How to check a car's MOT and service history
By James Snow
Owner and mechanic, SV Autos
Published 25 July 2026
Before you hand over any money for a used car, its paperwork tells you a story the seller might not. The full MOT history is free to check with nothing but the number plate, and it can flag a clocked mileage, a fault that was never fixed, or a car that scrapes through every year. Here's how to read the MOT history and the service history properly, and what the warning signs look like.
Reading the history tells you what a car has been through. Our pillar guide covers what the test itself looks at and what fails cars most often. What's checked in an MOT.
Of cars advised on their brakes one year, 9.25% failed on brakes the next, against 3.91% of cars that were not advised.
Check the MOT history free on GOV.UK
The government keeps a full record of every MOT a car has had, and anyone can look at it for free. You don't need to own the car or be the seller, just the registration off the number plate.
Go to the GOV.UK "check MOT history" service, type in the reg, and it lists every test the car has been through: the dates, whether it passed or failed, any advisories the tester noted, and the mileage recorded on the day. That mileage record is the part that catches a lot of dodgy cars out.
- Search GOV.UK for "check MOT history"
- Enter the vehicle registration
- Read through every year: pass or fail, advisories, and the recorded mileage
Read the mileage: it should only climb
Every MOT records the odometer reading on the day of the test, so you get a year-by-year trail of the car's mileage. On an honest car that number rises steadily, roughly the same amount each year.
What you're looking for is anything that breaks that pattern. If the mileage drops from one year to the next, or sits still while the earlier years show plenty of driving, treat it as a serious red flag. It can mean the odometer has been wound back, which is called clocking, and it makes everything else the seller tells you worth doubting.
Watch for the same advisory year after year
Advisories are the things a tester spots that aren't bad enough to fail the car yet, but are on their way. A worn tyre, a slight play in a joint, corrosion starting on the brake pipes. One or two is normal wear.
The thing to spot is the same advisory turning up year after year. If "brake disc worn" or "oil leak" has been noted three MOTs running, it usually means a problem the last owner knew about and never bothered to fix. A long list of fails over the years tells you the same thing: a car that's been run on the cheap.
Now check the service history
The MOT history tells you the car was road-legal each year. It doesn't tell you the car was looked after. That's what the service history is for: the record of oil changes, filters, cambelts and the rest being done on schedule.
It can take a few forms and any of them is fine. A stamped service book is the traditional one. Plenty of main dealers and chains now keep a digital record instead, which you can often have them confirm. A folder of dated garage receipts and invoices does the same job. What you want to see is regular work at sensible mileage intervals, not one stamp when the car was new and nothing since.
- Stamped service book with dates and mileages
- Digital service record held by a dealer or chain
- A folder of dated invoices and receipts for work done
Why a gap in the history matters
A missing chunk of service history isn't proof the car is bad, but it is money you can't see. If there's no record of a cambelt change and the car is old enough to be due one, you may be buying that job on top of the car. Belt intervals vary a lot by make, model and engine, so check the handbook for that specific car rather than assuming.
A patchy history also weakens your position. A well-documented car holds its value and gives you something to haggle with. A car with gaps should cost less to reflect the unknowns, so use what you find (or don't find) to negotiate the price.
Key Takeaways
- Look up the full MOT history free on GOV.UK, using the registration off the number plate.
- Read the recorded mileage year by year, and treat anything that drops or stalls as a serious warning.
- Spot the same advisory repeating across several tests, which usually means a problem the last owner knew about.
- Ask for the service record too, because the MOT history only proves the car was legal, not that it was looked after.
- Use a gap in the history to negotiate, since it is money you cannot see.