Free car check.
Everything, free.
MOT history, tax status, full specification and mileage record for any UK car — the complete official picture, free, in seconds.
Enter any registration above for a completely free car check. You get the car’s MOT status and full test history, whether it is taxed or SORN, its recorded specification, and its mileage timeline — everything held in the public DVLA and DVSA record, with no sign-up and no payment.
What a free car check includes
- MOT status + expiry and every test result since 2005, with failures and advisories.
- Mileage at every test — the record that exposes clocked cars.
- Tax status — taxed, SORN or untaxed, with the due date.
- Specification — make, model, fuel, engine size, CO₂, colour and first registration date.
- Advisory patterns — the repeating items that predict repair bills.
What no free check can show you
Three important checks live outside the free official record, because the data belongs to finance companies and insurers: outstanding finance (a car on finance legally belongs to the lender), write-off history (insurance categories A, B, S and N) and stolen status. Those are in the paid full report. A free check is the right first filter — it removes most bad cars instantly — but if you are about to hand over serious money, the full report is the difference between checking and knowing.
The 60-second free check routine
- Identity: does the specification match the car and the advert — model, fuel, colour?
- MOT: valid, with time left? Read the last advisory list carefully.
- Mileage: rises steadily year to year? Any drop is a stop sign.
- Tax: taxed now — and remember you must re-tax it yourself the moment you buy.
- Story: does the history tell the same story as the seller?
When a free car check saves you the most
Before travelling to view (saves wasted journeys), at the forecourt before negotiating (settles arguments about MOT length and mileage), and before insuring a new purchase (insurers ask about the car — the check gives you the recorded facts). Sellers use it too: a printed clean check is the cheapest sales aid there is, and buyers pay more for cars whose records they have seen.
Is the data accurate?
The free check reads the same official registers used by the trade: DVLA for vehicle and tax records, DVSA for MOT records. Errors are rare but possible — a colour recorded wrongly after a respray is the classic one — and the keeper can correct them with the DVLA. If a check contradicts the car’s V5C logbook, resolve it before money changes hands, not after.
Sample result — this is what your data looks like
All of this is in the free result. Only the locked finance/write-off/stolen items sit in the full report. (Sample data shown for illustration.)
Frequently asked questions
Is the car check genuinely free, or free-then-pay?
Genuinely free. The MOT, tax, specification and mileage check costs nothing and needs no card. Only the separate full report (finance, write-off, stolen) is a paid product, and it is clearly marked.
How many free checks can I run?
As many as you like — shortlist ten cars, check ten cars. There is no account and no daily limit.
Do I need the V5C or VIN for a free check?
No — the registration number alone is enough.
Will the car’s owner know I ran a check?
No. Checks are anonymous and the keeper is never notified.
What if the free check shows a problem?
Depends on the problem: an advisory pattern means budget for repairs; a mileage drop or identity mismatch means walk away unless the seller can document an innocent explanation.
Related free checks
Nothing else needed
On screen in seconds
Full report if you’re buying