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Free DVLA Car Check
Check Official DVLA Vehicle Records — More Data Than GOV.UK
The DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency) holds official records on every UK-registered vehicle. Our free DVLA check gives you instant access to this data — including information not shown on the GOV.UK website.
Free MOT, Tax & Mileage Check · No Sign-Up · Instant Results
What this check shows
- Full DVLA record by registration
- Tax status & expiry
- MOT status & expiry
- Engine size, BHP & fuel type
- CO₂ emissions & ULEZ compliance
- V5C issue date & first registration
Official DVLA & DVSA
Instant results
1.2M+ checks run
No sign-up needed
Cars Tax Check vs GOV.UK
| Field | Cars Tax Check | GOV.UK |
|---|---|---|
| Tax status | ✓ | ✓ |
| MOT status | ✓ | ✓ |
| Full MOT history | ✓ | ✕ |
| Mileage at every test | ✓ | ✓ |
| Engine specs (BHP, CC) | ✓ | ✕ |
| CO₂ emissions | ✓ | ✕ |
| ULEZ compliance | ✓ | ✕ |
| V5C issue date | ✓ | ✕ |
| Fuel type & colour | ✓ | ✕ |
Learn More
GOV.UK's own free vehicle checker deliberately shows a minimal set of fields — tax status, MOT status, and basic identity — because it's designed as a quick official lookup rather than a research tool. We query the exact same DVLA Vehicle Enquiry API, but surface the fuller set of fields that API actually returns: engine capacity, CO₂ emissions, ULEZ-relevant Euro status, V5C issue date, and more. Nothing here is estimated or sourced elsewhere — it's the same government data, just displayed more completely.
The DVLA holds the date a vehicle was first registered anywhere (not just with its current keeper), plus the date its most recent V5C logbook was issued. A V5C reissue date that's much more recent than the first registration date isn't automatically suspicious — logbooks get reissued after a change of keeper, a lost document, or an address update — but it's a detail worth asking the seller about if it doesn't match the story you've been told about the car's history.
These three checks pull from different systems and answer different questions. This DVLA check covers registration-level facts held by the DVLA itself — tax, specs, emissions, registration dates. Our MOT check instead queries the DVSA's separate testing database for current roadworthiness status. Our VIN check is about a different kind of verification entirely — confirming the physical vehicle in front of you matches its paperwork, which the DVLA record alone can't do. Most thorough pre-purchase research uses at least two of the three together.
DVLA records are generally reliable since they're updated directly from manufacturer type-approval data and keeper-submitted V5C forms, but errors do happen — a wrong engine size logged at first registration, for example, occasionally persists for years unless someone corrects it. If a field here doesn't match the physical vehicle (engine size, fuel type, colour), that's worth raising directly with the seller before you buy, and can be corrected with the DVLA via a V5C amendment if you end up owning the car yourself.
Frequently Asked Questions
The DVLA records every UK-registered vehicle's make, model, colour, fuel type, engine size, CO₂, year of first registration, current keeper, tax status, SORN status and V5C history.
We use the same official DVLA database, but we surface more of the available fields in a single view — engine size, CO₂, fuel type, ULEZ status and full MOT history alongside tax and MOT status.
Yes. The free check uses public DVLA and DVSA APIs and costs you nothing — no email, no card, no account.
No. Free DVLA lookups by registration are anonymous to the keeper. The DVLA only shares personal keeper details with authorised parties such as insurers and the police.
Check your vehicle now — free, no sign-up
Enter any UK registration above to see official DVLA and DVSA records instantly.