MOT history check
The MOT record is the longest continuous account of how a car has been looked after, and it is public. Every test since the DVSA went digital is here — what failed, what was advised, what the tester wrote on the odometer, and how long the car spent off the road between certificates.
No account and no card. What the Pro check adds.
What the MOT record tells you
A list of pass and fail dates is the least of it. The detail underneath is where a car's real condition shows.
- Why it failed, not just that it failed
- The defects behind each failure, listed in the tester's own words and graded dangerous or major.
- A fail and its retest as one visit
- A car that failed on Tuesday and passed on Wednesday went to the garage once. We show it as one occasion that ended in a pass, rather than two entries with opposite outcomes on adjacent days.
- Faults fixed during the test
- The DVSA records these as PRS. They sit on a failure but there is nothing to chase — no invoice, no outstanding work — so we keep them apart from real failures instead of sending you to demand paperwork for a bulb.
- Advisories that keep coming back
- The same advisory across three consecutive tests is a fault nobody has fixed. One advisory is noise; a pattern is information.
- Mileage at every test
- The dated readings that make up the car's odometer history, and whether they only ever rise.
- Gaps in the record
- Time between an expiring certificate and the next test — a car laid up, or one driven without a valid MOT.
What the MOT record cannot tell you
An MOT is a roadworthiness test on one day, not a condition report. It says nothing about the engine, the gearbox, the clutch or the service history, and a car can pass with a failing turbo.
Tests before the DVSA's digital records also do not appear, so a car in its twenties will have a record that starts partway through its life. And a defect that was never presented for test — damage repaired privately, for instance — leaves no trace here at all.
Where this comes from
The DVSA MOT History Trade API — the same record the DVSA publishes, read live rather than cached.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
- How far back does MOT history go?
- To the DVSA's digital records. Most cars have a complete history from around 2005 onward; anything earlier was paper and is not on file.
- What is the difference between an advisory and a minor defect?
- A minor is recorded on a passed test as something the tester has formally noted. An advisory is a warning about something that will need attention but is not yet a defect. Neither fails the test — a major or dangerous defect does.
- Does a failed MOT stay on the record?
- Yes, permanently, including after the car passes the retest. A history with failures in it is normal; what matters is what they were and whether the same thing keeps returning.
- Can I check the MOT of a car I do not own?
- Yes. The MOT record is public and tied to the registration, not to the keeper.