Free Tool · DVSA Data
MOT history check: see every test, advisory and mileage reading
Enter a number plate to pull a vehicle's full MOT history from DVSA records. See every pass and fail, the mileage recorded at each test, past advisories, and when the current MOT runs out. Free, instant, no sign-up.
What an MOT history check shows you
A status check tells you if a car has a valid MOT today. A history check tells you the whole story. You see every test the vehicle has ever had, whether it passed or failed, what the mileage was on the day, and every advisory a tester has flagged over the years.
That history is the useful part. One expired MOT tells you the car is off the road. A run of failures for the same fault, or a mileage reading that drops between two tests, tells you something about how the car has been treated. It is the single best free window into a used car's real condition.
What the free check includes
- ✓Every MOT test on record, newest first, with a clear pass or fail
- ✓The mileage recorded at each test, so you can see the vehicle's mileage trail
- ✓Advisories and failure reasons, including anything marked dangerous
- ✓The current MOT expiry date and whether the car is road legal now
- ✓Make, model, fuel type, colour and first used date
- ✓A flag if the vehicle has an outstanding safety recall
How to check a vehicle's MOT history online
- 1Enter the registration exactly as it appears on the number plate. Spacing and characters matter.
- 2Check the make and model shown in the result match the car you expect. If they do not, re-check the plate.
- 3Read the timeline from the top. The most recent test is first, with the expiry date and current status.
- 4Work back through older tests. Look at the mileage on each line and whether it always increases.
- 5Read the advisories. The same advisory appearing year after year points to a fault that was never fixed.
Where the data comes from
The record comes from the DVSA, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, which logs the result of every MOT test in Great Britain. When a garage finishes a test, the result is submitted straight to the DVSA system with the date, the outcome, the mileage and any advisories.
We read that record in real time and lay it out as a timeline. It is the same official data the police, insurers and GOV.UK use, presented so it is quicker to make sense of.
Why MOT history matters when you are buying a used car
If you are looking at a car to buy, run this check before you hand over any money. Three things to look for:
Mileage that does not add up
Mileage is recorded at every test. It should only ever go up. If a later test shows fewer miles than an earlier one, the odometer may have been wound back. That is a serious red flag and worth walking away from.
The same advisory, over and over
An advisory that shows up year after year — for example a worn suspension bush or a corroded brake pipe — usually means the fault was noted and never dealt with. It hints at how well the car has been looked after.
A pattern of failures
The odd fail is normal. A car that fails first time most years, for the same kinds of faults, is telling you it needs constant work.
Reading advisories and failures
An advisory is not a fail. It is the tester saying something is starting to wear and will likely need attention soon. A failure means the car did not meet the legal standard and cannot be driven on the road until it is fixed and retested. Anything marked dangerous is exactly that, and the car should not be driven at all until it is sorted. The timeline shows all three so you can tell a minor note from a real problem.
MOT status, expiry and when it is next due
Your current status sits at the top of the result. An MOT lasts 12 months from the last pass and expires at midnight on the expiry date. After that the car is not legal to drive, with one exception: you can drive to a pre-booked MOT appointment.
You can retest up to one month minus a day early without losing any time. If your expiry is 20 June, you can test on 21 May and still keep 20 June as next year's date. Booking early avoids a scramble in the busy autumn period and keeps you insured, because driving without a valid MOT can invalidate your cover and carries a fine of up to £1,000.
You also need a valid MOT to tax a vehicle, but the reverse is not true. A car can stay taxed after its MOT has expired, which catches people out. To see tax and MOT side by side, run our free Vehicle Check.
Why no record might show
Sometimes the check returns nothing. Usually it is one of these:
- —The car is under three years old and has not needed its first MOT yet
- —The number plate was changed recently and DVSA records have not caught up
- —The vehicle is registered in Northern Ireland and is not in the GB system
- —The registration was mistyped
The MOT record follows the vehicle's identity, not just the plate, so a recent private plate change is the most common reason a result looks out of date. It normally corrects itself once DVSA processes the change.
What to do after you check
MOT is valid
You are good to drive, tax, insure or sell. Note the expiry date and set a reminder.
Expires within 30 days
Book a test now. You can retest early without losing days on the certificate.
MOT has expired
The car is not road legal. Drive it only to a pre-booked test. ANPR cameras pick up expired MOTs.
No record shows
Re-check the plate, wait if you changed it recently, or confirm the vehicle's identity another way.
Tracking MOTs across a fleet
Checking one car by hand is fine. Keeping on top of twenty, or two hundred, is not. A single missed MOT can mean an off-road vehicle, an invalid insurance policy and a fine, and at fleet scale those add up fast. Traknova tracks every vehicle you run in one place and flags MOTs before they lapse, so nothing slips through. If you manage a taxi, rental, dealership or field fleet, that is one less thing to chase.
Frequently asked questions
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