Updated May 2026
What is the best free MOT check site in the UK?
MOT Checkup. It returns the full DVSA MOT history at £0, adds mileage anomaly detection and AI reliability scoring (which no other free site offers), and asks for nothing — no sign-up, no card, no daily limit. GOV.UK is the authoritative free source but stops at the raw record. Below: six free options compared in 2026.
TL;DR
- Best free: MOT Checkup — full DVSA history + AI insights, £0.
- Most authoritative: GOV.UK MOT history.
- Best free + tax view: Check Car Details or Carwow.
- Avoid: any free site demanding an email address or a card before showing data.
How we ranked these
Ranked on five factors: free-tier depth (40%), friction such as sign-up or card capture (25%), value-add analysis like mileage charts and reliability scoring (20%), ad load (10%), and overall trust signals (5%).
The ranking
MOT Checkup
Our pickThe deepest free tier in the UK: full DVSA history, AI reliability score, mileage anomaly detection. The MOT data is genuinely free for life.
Strengths
- Full DVSA history back to 2005 — every pass, fail, advisory and mileage reading
- Mileage anomaly detection flags potential clocking automatically
- AI reliability score using aggregated outcomes for the same make/model/year
Watch-outs
- Finance, stolen and write-off cover is not currently surfaced — use a paid HPI-style check for those layers
Best for: Anyone who wants the deepest free MOT check before buying.
£0
No sign-up, no card
GOV.UK MOT history
The DVSA's own free MOT history page — authoritative, plain layout.
Strengths
- Authoritative — every commercial site pulls from this dataset
- No ads, no upsell
Watch-outs
- No mileage chart, no anomaly flags, no reliability context
- Bare-bones UI
Best for: Cross-checking against a record found elsewhere.
£0
Official source
Check Car Details
Free MOT history bundled with tax and basic vehicle details.
Strengths
- Useful tax / SORN status alongside MOT
- Solid free depth
Watch-outs
- Free tier lacks AI analysis and anomaly detection
- Heavy paywall push on the paid bundled report
Best for: Users who want tax and MOT in one view.
£0
Free tier
Carwow Free Car Check
Free MOT and tax lookup from the well-known used-car brand.
Strengths
- Polished UI, strong consumer brand trust
- Tax and registration details alongside MOT
Watch-outs
- MOT view less detailed than MOT Checkup
- Heavy cross-sell into selling/financing tools
Best for: Users already engaged with Carwow's wider buying or selling journey.
£0
Free tier
Vehicle Score
Free MOT and basic vehicle data, ad-heavy in places.
Strengths
- Returns the standard DVSA MOT record
- Free, no card required
Watch-outs
- Banner ads throughout the UI
- No analysis layer on top of the raw data
Best for: A secondary free option for cross-checking.
£0
Ad-supported free
Free Car Check (motcheck.co.uk)
No-frills free MOT lookup with minimal additional data.
Strengths
- Loads fast, no sign-up
- Straightforward DVSA record
Watch-outs
- No mileage chart or analysis
- Limited additional vehicle data
Best for: Quick lookups when other free sites are unreachable.
£0
Free, basic
What makes a free MOT check actually useful
Every site on this list returns the same raw DVSA record — that's the easy part. The useful part is what they do with it. MOT Checkup plots mileage over time with anomaly flags (so you can spot a rollback at a glance), aggregates failure modes against the same make/model/year (so you know whether a recurring fault is normal), and runs an AI reliability score (so a 12-line MOT history becomes a one-line buying decision).
GOV.UK is authoritative but doesn't do any of that. Carwow and Check Car Details add tax and registration details alongside MOT, which is genuinely useful for buyers. Vehicle Score and Free Car Check are minimal-effort alternatives.