The Essential Car Checker

Car Check by Reg — MOT History, Mileage and Tax

The smart way to check any car before you buy. Enter a registration number to see MOT history, verified mileage, defect records, and vehicle specs — everything you need to make an informed decision.

Free, instant, and used by thousands of UK car buyers.

DVSA Data

Official source

SSL Secured

256-bit encryption

Instant Results

No waiting

Trusted

By UK buyers

How Our Car Checker Works

Three simple steps to check any car in the UK.

Step 1

Enter the Reg

Type in the car's registration number. Any format works — with or without spaces, upper or lower case.

Step 2

Review the Report

Get the complete MOT history, mileage data, vehicle details, and all advisory and failure items — displayed clearly.

Step 3

Buy with Confidence

Use the data to verify the seller's claims, negotiate on price, or walk away from a car that doesn't check out.

What Your Car Check Report Includes

A detailed, data-rich report covering the car's mechanical history, condition indicators, and key specifications.

MOT Test Timeline

Every annual MOT test from 2005 in chronological order — dates, outcomes, certificate numbers, and testing stations. See the car's entire inspection history.

Mileage Fraud Detection

Odometer readings compared across every test to build a verified mileage trajectory. Our algorithm flags any drops or suspicious jumps that indicate tampering.

Defect History

Every advisory, minor, major, and dangerous defect ever found. Colour-coded by severity so you can scan for serious issues at a glance.

Red Flag Alerts

Automatic alerts for mileage discrepancies, repeated dangerous defects, and unusually high failure rates. Issues that demand your attention are highlighted.

Pass Rate Score

The car's lifetime MOT pass percentage. A car that has failed more MOTs than it has passed is a car that has been poorly maintained.

System-Level Analysis

Defects grouped by component — brakes, suspension, tyres, emissions, body structure. Identify which system is the car's weak point.

Car Check Tips for Buyers

Get the most out of your car check with these practical tips from experienced buyers.

Check before you visit

Run the car check before driving out to view the car. If the MOT history shows serious issues, you save a wasted journey. Always check from the comfort of your sofa first.

Cross-reference the advert

Compare the MOT data to the listing. Does the stated mileage match? Does the year match? Is the colour correct? Discrepancies are a warning sign.

Use advisories as leverage

Recent advisories on items like brake discs or tyres give you legitimate grounds to negotiate the price down. The seller cannot deny issues that are on the official record.

Check multiple candidates

If you are comparing several cars, run a check on each one. The car with the cleanest MOT history and most consistent mileage is usually the better buy — regardless of cosmetics.

Check MOT mileage by reg

The MOT test record is the only dated, independently-witnessed mileage log most UK cars have. A tester types the odometer reading into the DVSA system at every test, which turns the test history into a year-by-year usage trail nobody can edit after the fact.

Read the readings as a sequence, not as numbers. A single figure tells you nothing. The shape of the line is what matters: steady annual mileage, then a year that barely moves, then a return to normal, is a pattern worth asking the seller about. So is a reading that goes down.

Compare the last MOT reading to the advert. This is the single most useful thing you can do with a car check before you travel to view a car. If the listing says 60,000 and the most recent test recorded 75,000, the conversation is over before it starts.

Mind the gaps. Records are digital from 2005 for England, Scotland and Wales, and from 2017 for Northern Ireland. A car with no reading for a period may have been off the road on a SORN — legitimate, but worth confirming rather than assuming.

Want the readings turned into a verdict rather than a list? The mileage check reads the same DVSA trail and flags rollbacks and implausible jumps for you.

Reg check, vehicle check, number plate check — same thing

These are all names for looking a car up by its registration. Whichever you searched for, this is the page — and it is free.

Reg check / number plate check

Enter the plate, get the car. Make, model, colour, engine size, fuel type and first-registration date, straight from the DVLA record.

Vehicle check / DVLA vehicle check

The same lookup by another name. Everything shown here comes from the DVSA and DVLA's own databases, not a resold third-party copy.

Free car check

The MOT history, the mileage at every test, the defects and the tax status all cost nothing here. No account, no card, no daily limit.

Car spec check

The technical detail the V5C carries — engine capacity, fuel, CO2 band and body type — for confirming a listing describes the car it claims to.

Only need to know whether the MOT is currently valid and when it runs out? Use the MOT checker. For the full test-by-test record, use the MOT history check.

Car Check — FAQ

Everything you need to know about checking a car before you buy.

How do I check a car's MOT mileage?

Enter the registration above. The odometer reading is recorded by the tester at every MOT, so the test history doubles as a dated mileage log going back to 2005. The check lists the reading taken at each test alongside its date, which is what lets you see the vehicle's true usage rather than the single number on the dashboard today.

Is there a free MOT mileage checker?

