Number plate check.
What does the plate say?
Type in any UK number plate and see the vehicle behind it — identity, MOT, tax and full history from official records.
Enter any UK registration plate above for a free number plate check. The official record for that plate opens up: the vehicle’s make, model, colour and fuel, its MOT status and complete history, its tax position and its recorded mileage. You need nothing except the plate itself.
What a number plate check reveals
- Vehicle identity — make, model, colour, fuel type, engine size and year of manufacture as recorded by the DVLA.
- MOT record — status, expiry date and every test since 2005 with results and advisories.
- Tax position — taxed, SORN or untaxed.
- Mileage timeline — odometer readings recorded at each MOT test.
What it never reveals: the keeper’s name or address. Keeper details are protected personal data and are not released publicly — any site claiming otherwise is misleading you.
Reading a UK plate: what the characters mean
Current-format plates (since 2001) follow the pattern AA00 AAA. The first two letters are the area code for where the vehicle was first registered; the two numbers are the age identifier (for example, 24 for March–August 2024, 74 for September 2024–February 2025); the last three letters are random. Comparing the age identifier with the vehicle’s claimed year is a ten-second sanity check — a “2022” car wearing a 19 plate is not necessarily wrong (private plates exist), but it always deserves a question.
Private plates and plate transfers
Registrations can be bought, sold and moved between vehicles. When a private plate is transferred onto a car, the DVLA record for that plate points at the new vehicle — and when it is removed, the car usually reverts to its original age-related plate. Two consequences for checkers: a plate check always reports the vehicle the plate is currently assigned to, and right after a transfer the online record can take a few days to settle. If a check returns a different vehicle than expected, wait a few days and check again before assuming the worst.
The cloned-plate warning
Cloning is the crime this check exists to catch: criminals copy the plate of a legitimate car onto a stolen or uninsured one of the same make and colour. If your plate check — of your own plate — shows details that do not match your car, or you receive fines and toll charges for places you have never been, report it to the police and the DVLA immediately. For buyers, the equivalent check is simple: the plate’s record (make, model, colour, engine) must match the physical car in every detail.
Checking a plate before you travel
Adverts increasingly hide plates “for security”, which also hides the car’s history from you. A genuine seller will share the registration when asked — you cannot sensibly buy a car without it. With the plate in hand, two minutes on this check tells you the MOT length, the tax position and whether the mileage story holds together, all before you spend a pound on travel.
Sample result — this is what your data looks like
The plate resolves straight into the vehicle’s official identity and legal status. (Sample data shown for illustration.)
Frequently asked questions
Is a number plate check free?
Yes — plate checks on MOTBuddy are free and unlimited, with no sign-up.
Can I find the owner’s name from a number plate?
No. Keeper names and addresses are protected personal data. The DVLA releases them only in limited circumstances (for example to police, insurers, or those with “reasonable cause” through a formal request) — never through a public check.
The plate check shows a different car. Why?
Usually a recent plate transfer that has not settled yet, or the plate was mistyped. Recheck the exact characters; if it persists, query the seller — or the DVLA if it is your own plate.
Does the check work for Northern Ireland plates?
Yes. NI registrations (which include the letters I or Z) are held in the same UK record.
Can I check a plate from a photo or a car I saw?
Yes — the record is public for the vehicle, so any plate you have seen can be checked. Remember it tells you about the vehicle, never the keeper.
Related free checks
Nothing else needed
On screen in seconds
Full report if you’re buying