# Vehicle Status Check: Is This Car Taxed, MOT'd and on the Road?

> Free vehicle status check by reg: taxed, SORN, MOT'd or exported from the DVLA and DVSA records, plus stolen, write-off and finance status in the full report.

Check a vehicle's current status by registration, free: taxed, untaxed or SORN, MOT valid or expired, exported, plus the stolen, write-off, finance and scrapped statuses in the full report.

A **vehicle status check** shows the current state of a car on the DVLA and DVSA records: whether it is taxed, untaxed or SORN, whether its MOT is valid or has run out, and whether it is marked as exported. Enter the registration in the search box above. The free check reads both records and shows the status, the tax due date, the MOT expiry date, every MOT test since 2005 and the car's details. The full report adds the statuses the DVLA does not publish: the police stolen marker, any insurance write-off, outstanding finance and whether the car has been scrapped.

## How do I check a vehicle's status free by reg?

1. **Enter the registration** in the search box above. No account or V5C is needed, so you can check a car you are thinking of buying as easily as your own.
2. **Read the status line.** The free result shows the tax status (taxed, untaxed or SORN) with its due date, and the MOT status with its expiry date, straight from the DVLA and DVSA records.
3. **Confirm the car is the right one.** If the make, model, colour, engine size or year doesn't match the car, the registration is wrong or the plates are not the car's own.
4. **Go further if you are buying.** The full report adds the stolen, write-off, finance and scrapped records held against the car.

CarCheckUp is independent of the DVLA and DVSA: the tax, MOT and vehicle details are read from the official records; the rest of the report is ours.

## What does "vehicle status" cover?

"Vehicle status" means several different things, and no single official service shows all of them:

| Status item | Free check | Full report |
|---|---|---|
| Tax status: taxed, untaxed or SORN, with the due date | Yes (DVLA) | Yes, plus the 12- and 6-month tax cost for this car |
| MOT status and expiry date | Yes (DVSA) | Yes |
| MOT history: every test since 2005, mileage, advisories, failures | Yes (DVSA) | Yes, with the mileage anomaly check |
| Export marker | Yes (DVLA) | Yes, with the import and export history |
| Scrapped / certificate of destruction | No | Yes |
| Police stolen marker and high risk register | No | Yes |
| Insurance write-off: category, date, cause | No | Yes |
| Outstanding finance: lender, agreement type, date | No | Yes |
| Insurance status (insured or not) | No: use the free official [askMID check](https://carcheckup.co.uk/ask-mids) | No |
| Keeper's name and address | No: not public | No: not public |

Every item in the full report column is on one page in the [sample car history report](https://carcheckup.co.uk/sample-car-history-report).

## Check vehicle status with the DVLA: tax and SORN status

The DVLA holds one tax status for every registered vehicle, and the free check shows it as one of three results:

- **Taxed**, with the date the tax runs out. Tax does not pass to a new keeper: the seller's tax ends when the car changes hands and the buyer taxes it before driving away.
- **Untaxed**: the car must not be used or kept on a public road. Normal on a car that has just changed hands; on one untaxed for months, ask why.
- **SORN**: the keeper has made a Statutory Off Road Notification. The car must stay off public roads and may only be driven to or from a pre-booked MOT. A SORN has no expiry; it ends when the car is taxed again.

GOV.UK's "Check if a vehicle is taxed" service reads the same DVLA record and shows the same status; the difference here is what you can do next: the MOT history, the mileage and, in the full report, the records that decide whether the car is safe to buy. For the tax rules in detail see the [car tax check](https://carcheckup.co.uk/dvla-tax-check) and the [SORN check](https://carcheckup.co.uk/sorn-vehicle-check); for the whole DVLA record (CO2, Euro status, type approval, wheelplan, revenue weight), the [DVLA vehicle check](https://carcheckup.co.uk/dvla-check).

## MOT status vs MOT history

The **MOT status** is a single fact: the car has a valid MOT until a given date, or it doesn't. The **MOT history** is the record behind it: every test since 2005 with the result, the mileage at each test, the advisories and the reasons for any failure. The free check shows both: the status says whether the car can legally be on the road today, the history says how it has been looked after and whether the mileage has risen steadily.

