Free MOT check: full MOT history, no sign-up

What you won't see on other MOT checks

Every MOT check reads the same DVSA record. What differs is what is done with it. Here are three made-up cars as their pages would show them, then what each part means.

• What each advisory led to. Beside every advisory on the latest test, how often other cars with the same one failed on the same part at their next MOT, counted from hundreds of millions of DVSA test results.
• Mileage that doesn't add up. Readings that went backwards between two tests, or a typo far out of line with the rest, are picked out for you.
• Only part of the plate? Type what you saw and search the partial plate: every matching vehicle comes back, each with its MOT history a click away.

What you get, free

One page per vehicle, in the order you would want to read it: the headline first, then the evidence, then where to check the rest.

• The MOT at a glance. The mileage, whether the certificate is valid, due within the month or expired, and whether the DVSA shows a safety recall open.
• Every test, newest first. Passed or failed, the date and the mileage, and what the tester wrote, worst first: dangerous and major defects, then minor ones, then advisories, each coloured by how much it matters.
• The history in figures. How many tests, how many passed and failed, and how many advisories were noted at the last test and over all of them.
• The mileage as a chart. The odometer at every test, with fails and advisories marked. A reading far out of line with the rest, the kind an extra digit typed at the test makes, is drawn apart rather than flattening every other reading.
• A reminder of the due date. A calendar entry with an alert four weeks before, or GOV.UK's own email or text reminder.
• The rest of the record. The colour, fuel, engine and first registration date, a clean air zone estimate from the fuel and age, and what the plate itself says: its style, its age identifier and where it was issued.
• How it compares. How many others of the same make, model and year are on the record, how far it has gone next to them and how old it is next to everything on the road, as a few slides to swipe through and share: Your car in numbers.

Before you buy a used car

The page picks out what the record says to look into, in the record's own terms: an expired MOT, a failed last test, mileage that went backwards between two tests, a likely import, a time with no MOT, and an advisory noted at test after test. None of them is a verdict, and each is worth a question to the seller.

It also says plainly what the record cannot: whether the car is on finance, has been written off or was reported stolen. That takes a paid history check, and nothing here pretends otherwise.

Three guides go further: how to read an MOT history before you buy, and what MOT advisories mean, and which ones matter, and the commonest MOT fails.

How it compares with GOV.UK

GOV.UK's MOT history service is the official one, run by the DVSA, and it is free too. This site reads the same DVSA record, so the facts are the same. What differs is the layout: the headline first, the defects grouped by severity, the mileage drawn as a chart, and the points worth asking about picked out for you.

Every vehicle's page links to GOV.UK's check for the same registration, so you can always see the official version beside it.

What it can't tell you

The MOT record describes vehicles, not people. It holds no keeper names and no addresses, so nothing here can say who owns a car or where it is kept. It holds no insurance details either, and road tax is checked on GOV.UK, which every vehicle's page links to.

Registrations you look up are not written down: the address of a vehicle's page is cut from the server's log, analytics, where you allow it, is told only that a vehicle page was opened, and the DVSA's answer is held in memory for up to a day with nothing about who asked. The privacy notice has the detail.

Only know part of the plate?

That is what the rest of this site is for. Type the start or the end of the plate you saw, add a make, a model or a colour, and every matching vehicle on the record comes back, each with its own MOT history a click away.

• Every plate starting HY22 LZ
• Volkswagens ending LZA
• How partial plate search works

Common questions

Is the MOT history check free?

Yes. Every vehicle's page is free to open, with no sign-up, no paid tier and nothing to unlock.

Where does the MOT history come from?

From the DVSA. The test history is asked of the DVSA's MOT History API when a vehicle's page opens, and an answer is reused for up to a day, so it is never more than a day behind the DVSA's own. The make, model, colour and the rest come from the DVSA's MOT history bulk download, refreshed weekly.

Is this the official MOT check?

No. The official service is GOV.UK's, run by the DVSA, and it is free too. This site reads the same DVSA record and lays it out differently, and every vehicle's page links to GOV.UK's check for the same registration.

Why can't it find a registration?

A car usually has its first MOT three years after it is registered, so a newer one has no MOT record yet. A registration moved onto a vehicle, or a vehicle tested for the first time, in the last few days can be missing until the weekly refresh; GOV.UK's check will have it.

Can it tell me who owns a vehicle?

No. The MOT record describes the vehicle and never the person: it holds no keeper names and no addresses.

Can it check tax, finance or a write-off?

Tax and SORN are on GOV.UK, and every vehicle's page links to that check. Outstanding finance, insurance write-offs and theft records are not in the MOT record at all; only a paid vehicle history check can tell you those.