What a number plate check is
A number plate checker uses the plate on the car. You type that plate, we match the vehicle, and you get a free VehicleScore® dashboard. In UK terminology this is a number plate, not a licence plate. The characters are the registration.
If you want vehicle information from the registration, rather than a page about the plate, use the car registration check. It is the same free dashboard. This page stays with number plate information: what the lookup can show, and what it cannot.
It is not a police terminal and it is not the DVLA website.
What you can see from a UK registration
Where the records exist, the free dashboard can include:
- Make, model, year and colour
- Fuel type, engine size and power
- Current MOT status and history
- Tax or SORN status
- Recorded MOT mileage readings
- A VehicleScore® out of 999
Not every field appears on every car. If we do not hold a specification or a test result, the dashboard leaves it blank rather than guessing.
Number plate check vs DVLA records
The DVLA holds the official keeper, tax and MOT records. VehicleScore® uses licensed vehicle data to show a practical buyer-facing summary. For a walkthrough of official data points, see the DVLA vehicle check.
A plate does not reveal the keeper’s name or address. We do not show that, and we do not claim to.
What a number plate cannot tell you
The free check does not include:
- Outstanding finance
- Stolen markers
- Insurance write-off category
- Salvage auction history
- Previous keeper names
Those records sit in the paid vehicle history check after you have opened the free dashboard.
How to check a car from its registration
- Type the plate into the box above. Spaces do not matter.
- Open the free VehicleScore® to confirm make, model and MOT.
- Compare the dashboard mileage with the odometer on the car.
- If you are buying, continue to Hidden History for finance, stolen, write-off and salvage.
Related lookups
Vehicle details from a registration, including how the age identifier on a current-format plate is read, are on the car registration check.
For engine, size and emissions figures across a model range, use the car spec check. Power by model is on the BHP check.
Enter a UK registration to open the free VehicleScore®. Hidden History is optional from the dashboard.