UK registration check
Free Car Check by Reg
Check any UK car by registration for free. View vehicle details, MOT status, road tax information and a VehicleScore® instantly.
23,000,000+ vehicles checked since 2024
- Free & instant
- MOT & tax
- VehicleScore®
- Full history optional
- Free and instant
- No account needed
- MOT and tax included
- Free & instantNo sign-up required
- MOT and tax recordsStatus, expiry and mileage
- VehicleScore®A score out of 999
- Paid history is separateFinance, write-off and stolen
What's Included in Your Free Car Check?
Enter the registration and the report opens straight away. No account and no card. What appears depends on the records held for that car. A field that is not there is left blank.
MOT history
Each test DVSA holds for that registration: pass or fail, the expiry date on a pass, and the advisories and failure items written on the certificate.
Road tax and SORN
Whether DVLA currently has the car as taxed, untaxed or on SORN, and the tax due date when one is on the record. SORN means it has been declared off the road.
Mileage history
The odometer reading taken at each MOT. Readings usually rise. A later figure that is lower than an earlier one is a discrepancy in the record, and it is worth asking the seller about it.
Vehicle details
Make, model, colour, fuel type, engine size and year of registration, where those fields are held. Compare them with the car and the advert before you travel.
VehicleScore®
A score out of 999 from the car’s age, yearly use, recorded mileage and MOT comments. It is a reading of that public record, not a guarantee of condition.
ULEZ and emissions
Fuel type and CO₂ when we hold them. London ULEZ compliance is shown only when the emissions record supports it. A missing record stays unknown. We do not quote a daily charge.
Compared with similar cars
Where we have checked enough similar cars, the score sits next to their average. That is a comparison of public records, not a league table of reliability.
Manufacturer safety recalls are not on this check. Use the GOV.UK recall check for those. Outstanding finance, a write-off category and a stolen marker are not on the free report. They are on the paid history check.
What the example report shows
The Audi RS 3 on BV18 KHA is a saved example. Its score is 912, in the outstanding band. These four parts add up to that number.
Example report – historical vehicle data
Audi RS 3 · BV18 KHA
Grey petrol saloon · 2,480cc · registered 2018 · 191 g/km CO₂
912
out of 999
MOT expiry on the saved report
11 July 2026
Tax on the saved report
Taxed, due 1 August 2026
This example shows how a report looks. Dates and vehicle information are from a saved report and may not reflect the car's current status. Open BV18 KHA for the latest free report. Finance, write-off and stolen records are not included.
Age
241 / 249
Yearly use
72 / 100
Mileage
226 / 250
MOT history
373 / 400
Age takes points off older cars. Yearly use is the average miles a year from the MOT readings. Very low yearly mileage costs points, and the point where that starts is not the same for diesel and petrol. Mileage uses the odometer readings from those tests.
MOT history starts at 400 and looks at recent tests, not every test the car has ever had. Advisories, failures and dangerous defects bring it down. A car with no tests on record stays at 999, because there is nothing to score. That 999 does not mean the car has been inspected.
On a live check the number also sits beside the average for similar cars, when we have scored enough of them. It is not a prediction of the next MOT, and it does not include finance or insurance write-offs.
How MOT history and mileage are listed
Illustrative list. Not the Audi, and not a real registration.
The dates, mileages and comments were written to show the fields a live check displays. They are not a DVSA record. A check of the registration you enter replaces this.
1 March 2026
75,800 miles · Expiry 28 February 2027
Advisory: Nearside front tyre worn close to the legal limit
4 March 2025
64,200 miles · Expiry 3 March 2026
Advisory: Nearside front tyre worn close to the legal limit
18 March 2024
52,640 miles · Expiry 2 March 2025
No advisory or failure comment on this test.
2 March 2024
52,600 miles
Failure: Offside rear brake disc excessively worn
The same front-tyre advisory is on the two newest passes in this illustration. The brake disc failed the test on 2 March 2024, and the car passed 16 days later. A pass after a fail means it got through the next test. It does not show the invoice for the work. A live MOT history lists every test held for the car, not a sample of four.
What the score adds
A registration check lists the MOT, the tax status and the car details, and leaves you to decide what they mean. The score turns that same public record into a number out of 999, so you can see whether age, mileage and MOT comments sit high or low before you read every line.
Points only come off. A garage inspection does not add any, because we have not seen the car. Read the tests under the number. The bands below are the labels on the report.
Outstanding 900–999
The strongest records we see on public data.
Excellent 800–899
A very clean record. Little in the public data pulls it down.
Very good 700–799
Stronger than most similar vehicles.
Good 600–699
A solid record. Age, mileage or MOT comments may take a few points off.
Above average 500–599
A little stronger than similar vehicles.
Average 400–499
In line with similar vehicles. Nothing stands out either way.
Fair 300–399
Weaker than most similar vehicles.
Below par 200–299
Noticeably weaker than similar vehicles on the public data.