Yes — this one, with no sign-up and no daily limit. Mileage readings form part of the DVSA's public MOT record, so checking them costs nothing. Read the readings in sequence rather than individually: a car that covers about 10,000 miles a year and then records 3,000 in one year was either laid up or is showing a reading that does not fit the pattern.

What is a car check?

A car check is a search that retrieves key information about a vehicle using its registration number. Our free car check reveals the full MOT testing history from 2005, mileage recorded at each annual test, advisory and failure items from every inspection, the current MOT status and expiry date, and basic vehicle details like make, model, colour, engine size, and fuel type. It is the single most important step before buying any used car in the UK.

Should I do a car check before buying?

Yes — it is essential. A car check reveals things a test drive cannot: whether the mileage recorded at each MOT tells a consistent story, whether the car has a history of serious mechanical failures, whether advisories have been ignored year after year, and whether the MOT is actually valid today. All of that is on the official DVSA record and free to look up. Skipping it is like buying a house without a survey.

What is the difference between a free car check and a paid one?

Our free car check covers MOT history, mileage data, vehicle details, and defect records — everything sourced from official DVSA/DVLA databases. Paid car checks (like HPI, AA, RAC) additionally cover outstanding finance, insurance write-off history, stolen vehicle alerts, and plate change records. We recommend starting with our free check and only paying for a full check if the MOT data looks clean and you are seriously considering buying.

How often should I check my own car?

At minimum, check before your MOT is due each year. Review the advisories from the previous test so you can proactively fix issues before the inspection. It is also worth checking after buying the car to have a copy of the full history for your records, and when you are about to sell — so you can present the MOT history to buyers as evidence of good maintenance.

Can a car check detect mileage fraud?

Our car check is one of the most effective tools for detecting mileage fraud. Odometer readings are captured at every MOT test, creating a verified mileage trail. If the mileage drops between tests (e.g., 80,000 miles in 2023, then 60,000 miles in 2024) this is clear evidence of clocking. Our system automatically flags these anomalies and highlights them in the report.

More checks before you buy

Run all of these on any UK car before you pay a deposit — every one is free to start.

MOT History Check

Every test, advisory and failure on the DVSA record — free.

DVLA Vehicle Check

The DVLA registration record and DVSA MOT history in one search.

Car Import Check

No free import marker exists — how to read the four indicators instead.

Mileage / Clocking Check

Spots odometer rollbacks and implausible jumps across MOTs.

MOT Failure History

Pass-rate and recurring-failure patterns from MOT history.

Outstanding Finance

Why unpaid finance can cost you the car — and how to verify.

Stolen Car Check

The warning signs of a stolen vehicle before you pay a deposit.

Write-Off Check

Cat A/B/S/N explained and what a write-off means for buyers.

Cat S / Cat N Check

Insurance write-off categories explained — is it worth buying?

HPI Check Alternative

What each check covers and costs — an honest price comparison.

Car Tax Check

Tax status, due date and SORN by registration — free.

Insurance Group Check

The 1–50 insurance group for any model — what it will cost to cover.

Is My Car Insured?

How to confirm a car's insurance status before you drive it away.

Car Tax Calculator

Estimate the annual VED road tax for any car by reg or spec.

Car Recall Check

Check DVSA safety recalls for the make and model, free.

Selling Your Car

See the record a buyer will pull on your reg — before they pull it.

Service History: Who Holds It

No site can look one up. Who really has the record, by make.

Used Car Buying Checklist

The full step-by-step checklist before you buy a used car.

Buying a Cat S / Cat N Car

Is a write-off worth it? The honest costs, risks and decision rule.

Check Finance Before Buying

Why there's no free finance check — and how to verify before you pay.

What Does HPI Clear Mean?

Why an 'HPI clear' result does NOT mean accident-free.

How to Spot a Clocked Car

The tell-tale signs of mileage fraud before you buy.

What Is a Cat S Car?

Category S write-off meaning — structural damage, explained.

What Is a Cat N Car?

Category N write-off meaning — and why 'non-structural' isn't 'minor'.

What we check — and where it comes from

Check	What it tells you	Source
MOT history & mileage	Every test, advisory, failure and odometer reading since 2005 — plus our clocking analysis the DVSA listing doesn't do.	DVSA MOT API (official)
Tax & MOT status, CO2, ULEZ	Current tax and MOT validity, emissions band and ULEZ position.	DVLA Vehicle Enquiry Service
Outstanding finance	Coming soon — not yet offered, and not something we charge for today.
Stolen / write-off / keeper history	Coming soon — not yet offered, and not something we charge for today.

We're honest about our limits.

The MOT & mileage data here is the same data you can get free at gov.uk — we add the analysis and the clocking flags. We don't claim a guarantee we can't back, we don't hide our data sources, and we don't use fake countdown timers. If a check isn't live above, we don't have it yet — and we won't pretend otherwise.

Check a Car Now

Enter any UK registration number for a free, instant car check powered by official DVSA data.