- A car under three years old does not need an MOT yet, so its status shows no test and a due date three years from first registration.
- "MOT expired" with a recent failed test on the history means the car needs repairs before it can be retested and taxed.
- A new pass normally appears on the record within a day of the test.
- Driving a car that needs an MOT without one risks a fine of up to £1,000, and the tax is no defence.

The [MOT history check](https://carcheckup.co.uk/mot-check) explains every line of the record, including how to use the mileage readings to spot a clocked car.

## Exported and scrapped status

**Exported.** When a keeper takes a car abroad permanently they tell the DVLA and the record is marked as exported; the free check shows the marker. A car for sale in the UK with an export marker has either come back without being re-registered, or wears the plates of a car that has left the country. The [exported car check](https://carcheckup.co.uk/check-if-your-car-exported) explains what to do when you see one, and our guide covers [what "marked for export" means](https://carcheckup.co.uk/blog/what-does-marked-for-export-mean-on-a-car/).

**Scrapped.** When a car is destroyed at an authorised treatment facility a certificate of destruction is issued and the DVLA record is closed. The public DVLA enquiry does not show this; the full report does. A car with a certificate of destruction should no longer exist, so one offered for sale is almost always cloned or ringed. See the [certificate of destruction check](https://carcheckup.co.uk/certificate-of-destruction-check).

## Stolen, written off or on finance: the statuses only the full report shows

The DVLA record says whether a car may be on the road, not whether it is safe to buy, because three of the most important statuses are held elsewhere:

- **Stolen:** the police stolen marker and the high risk register. A car recorded stolen can be seized from you without compensation; see the [stolen car check](https://carcheckup.co.uk/stolen-car-check).
- **Written off:** the insurance write-off record with its category (A, B, S or N, or C and D before October 2017), the date and the cause of the loss.
- **On finance:** the outstanding finance record with the lender, agreement type and date. Until it is settled the lender, not the seller, usually owns the car.

Of the cars our customers checked in full between March 2023 and October 2026, 30.1% had at least one risk record: finance, a write-off, a stolen marker, a scrapping record or a mileage anomaly. Run the free check first, then the full report on the day you pay.

## Check your own car's status

Run the same check on your own registration after you tax a car, make a SORN, pass an MOT or buy a car. The record can take a few days to catch up after you tax a car, so keep the confirmation until the status shows taxed.

- **Tax running out:** the DVLA sends a V11 reminder, and a Direct Debit renews automatically as long as the MOT is valid. If the MOT has lapsed, the Direct Debit cannot renew and the car becomes untaxed.
- **MOT running out:** GOV.UK offers a free MOT reminder by text or email. A test up to a month (minus a day) before expiry keeps the same renewal date.
- **Tax or MOT has lapsed:** do not drive except to a pre-booked MOT. Book the test, then tax the car online; if it is staying off the road, make a SORN. Keepers of untaxed cars are fined and the car can be clamped.
- **Insurance:** a car must be insured continuously unless it is SORN; check yours on [askMID](https://carcheckup.co.uk/ask-mids), the free official insurance check.

## Vehicle status check FAQs

**Can I check a vehicle's MOT status?** Yes. The free check shows whether the MOT is valid, when it expires and every test since 2005 with the mileage, advisories and failures.

**Can I check vehicle status online for a car I don't own?** Yes. You only need the registration, and the check never shows the keeper's name or address.

**How often is the vehicle status updated?** We read the DVLA and DVSA records when you run the check, so the status is as current as those records. An MOT pass usually appears within a day; a new tax payment or SORN can take a few days to show.

**Is the vehicle status check free?** Yes. Tax status, SORN, MOT status, MOT history, export marker and the car's details are free, with no account. The stolen, write-off, finance and scrapped records are in the full report.

**What is the difference between a vehicle status check and a DVLA check?** The [DVLA vehicle check](https://carcheckup.co.uk/dvla-check) shows everything the DVLA holds about the car. A vehicle status check focuses on whether the car is taxed, MOT'd, SORN, exported or scrapped right now, and adds the stolen, write-off and finance statuses in the full report.

Run the check: enter a UK registration or VIN at https://carcheckup.co.uk/vehicle-status-check (free: DVLA details, MOT history and mileage readings; finance, write-off, stolen, keeper records and the mileage anomaly check are in the full report). HTML page: https://carcheckup.co.uk/vehicle-status-check