Free Car Check: Confirm Vehicle History Instantly
Verify Vehicle Registration Details
Lookup a car reg
Check any UK registration number. CarVeto uses DVLA data to instantly and freely confirm a vehicle’s make, model, fuel type, and registration history.
Verify vehicle details
You can access a car’s MOT status, tax class, engine size, fuel type, and year, all pulled from the DVLA and verified instantly.
Validate a car before buying
Verify the car’s VIN and number plate history, then check for finance debt, write-off class, theft alerts, mileage issues, and past owners. Core checks before buying any used vehicle.
Check any UK car with CarVeto
See MOT expiry, tax class, mileage history, and registration data, sourced from DVLA and verified databases. Enter a reg to confirm legal status.
Ready to buy?
Upgrade to reveal theft, finance, write-offs, and ownership history.
Free
What's Included
- Basic information
- Outstanding finance
- Stolen
- Write-off
- CarVeto car buyers guide
- £30,000 data guaruntee
Check your vehicle now for FREE
Platinum
What's Included
- Outstanding finance
- Stolen
- Write-off
- Import/export
- Scrapped/unscrapped
- Plate changes
- Colour changes
- Mileage problems
- BVRLA & RMI search
- Registered near
- £30,000 data guarantee
- CarVeto car buyers guide
Check your vehicle now for £14.95
Gold
What's Included
- Stolen
- Write-off
- Mileage problems
- Export
- Registered near
- Outstanding finance
- £30,000 data guarantee
- CarVeto car buyers guide
Check your vehicle now for £9.95
What is a Car Check?
A car check is an online report that confirms a vehicle’s identity and legal status using its UK registration number.
It retrieves government-sourced data to highlight if the car is roadworthy, correctly registered, and compliant with UK motoring laws.
Most buyers run a car check before committing to a purchase.
It offers early visibility into a vehicle’s history, helping you verify that the car you’re considering is legitimate, taxed, and tested.
A car check provides a crucial first step in reducing risk when buying a used vehicle.
How a Free Car Check Works?
CarVeto’s free vehicle check confirms a car’s identity, specs, and road-legal status before you buy.
It matches the registration, make, model, variant, engine size, fuel type, Euro emissions class, and colour to DVLA records.
It also verifies MOT status and full MOT history, tax class, export status, and insurance match via the MIB database.
When these details are verified, we suggest upgrading to a full CarVeto vehicle history check to eliminate hidden history markers before purchase.
What’s Included in a Free Vehicle Check?
CarVeto’s free vehicle check delivers key DVLA-verified data to confirm the car’s legal status and core specifications.
The free report includes:
🏷️ Vehicle registration and number plate history
Shows current and previous plates.
🚗 Make, model, body type, and fuel type
Matches DVLA and manufacturer records.
🛠️ Engine size and Euro emissions class
Defines engine specs and environmental classification.
📄 MOT status and complete MOT history
Includes expiry, passes, advisories, and fails.
💷 Tax class, status, and cost
Verifies if the vehicle is taxed, exempt, or SORN.
🛡️ Insurance match from the MIB
Confirms current coverage via the national insurance register.
🌍 Export flag and scrappage status
Detects if the car is marked for export or decommission.
How a Premium Vehicle Check Works?
A CarVeto Premium Check uncovers legal, financial, and identity risks that don’t appear in a basic car lookup.
It flags outstanding finance, logbook loans, theft status, salvage classification, write-off damage, and issues that block lawful resale or registration.
The report also detects cloned plates, mileage rollback, private plate transfers, VIN and engine number mismatches, and document discrepancies.
All results are sourced from trusted databases, including Experian, the Police National Computer, MIAFTR, MIB, BVRLA and RMI mileage records.
Clear alerts display findings instantly, helping you avoid costly, irreversible problems before buying.
What’s Included in a Premium Vehicle Check?
CarVeto’s Premium Check reveals critical risks that don’t appear in free reports. It cross-references police, insurance, finance, mileage, and DVLA records to surface deeper issues that affect ownership, resale value, and legal road use.
Legal & Compliance
🔐 Stolen vehicle check (Police National Computer & Motor Insurance Database)
It detects if the car is recorded as stolen and is at risk of recovery action.
💥 Insurance write-off and salvage classification (MIAFTR)
Confirms write-off category: Cat A, B, S, or N.
🧾 Scrappage status and VIC inspection flag
It shows if the car was scrapped or rebuilt and if it needs identity checks.
🔄 Q plate and re-registration check
Identifies vehicles rebuilt from parts or reclassified after damage.
Financial Risk Protection
💷 Outstanding finance verification (Experian Asset Register)
Confirms active loans, leases, or conditional ownership.
