Check any car's history instantly. Free DVLA + MOT data, or upgrade for the full picture.
Free check includes DVLA data, MOT history & ULEZ/Clean Air Zone compliance — plus a free PDF report by email.
The free DVLA & MOT check above is informational only — no data-accuracy guarantee. Upgrade for stolen, finance, write-off and mileage checks, backed by a £10,000–£30,000 guarantee.
Enter a registration above to start. All paid checks include a professional branded PDF report emailed to you.
Buying a used car in Britain still runs on caveat emptor — let the buyer beware — when the seller is a private individual. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 protects you against an unfit vehicle when you buy from a registered trader, but a private sale is largely "sold as seen" once you have driven away. That makes a thorough pre-purchase check the most important thing you do before parting with money.
A complete check on a UK vehicle has four distinct data layers, each held by a different body:
The first two are public and free; the last two are commercial datasets, which is why a "free" check anywhere on the internet only covers the first two.
Enter any UK registration above and the report you receive includes:
Free DVLA and DVSA data tells you the official record but not the commercial one. To answer "does this car have outstanding finance?", "has it been written off by an insurer?", or "is it on the police stolen register?" you need an Experian-backed paid check. Those questions are the difference between a car you can drive and a car you can lose. SortedCheck's Protected £10K tier from £4.99 adds all three plus a £10,000 data-accuracy guarantee.
Beyond the database checks, do the physical checks too:
A free SortedCheck tells you what DVLA and DVSA know about the car. The physical checklist tells you what they don't.
For low-value vehicles where you are happy to absorb the loss if something turns up later, possibly. For anything you would not want to lose, a free check is the first step but not the only one. Add a paid provenance check to verify there is no outstanding finance, write-off marker or stolen-vehicle flag, and ideally an independent physical inspection.
Two UK government agencies. DVLA's Vehicle Enquiry Service publishes the registration data. DVSA's MOT History API publishes every test result. Both are free, public, and queried live each time you run a check.
No. The basic DVLA and DVSA data we use is published specifically for buyer due diligence. The keeper's name and address are not released to us and are not part of the lookup. Running a check is private.
Some data is shared between DVLA and the Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA) in Northern Ireland, but MOT testing and parts of the registration are administered separately. Most NI cars return DVLA tax and basic vehicle data; MOT history coverage can be partial. If you are buying a NI-registered car, ask the seller for the corresponding NI test certificates.