DVLA Vehicle Check by Registration
Enter a UK reg to pull the live DVLA registration record — tax status, MOT expiry, make, colour, engine, CO2, fuel and Euro status — alongside the full DVSA MOT test history and mileage trail. Free, instant, no account.
Free · Official DVLA & DVSA data · Instant · No sign-up
Wanted the explanation rather than the search? Read what a DVLA vehicle check is, field by field. That page explains the record; this page runs the check.
What comes back when you check a reg
Two government registers, queried together. DVLA holds the registration record. DVSA holds what happened at every test. Most people only ever search one of them.
From the DVLA registration record
Tax status and tax due date
Taxed, untaxed or SORN, and the date the current tax period ends.
MOT status and MOT expiry date
Whether a valid certificate exists and the date it runs out. This is the status only — the tests behind it come from DVSA.
Make, colour, year of manufacture
As held on the registration record. A colour change is recorded here, which is worth knowing before you read an advert.
Engine capacity, fuel type, wheelplan, type approval
The mechanical description DVLA registered the vehicle under.
CO2 emissions and Euro status
The figures that drive the road-tax band and the vehicle's ULEZ position.
Export marker and date the V5C was last issued
Two fields almost nobody reads, and the two most useful to a buyer. Covered in full below.
Field availability varies by vehicle — older and non-standard vehicles return fewer populated fields. The full field list is on the DVLA vehicle check explainer.
From the DVSA MOT record
Every MOT test on record
Date, result and test number for each test in the DVSA history feed, which runs from 2005.
The odometer reading logged at each test
The mileage trail. DVSA also records the unit per test, so a reading logged in kilometres is visible as such rather than silently converted.
Every defect, by severity
Advisory, minor, major and dangerous items, with the exact wording the tester recorded.
First used date and registration date
DVSA holds these separately from DVLA's month of first registration — a gap between them is the first clue a car was imported.
Open safety recalls
Whether DVSA holds an outstanding recall against the vehicle.
DVLA returns MOT status and expiry. Everything that happened inside a test — mileage, defects, advisories — is DVSA, and is the half most "DVLA check" pages leave out.
Four fields that change a buying decision
The record is long and most of it is descriptive. These four are the ones worth stopping on, and each one turns into a question you can put to the seller.
Date last V5C issued
DVLADVLA reprints the log book when the keeper changes, the address changes, the registration mark changes, the colour is amended, or the previous one is lost. A V5C issued a few weeks ago on a car the seller says he has owned for years has one of a small number of explanations.
Ask: why was the log book reissued, and when did you actually buy the car?
Marked for export
DVLAThis flag means DVLA has been told the vehicle is leaving the country. On a car being advertised for sale in the UK that is a question, not an answer — but it is one you want to raise before money moves. It is NOT an import marker; DVLA's public enquiry does not return one of those at all.
Ask: has this car been notified for export, and if so, why is it still here?
Tax status vs MOT expiry
DVLARead them together. A car that is SORN with an MOT that expired eighteen months ago has been standing, and standing does specific damage — seized brakes, perished tyres, a flat-then-dead battery, corroded discs. The record tells you to budget for it.
Ask: how long has it been off the road, and what was done before it went back on?
Colour on record vs colour in the advert
DVLAThe registered colour is the colour DVLA was last told about. A mismatch with the photos is usually an honest respray or a wrap, occasionally a keeper who never notified the change, and very occasionally something worth walking away from.
Ask: when was it resprayed or wrapped, and was DVLA notified?
How to read the result
A DVLA check is only as good as the reading. Four habits that turn a screen of fields into a decision.
Read the two date fields against each other
Year of manufacture, month of first registration and DVSA's first-used date should sit close together. A build year several years ahead of the first UK use means the car was somewhere else in between — usually an import, occasionally unsold dealer stock.
Walk the mileage trail, not the current reading
One odometer figure proves nothing. The shape of the trail across every MOT does: a drop between two tests is a rollback, and a year with almost no miles on a car advertised as a daily driver is a year that needs explaining.
Treat repeated advisories as a maintenance record
The same advisory appearing three years running is not a car with a small fault. It is a keeper who read the advisory and did nothing, three times. That pattern predicts what you inherit.
Take absence of a record as absence, not as clearance
A clean DVLA record means nothing adverse appeared in the two government registers. It is not a certificate of health, and no honest check will tell you otherwise.
Five things no DVLA lookup returns
These are not features waiting behind a paywall on this site. They are records DVLA does not hold, and we do not sell them.
Outstanding finance
DVLA records the registered keeper, not the legal owner. Finance agreements sit on a private lender register with no government route in. We do not sell a finance check.
Insurance write-off category
Cat A, B, S and N records live on MIAFTR, run by the Motor Insurers' Bureau — an industry register, not a public one. We do not sell a write-off check.
Stolen markers
Theft markers sit with the police and industry registers. We do not sell a stolen check.
Service history
There is no national service-history database in the UK, so no lookup of any kind can return one from a registration. Anyone claiming otherwise is describing a dealer-network search, not a national record.
A valuation
We do not price cars and do not publish an estimated market value.
If finance, write-off category or a theft marker is what you actually need, use a licensed provenance provider — and read what their negative result means before you rely on it. A reputable report says "no record was returned", not "this car is clear". Our honest price comparison sets out who covers what.
What it costs
The DVLA record and the MOT test history are free. Every price is printed here — there is nothing added at the payment step.
| Tier | Price | What it adds |
|---|---|---|
| Free | £0 | The DVLA record, the MOT test timeline with dates and results, the mileage chart, vehicle specs, road-tax estimate, ULEZ position, insurance group and the recall lookup. |
| Basic | £2.99 | The most recent mileage readings, including the newest odometer figure, and the full advisory and defect detail on the newest tests. Plus the branded PDF report. |
| Premium | £3.99 | Everything in Basic plus an AI question-and-answer chat about that specific vehicle. The chat is the only thing it adds. |
| Two-plate bundle | £5.99 | Two Premium reports on any two registrations within 30 days. |
We do not currently bundle the licensed provenance layers (finance, stolen, write-off, keeper history, valuation), so our paid tiers are not a like-for-like swap for a licensed provenance report. Full breakdown on the pricing page.
DVLA vehicle check — FAQ
How do I run a DVLA vehicle check on this page?
Do I need the V5C log book to run the check?
Is this the official DVLA service?
What does the DVLA check cost?
Why does my DVLA check show no MOT details?
Can a DVLA check tell me if the car is safe to buy?
How current is the DVLA data?
More checks before you buy
Run all of these on any UK car before you pay a deposit — every one is free to start.
Full Car Check
MOT, mileage, tax and spec by reg — the free starting point.
MOT History Check
Every test, advisory and failure on the DVSA record — free.
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.
Run a DVLA vehicle check
One registration, both government records, no account.
Free · Official DVLA & DVSA data · Instant · No sign-up