The Motor Insurers' Information Centre (MIIC) is planning a crackdown on fleet and motor trade policyholders - and their insurers - for failing to supply vehicle information for the Motor Insurance Database.
Neil Drane, head of the MICC, said he had met this week with the Crown Prosecution Service and Department of Transport officials and would be coming up with an action plan to speed up prosecutions for policyholders.
He said he would also look to impose more sanctions on insurers that failed to obtain the information from their policyholders.
"This is a wake-up call. We will be getting the police involved and we could be dropping thousands of files on the CPS," said Drane.
"We estimate there are around 40,000 who have not provided the data yet to their insurers. This is a black and white offence and insurers have a key role to play. If we don't get the details, the database is useless."
He said one option would be to empower the DVLA to prosecute, which already has powers to punish those who fail to buy car tax.
Motor trade and fleet vehicle owners must supply vehicle details for the MID 2 phase of the database.
MID 1, which relates to private cars, is already populated and proving effective.
But MID 2 is slower to populate because cover is written under a blanket policy - vehicle details need to be supplied from policyholder to insurers, who then inform the MIIC.
Dave Murray, underwriting director for insurer Highway said: "We are doing everything we can. If someone refuses to send us their details, we can only send them a prescribed letter, telling them they are on their own and could face prosecution.
"For MID 2, the MIIC has to accept this is going to be a slower process."