📄 Logbook loan detection
Flags loans secured against the car’s registration.
⚠️ Title clearance failure
Indicates when a car may not be legally transferred to a new buyer.
Ownership & Identity Verification
👤 Keeper history timeline
Lists all registered keepers and date changes.
🔁 Private plate transfer history
Tracks number plate swaps that may obscure past use.
🧬 VIN and engine number validation
Confirms alignment with DVLA records and the V5C document.
Mileage & Lifecycle Analysis
📊 Mileage anomaly detection (BVRLA & RMI)
Identifies rollback or mismatch between MOT, service, and lease logs.
🛠️ Service vs MOT mileage consistency check
Verifies mileage alignment across independent data sources.
Free & Premium Car Check Comparison
Feature Category | Free Car Check | Premium Car Check |
|---|---|---|
DVLA Data Access | ✅ MOT, tax, registration, engine | ✅ Included in free data |
Vehicle Identity Match | 🔍 Reg, model, fuel, emissions | 🔍 Adds VIN & Engine Number |
Mileage History | 📄 MOT mileage only | 📊 MOT, lease, and service mileage cross-checks |
Theft & Write-Off Status | ❌ Not included | 🚨 Full theft report + write-off class (Cat A/B/S/N) |
Finance & Logbook Loans | ❌ Not included | 💳 Outstanding finance + loan detection |
Keeper & Plate History | ❌ Not included | 👤 Full keeper timeline + plate transfers |
Scrappage & Export Flags | ⚠️ Basic DVLA export status | 🧾 Adds VIC, scrappage, and Q-plate insight |
Validate a Car Before Buying
Before purchasing any used vehicle, you need to verify that its identity, condition, and legal status are genuine.
A car might look fine, but serious risks often lie in the paperwork and history.
CarVeto cross-checks DVLA, MOT, finance, and police records to confirm that the vehicle’s documentation, registration, and mechanical history are aligned.
This helps you avoid costly mistakes like buying a stolen car, a write-off, or one with hidden finance.
What to Check Before You Buy a Used Car?
Confirm these critical risk points before you commit to any vehicle purchase:
💳 Outstanding finance
Verifies if the car is under loan or lease, legal ownership may not transfer.
🚨 Theft status
Checks if the car is recorded as stolen and liable for recovery.
💥 Write-off or salvage history
Detects if the car has been declared a total loss (Cat A, B, S, or N).
📊 Mileage anomalies
Flags rollback, fraud, or inconsistencies across MOT, lease, and service records.
🧬 VIN and engine number verification
Confirms whether the vehicle’s physical IDs match DVLA and V5C logbook data.
📄 MOT and tax status
Ensures the car is road-legal and has a valid MOT certificate and current tax.
👤 Keeper history
Reviews the chain of ownership for irregular patterns or frequent changes.
🔁 Number plate changes
Uncovers attempts to hide a problematic past through registration swaps.
Compare CarVeto’s Reg Check to a Standard DVLA Lookup
A DVLA lookup provides basic data: MOT expiry, tax status, vehicle age, engine size, and registration details. It confirms a car’s legal identity, but doesn’t assess risk.
CarVeto goes far beyond that. It connects DVLA records with police, finance, insurance, and mileage databases to detect hidden threats, such as theft status, write-off classification, mileage rollback, and outstanding finance.
Unlike the DVLA, CarVeto doesn’t just report the data, it interprets it.
Every check turns raw information into a complete vehicle risk profile, showing you what the car’s history means before you buy.
Frequently Asked Questions
To check MOT and tax status before driving, run a free CarVeto report.
It directly confirms the vehicle's tax class, expiry, SORN status, and MOT history from DVLA records.
A CarVeto vehicle check can confirm changes in ownership, registration dates, and regional transfers.
Although it won’t show personal details, this data helps detect ownership inconsistencies and seller legitimacy.
This may be due to a mistyped plate, a recent registration, or a car that’s been scrapped, imported, or deregistered. Double-check the plate format or contact CarVeto support for help.
Yes, tax can be paid online using the 11-digit code from the V5C or the 12-digit code from the V5C/2 (new keeper slip). Insurance can be arranged in advance with a future start date or temporary cover.
A car spec check lists DVLA-registered details:
Make, model, engine size, fuel type, year, emissions class, and tax band
It also shows plate history, import/export flags, and Euro emissions category (for ULEZ/CAZ zones).
No, CarVeto requires a UK registration number to run a full check. VIN-only searches aren't supported unless tied to a reg plate. VIN checks are more common in import and salvage scenarios.
A car checker is an online tool that lets you verify a UK vehicle’s legal status and risk history using its number plate. CarVeto’s car checker is one of the most complete, real-time systems available in the UK.
