How an MOT check works
What the record contains, how to read the results, and what it cannot tell you. Everything comes straight from the official DVSA MOT History.
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An MOT history check reads the official DVSA test record for a vehicle. This page explains what that record contains and how to read the results, so you can make sense of a report whether you are buying a used car or just checking when your own is due.
What an MOT check shows
A report is the vehicle's complete test record, not a summary:
Current MOT status
Whether the certificate is valid or expired, and the exact date the next test is due.
Full test history
Every test on record, with its date, result and the mileage the garage wrote down.
Defects and advisories
Exactly as the tester recorded them, including items flagged for future attention.
Recurring advisories
The same item flagged year after year often points to a repair that was patched, not fixed.
First MOT due date
For newer cars that have not needed a test yet, when the first one becomes due.
Basic identity
Make, model, fuel type, colour and first registration date, so you can confirm the record matches the car in front of you.
How it works
1. Enter the registration
Spaces and capital letters do not matter.
2. We read the DVSA record
Results are cached for up to seven days. Add ?refresh to a report to force a fresh read.
3. Get the full history
Every test, every advisory, every mileage reading. No account, no payment.
How to read the results
Since 20 May 2018 the DVSA grades every defect it finds, rather than recording a simple pass or fail. The grades matter more than the overall result:
Pass
The vehicle met the minimum standard and no defects were recorded.
Advisory
The vehicle passed, but the tester noted something that will need attention later. Not a fault yet, only a signal.
Minor
Still a pass, but the defect should be repaired soon.
Major
A fail. The defect affects safety or the environment.
Dangerous
A fail of the most serious kind. The vehicle should not be driven until repaired.
The pattern matters more than any single test. Several major or dangerous fails in recent years suggest a car pushed to the edge of roadworthiness more than once, and the same advisory year after year suggests a repair that keeps being patched up instead of done properly.
Mileage, and how to spot a clocked car
The odometer is recorded at every test, which makes the MOT history the most reliable free mileage record in the UK. Honest mileage rises steadily. A reading that is lower than the one before it is a red flag, and MOTindex shows that drop in red. One drop is not proof of clocking - a replacement instrument cluster can also cause it - but it is exactly the kind of thing to question before you hand over money for a car.
What an MOT check cannot tell you
An MOT is a roadworthiness record, not a full vehicle history. It does not contain:
- Road tax status or rate.
- Whether the vehicle is insured.
- Outstanding finance, write-off or stolen markers, or the number of previous keepers.
For tax, use the DVLA vehicle enquiry service; for insurance, the Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB). Both are linked from every report.