MOT History Check · Free
Free MOT History Check by Registration
Every MOT a vehicle has ever sat, in one place: results, advisory notes, recorded mileage and the next due date, read live from DVSA.
- The complete test record, from first MOT to latest
- Live MOT status and the exact date the next test is due
- Advisories and failure reasons written out per test
- Odometer reading captured at every visit
- Straight from the DVSA MOT history API, nothing added
Test data comes directly from the DVSA MOT history API as you run the check, and shows the record exactly as it stands at that moment. See our terms for full details.
Free Car Check for your vehicle
- Instant results
- No signup
- DVLA & DVSA data
What you get with your free MOT history check
Think of it as the car's test diary: every entry the DVSA holds, laid out so you can follow how the vehicle has fared against the roadworthiness standard year by year.
| Data point | What you'll see |
|---|---|
| Current MOT status | Valid or expired as of today, with the precise date the next test falls due. |
| Full test history | Each test the DVSA holds, listed with its date, outcome and official test number. |
| Pass and fail results | The verdict on every entry, the items behind any fail, and the date the car went on to pass. |
| Advisory notes | What the tester warned about at each visit, kept together per test so repeat problems stand out. |
| Defect category | On tests from May 2018 onwards, each defect graded Dangerous, Major, Minor or Advisory under DVSA rules. |
| Mileage at each test | The reading the test station keyed in on the day, traced across the car's whole life. |
| Reasons for failure | The tester's own wording for every failed item, so you can gauge how serious it really was. |
| First MOT due date | On cars still too young to have been tested, the date their first MOT falls due. |
| Historic vehicles | Cars over 40 years old can be MOT-exempt, so an older car's record may simply stop. The 40-year rule section below explains why. |
| Vehicle identity | The DVLA-registered make, model, fuel, colour and first-registration date beside the tests. |
This is the complete official test record. Paid services draw their MOT data from the same DVSA source.
How It Works
From reg plate to full test diary in a few seconds, with nothing edited out along the way.
1. Enter Your Reg
Any UK registration works: your own car, or one you're thinking of buying.
2. We Query DVSA
We ask the DVSA for the vehicle's complete computerised test log, which reaches back to 2005.
3. Get Your Instant Results
Read the results as a timeline: every verdict, advisory and mileage entry in order, at no charge.
What the MOT history shows you
An MOT history is the closest thing a used car has to a diary written by strangers. Once a year, an independent tester with no stake in any sale examined the vehicle and wrote down what they found: the verdict, the date, the mileage and every item that concerned them. No advert copy and no glovebox of receipts carries that kind of impartiality.
Buyers get their due diligence done before spending anything on travel or deposits: check what the seller says about condition, mileage and usage against what the testers actually wrote. Owners get the practical answers, meaning the exact renewal date, any advisories still hanging over from the last test, and a sense of how near the car has drifted to a fail in recent years. If it's your own car, you can also set free MOT and tax reminders so the next renewal date reaches you a month before it matters.
The result pairs the test record with the DVLA identity for the same plate, and that pairing is a quiet fraud check in itself. A cloned car wears a registration belonging to another vehicle, so its borrowed MOT history will describe the wrong make, colour or fuel type. Any mismatch between the record and the car in front of you is a reason to stop, not to negotiate.
Defect categories explained: Pass, Advisory, Minor, Major and Dangerous
Since 20 May 2018, testers haven't simply passed or failed a car; every defect they find is graded by how serious it is. Knowing what each grade means turns a wall of test entries into something you can actually judge.
- Pass: the car met the legal minimum on the day, with nothing recorded against it.
- Pass with advisories: a pass, plus written notes on wear the tester expects to become a problem. Early warnings rather than faults.
- Minor: still a pass. The defect is real but carries no significant safety or environmental risk; repair it soon rather than eventually.
- Major: a fail. The problem compromises safety, puts other road users at risk or harms the environment.
- Dangerous: the most serious fail. The car is unfit for the road and must not be driven until the defect is put right.
Read the grades across years rather than in isolation. Repeated Major or Dangerous fails bunched into the recent past describe a car being run to the limit of legality, and an advisory that reappears word for word at every test is usually a fault that received the cheapest possible attention each time.
Suspicion should run the other way too. Genuine cars pick up the odd wear advisory as they age, so an older vehicle with an unnaturally spotless recent record invites questions: was it tested somewhere forgiving, hurriedly tidied for sale, or is the identity not its own?
Mileage at each MOT test, and what it tells you
Alongside every verdict sits an odometer reading, and stitched together those readings form the UK's best free record of how far a car has genuinely travelled. Hold the seller's mileage claim against them: a genuinely low-mileage car shows a gentle climb through its test entries, not a record that argues with the dashboard.
The strongest single tell is a reading lower than the one before it: few clocked cars avoid leaving that trace somewhere in the record. Be equally wary of years that add almost nothing and of figures that land suspiciously on round thousands. Our dedicated mileage check charts the same readings and sets them against typical UK annual mileage.
