HPI Check Alternative: What an HPI Check Covers and How Ours Compares

If you are looking for an HPI check alternative, you are almost certainly looking for a full car history check: a search of the finance, write-off, stolen, mileage, keeper and identity records held against a used car. Enter the registration in the search box above. The free check shows the DVLA record and the complete MOT history with mileage readings straight away; the full car history check adds outstanding finance, insurance write-offs, the police stolen marker, previous keepers, plate changes and the VIN match, from Experian data.

HPI and HPI Check are registered trade marks of HPI Limited. CarCheckUp is not connected with HPI Limited; this page explains the generic car history check and how our full history check compares in content.

What is an HPI check?

Strictly, an HPI check is a vehicle history check sold by one particular company under its own trade mark. In everyday use, though, "HPI check" has become shorthand for any full car history check, in the way people say "Hoover" for a vacuum cleaner. When someone says "get it HPI'd" before you buy, they mean: run a history check so you know the car is not on finance, written off, stolen or clocked.

That generic check is what this page is about. Several companies, including CarCheckUp, sell a car history check built on the same kind of licensed data: finance agreements registered by lenders, insurers' total-loss records, the police stolen marker, DVLA keeper and plate records and the DVSA MOT history. The names differ; the core record set is largely the same.

HPI check meaning: what the shorthand covers

When people say "HPI check" they mean a bundle of searches. The table shows each one, what it tells you, and where you see it with us: in the free check (DVLA and DVSA data) or in the full car history report (Experian data).

"HPI clear": what it means and what it doesn't

"HPI clear" is seller shorthand for "the history check found no adverse records". In a listing it usually means the car came back with no finance, no write-off, no stolen marker and no obvious mileage problem on the day the seller ran the check. That is good news, but it is narrower than it sounds.

A clear history check does not tell you:

• The car's physical condition. The databases record events reported by lenders, insurers and the police, not the state of the brakes or the bodywork. Damage repaired without an insurance claim never reaches a write-off register.
• The service history. No history check includes garage service records; ask for the book and the invoices.
• Anything that happened after the check. Finance can be taken out the day after a "clear" result. Treat a check the seller hands you as a starting point and run your own on the day you pay.
• Who the registered keeper is. No check shows a name or address (see who owns this car); compare the seller's ID with the V5C instead.

"Clear" also depends on the question asked: a tax-and-MOT lookup is not a finance or write-off check. If a seller says the car is clear, ask which checks were run and when, and look at the report itself.

Free HPI check: what is genuinely free?

Genuinely free for any UK vehicle, because the data is published by government bodies: the DVLA vehicle record (make, model, colour, engine size, fuel, year, tax status and due date, MOT status, export marker, last V5C issue date) and the DVSA MOT history with every mileage reading, advisory and failure since 2005. Our free check shows all of this, plus derived figures such as mileage per year, a running-cost estimate and a likely ULEZ status.

Never free, from anyone: the finance, write-off and stolen searches. Lenders, insurers and the police supply those records to licensed data providers, and every search is paid for. A "free finance check" is in practice the free DVLA data under a bigger label, with payment asked for at the result. That is why those three checks sit in our paid full report. The free mileage check and the free MOT check are the parts you can run without paying.

How our full car history check compares

Our full car history check covers the same core record set that people mean by "HPI check": finance, write-off, stolen, mileage, keepers, plate changes and the VIN match, with the free DVLA and MOT data in front of it so you can confirm it is the right car before you pay. The adverse-record data comes from Experian, and the report shows the date of each record.

What the full report contains:

• Outstanding finance check: whether finance is recorded, the lender, the agreement type and date, and a phone number to confirm settlement.
• Written-off vehicle check: the write-off category (Cat S, N, C, D, A or B), the date of loss and the cause.
• Stolen car check: the police stolen marker and the high risk register, by reg or VIN.
• Mileage anomaly check: every MOT reading, plus a flag where a later reading is lower than an earlier one.
• Keeper and identity records: previous keepers, plate changes, the VIN and engine number match, colour changes, scrapped, exported and imported markers, ex-taxi signs and VIC inspection.
• Specification and costs: manufacturer data for the exact model, weights and dimensions, performance, fuel economy and the recorded road tax band.

The report opens on screen as soon as payment is confirmed and is emailed to you. The sample report shows every section as a customer sees it.

Of the cars our customers checked in full, nearly 1 in 3 had at least one risk record and about 1 in 6 had finance recorded (figures in our UK used car risk report). That is the practical case for the full check rather than stopping at the free one.

Motorbikes and vans

The same history check works for motorcycles and vans, because the finance, write-off and stolen registers cover all road vehicles and the DVLA and DVSA records are held by registration. A motorcycle HPI check, in the generic sense, is our motorbike history check: the bike's reg gives the MOT history and mileage, and the full report adds finance, write-off and stolen records. For a light commercial, use the van history check; larger vehicles are covered by the truck history check.

When to run the check

Run the full check before you pay a deposit, and ideally on the day you hand over the money. Finance and stolen records change daily; a report from a few weeks ago, or one printed by the seller, cannot show an agreement taken out since. A sensible order:

1. Free check first, from the advert: confirm the make, model, colour and MOT history match what the seller says.
2. Full report before the deposit on the car you intend to buy.
3. Match the VIN on the car, the V5C and the report, and re-run the check if more than a few days have passed before you pay.

More in when to run a car history check.

HPI check alternative: frequently asked questions

Is an HPI check the same as a car history check?

In everyday use, yes: "HPI check" is shorthand for a full car history check of finance, write-off, stolen, mileage, keeper and identity records. Strictly, HPI Check is one company's trade-marked product; a car history check is the generic service, offered by several providers from similar licensed data.

Is CarCheckUp HPI?

No. HPI and HPI Check are registered trade marks of HPI Limited, and CarCheckUp is not connected with HPI Limited. CarCheckUp is a separate UK car history check service run by Milena Software Ltd, with a free DVLA and MOT check and a paid full report built on Experian data. The name appears on this page only to explain what the shorthand means.

What does "HPI clear" mean?

A history check found no adverse records (finance, write-off, stolen marker or mileage discrepancy) when it was run. It says nothing about mechanical condition or service history, and it can be out of date the next day, so run your own check before you pay.

Can you get an HPI check free?

Not the finance, write-off and stolen parts: those records are licensed and paid for on every search, by every provider. The DVLA vehicle record and the full MOT history are public and genuinely free, and our free check shows them in full.

How long does a car history check take?

A few seconds. Enter the reg, confirm the car from the free result, pay, and the full report opens on screen and arrives by email.

What if the check finds outstanding finance?

Don't pay until it is settled. Ask the seller for the lender's settlement letter, or pay the lender directly and the balance to the seller; with finance still recorded, the lender can still have a claim on the car. The outstanding finance check page has the steps.

Is a history check enough on its own?

No. It covers the records, not the metal. Pair it with a test drive, the paperwork and, for a car you are spending serious money on, an independent inspection: see is a pre-purchase inspection worth it.

Sources: DVLA vehicle enquiry data, DVSA MOT history, Experian vehicle data for the full report. HPI and HPI Check are registered trade marks of HPI Limited.