Needs improvement 100–199
Age, mileage or MOT history sits well below similar vehicles.
Very poor 0–99
A weak public record. Check the MOT and mileage detail.
Where the records come from
VehicleScore® is an independent company. This is not a government website, and the DVLA and DVSA do not operate it. The registration lookup asks their services for the records below. If those services cannot be reached, the same check can use a combined MOT and tax record from our data supplier instead of failing the search.
DVLA
Tax status, the tax due date, and identity fields returned for that registration, such as make, fuel and colour. You still tax the car on GOV.UK. We do not update the V5C.
DVSA
MOT tests for the registration: the result, the expiry date, the mileage the tester recorded, and the advisory and failure comments.
VehicleScore®
The score out of 999, the way the tests are laid out, and the comparison with similar cars we have already checked. That part is ours. It is not an official rating.
Engine size, CO₂ and the emissions detail used for London ULEZ come from the specification record when we hold one. ULEZ is marked compliant only when that record supports it. We do not turn a gap into a fail, we do not show the daily charge, and we do not cover clean-air zones outside London. Transport for London makes the charging decision.
The same public MOT history is on GOV.UK, and tax status is on the vehicle tax check. A car under three years old often has no MOT yet. Older tests can be missing if they were never stored digitally. What you see is what was returned for that registration, not a promise that every fact about the car is on file.
What's the Difference Between a Free Car Check and a Full History Check?
Use the free report to see what the car is, and whether the MOT, tax and mileage records look consistent. Pay for Hidden History when you are close to buying and you need the records that are not public.
FREE
Free car check
£0
- MOT history, with advisories and failures
- Taxed, untaxed or SORN, and a due date when DVLA has one
- Mileage recorded at each MOT
- Make, model, colour, fuel and other details we hold
- VehicleScore® out of 999
- CO₂ and London ULEZ compliance, when the record supports them
PAID
Hidden History check
£13.95
- Everything on the free check
- Outstanding finance
- Insurance write-off category
- Stolen vehicle markers
- Salvage records and images, where we hold them
- Previous keepers, plate and colour changes, import and export flags
- VIN confirmation, and a market valuation when one is returned
A blank section means no matching record came back. It does not prove the event never happened, and the check does not inspect the car. Eligible consumer reports include up to £10,000 Experian data cover. Terms, eligibility and claim limits apply. Dealer service records are a separate check at £8.95.
How to Check a Car for Free
Enter the registration
The current plate is enough. You do not need the V5C. A private plate looks up the car it is assigned to now, not the car it used to be on.
Check you have the right car
Make, colour, fuel and year should match the advert and the car in front of you. If the colour or fuel does not match, treat that as a problem with the listing before you look at the score.
Read the MOT, the mileage and the score
Look for an advisory that comes back at the next test, a mileage reading that drops, an expired MOT, or a car that is untaxed or on SORN. The score is a summary of that public record. It is not a reason to skip the lines underneath it.
None of that tells you the car is safe to pay for. A lender can still have an interest in it, and an insurer can have written it off, without either fact appearing here. See what a full vehicle history check includes. The car check page sets out where the free report stops.
If you only need one part of the record
Check a car's MOT history on its own, check whether a car is taxed, or read the mileage recorded at each test. Each of those pages opens from the same free report.
Free car check questions
Is the check really free?
Yes. MOT history, tax status, mileage readings, vehicle details and the score do not need a card or an account. You pay only if you choose Hidden History, which is £13.95 for one check.
Can I check a car using only its registration?
Yes. A current UK registration is enough. You do not need the logbook, the VIN, or an MOT certificate number.
Does it show MOT history?
Yes. You get the tests DVSA holds for that registration, with the result, advisories, failure items and the expiry date on a pass. A car that has not been tested yet will not have a history to show. Check a car's MOT history.
Can I check a car’s mileage for free?
Yes. You see the mileage recorded at each MOT, and the average miles per year when there are enough readings to calculate it. That is not proof the odometer is correct. A reading lower than the previous test is a discrepancy in the record.
Can I see whether a car is taxed or SORN?
Yes. The report shows taxed, untaxed or SORN, and the due date when DVLA has one. Untaxed is not the same as SORN. A SORN car has been declared off the road and should not be parked on a public road.
Does it show outstanding finance?
No. Finance agreements are held by lenders, not by the DVLA, so they are not in a free registration check. The paid history check searches for outstanding finance and names the finance company when an agreement is returned.
Can I check whether a car has been written off?
Not on the free check. Insurance write-off categories, including Cat S and Cat N, are not part of the public MOT and tax record. The paid history check shows a category when one is returned.
Do I need an account?
No. You can run the check without signing in. An account is only for saving a car to come back to.
How current is the information?
It is as current as the record returned for that registration. A blank field means it was not on the record, not that the car was inspected and found clear. The score does not guarantee condition, reliability or safety, and it cannot see finance or write-off data.