Know the record's blind spots before leaning on it. Nothing exists for cars yet to reach their first test at three years old, and a spell on SORN or in long-term storage means years in which no reading was ever taken. A gap isn't guilt, but it is a place where the diary falls silent.
First MOT, exemptions and the 40-year rule
A car's testing life begins at three years old in Great Britain, counted from the first-registration date on the V5C, and at four years for cars and vans in Northern Ireland. Certain working vehicles join earlier: taxis and ambulances can be due their first test at just one year old.
Testing can also end. Once a vehicle passes 40 years old, and hasn't been substantially changed in the previous 30, its keeper may declare it MOT exempt by signing form V112 when taxing it. The threshold rolls forward each year, which brings a 1986 car into scope during 2026. What never ends is the duty to keep the vehicle roadworthy: exemption removes the annual test, not the legal standard.
On a young car, the free check shows when the first test falls due. At the other extreme, the public data carries no exemption marker, so when the record of a 40-plus-year-old car simply ends, exemption is the probable reason. Ask the seller to show you the V112 declaration rather than assuming.
Driving without an MOT, renewal rules and fees
Let the certificate lapse and the law leaves you two permitted journeys only: driving to an MOT you have already booked, or to a garage for repair work connected to one. Any other trip risks a fine of up to £1,000 and can void your insurance, and number-plate cameras mean an expired MOT rarely goes unnoticed for long.
Renewal has a quirk worth using: test up to a month minus a day early and the new certificate still runs from your old anniversary, so you lose nothing. That window is the sensible place to deal with outstanding advisories. Test before the window opens and the new MOT instead runs a year from the test date, surrendering the time left on your old certificate.
DVSA caps the price of a class 4 test (the class covering most cars) at £54.85, and plenty of garages undercut it. Fail, and many will retest free provided the repair work is done with them inside ten working days. Whether you can drive away after a fail turns on two things: the old certificate must still be in date, and nothing Dangerous can have been recorded.
MOT, service and tax: what the MOT does and does not cover
Never confuse passing an MOT with being in good health. The test asks one narrow question, whether the car is legal to be on the road, and looks only at safety and emissions items: brakes, tyres, lights, steering, suspension, structure, exhaust. Cambelts, clutches, gearboxes and engine wear sit entirely outside it, so a fresh pass can coexist with a four-figure repair bill. The test diary and the service file answer different questions; you want both.
Before committing, set the test record beside the service file and run the car tax calculator so the first year of ownership holds no cost surprises. The fuel type and first-registration date on the same result also hint at clean-air zone treatment, since together they decide whether a car clears the Euro 4 petrol or Euro 6 diesel line.
Pair the report with a physical inspection
Print the history, or keep it open on your phone, and let it steer the viewing. Every advisory is a marked spot on a map: if last year's tester noted worn front tyres or a corroded brake pipe, look at those exact items and ask for the invoice showing they were dealt with. Receipts that line up with the record are the best evidence a seller can offer.
The record can't grade what it never saw, so stay alert for the things no MOT measures: a gearbox that baulks between shifts, a clutch biting at the very top, damp carpets, mismatched paint. Ten minutes of unhurried looking and a proper test drive finish the picture the test history starts.
MOT guides
All guides →The Complete MOT Guide: Tests, Costs, Rules and Results
Everything about the UK MOT in one guide: what's tested, what it costs, when it's due, what the results mean, and what happens if your car fails.
Understanding MOT Results: What Your Certificate Really Says
How to read an MOT result: pass and fail categories, advisories, the VT20 and VT30 certificates, and how to read a car's full test history like a story.
MOT Advisories Explained: What They Mean and Which Ones Matter
What an MOT advisory actually means, the post-2018 defect categories, which advisories matter, and how to read advisory patterns before you buy a used car.
When Is My MOT Due? Check Any UK Car in Seconds
How to check any car's MOT due date free, the one-month-minus-a-day early renewal window, first-MOT rules for new cars, and the penalties for driving without one.
MOT Exemption: How the 40-Year Rolling Rule Works
How the rolling 40-year MOT exemption works: eligibility, the substantially changed rules, the V112 declaration, and what exemption doesn't change about roadworthiness.
The Most Common MOT Failures (and How to Avoid Them)
Around three in ten cars fail their MOT first time, mostly on lights, tyres, brakes and suspension. The common failure points and the 10-minute pre-test checklist.
MOT history check FAQ
How do I check a car's MOT history for free?
When is my MOT due, and how do I check the expiry date?
What is the difference between an advisory, minor, major and dangerous defect?
When does a new car need its first MOT in the UK?
Are classic cars over 40 years old MOT exempt?
Can I drive my car if the MOT has expired?
How early can I get my MOT done before it expires?
What is the maximum MOT fee in the UK?
How long does an MOT certificate last after a fail?
Does the MOT history show mileage at each test?
What is the difference between an MOT and a service?
Can I check MOT history for a car in Northern Ireland?
Where does the MOT history data come from?
How fresh is the data?
Do you store my registration number?
Ready to run your free MOT history check?
The complete test diary for any UK vehicle is one registration away, with nothing to pay and no account to create.
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