Check MOT History

Every car, van and motorbike used on UK roads over three years old must pass an annual MOT test. Since 2005 the results of those tests have been stored centrally, which means you can look back through a vehicle's entire test history — for free — using nothing but its registration number.

Reading that history is one of the cheapest and most revealing checks you can do before buying a used vehicle. It shows you far more than a simple pass or fail.

What the MOT history shows

• Every test date and whether the vehicle passed or failed.
• The recorded mileage at each test — the single best way to spot a clocked (wound-back) odometer.
• Advisories — items the tester noted as wearing but not yet a failure (tyres, brakes, corrosion).
• Failure reasons, so you can see whether the same fault keeps returning.
• The current MOT expiry date.

Why it matters

A tidy pass record with steadily rising mileage and few advisories points to a car that has been looked after. Gaps in the mileage, a sudden drop, or the same advisory appearing year after year are warning signs worth asking the seller about.

You can run the free official check any time at gov.uk/check-mot-history.

Use the guides on this site to understand what each part of the record means, how much an MOT should cost, and the other history checks worth doing before you hand over any money.