Free Car Check by Registration or VIN

Yes. The free car check shows the DVLA record (make, colour, tax and MOT status) and the full MOT history with advisories, failures and the mileage at each test, plus a running costs estimate (fuel, road tax and MOT a year), for any UK registration, at no cost and with no sign-up. Outstanding finance, write-off and stolen records (from licensed databases) and our mileage anomaly check are in the full car history check: you only pay if you want it. A single full report costs £11.99 including VAT.

A reg check (or number plate check) looks up a vehicle's details from its registration: make, model, colour, tax and MOT. A car history check goes further and searches the records a seller may not mention: outstanding finance, insurance write-offs, stolen markers, plate changes and mileage records.

Outstanding finance, insurance write-off records, police stolen markers, high-risk markers, scrapped and certificate of destruction status, salvage auction records, mileage records and anomalies, full MOT history with advisories and failures, previous keepers, number plate and colour changes, V5C log book dates, import and export status, previous searches, the recorded road tax, weights and dimensions, and manufacturer specification, performance and emissions data.

Yes. Choose "VIN / Chassis No." above the search box and enter the 17-character VIN shown on the V5C log book and at the base of the windscreen. We find the vehicle's current registration through the DVSA MOT database and run the check as normal. A vehicle that has never been in the MOT database may need a registration search instead.

Run a full car history check with the registration or VIN. It searches the finance agreements lenders record with Experian, such as hire purchase (HP) and personal contract purchase (PCP), and shows any agreement still recorded against the car. If finance is outstanding, don't pay until the seller has settled it and you have proof from the lender.

A full car history check shows whether the police have recorded the vehicle as stolen on the Police National Computer. Also check that the VIN on the car (at the base of the windscreen and in the door frame) matches the V5C log book: a mismatch can mean a cloned car.

It compares every recorded mileage reading for the vehicle in date order. If a reading is lower than an earlier one, we flag it as an anomaly: it can be a typing error at a test, a replaced dashboard or a clocked car. It is part of the full car history check, over every MOT reading. If an anomaly is flagged, ask the seller for service records that show the mileage.

A single full report costs £11.99 including VAT, and multi-check bundles are cheaper per check. There are no subscriptions or hidden fees.