are currently experiencing high volumes of traffic to our online car tax service, please try later. Sorry for the inconvenience," it has tweeted several times.

People with valid tax discs currently on display in their vehicles can now remove and destroy them, even if they have months to run. Drivers in Northern Ireland will still need to display their MoT discs, however.

If you aren't able to or don't want to renew your tax online (which also now accepts Direct Debit payments) you can still apply by phone or through the Post Office. Check out the DVLA website for further details.