Free Car Tax Check by Registration
Quick answer
Enter a UK registration to see whether the vehicle is taxed, untaxed or declared SORN, the date its tax is due and an estimate of what it costs to tax. The same free check shows its MOT status, full MOT history and recorded mileage, so you can check tax and MOT in one go. No account is needed.
Check the actual vehicle
Check a vehicle's tax
Enter the registration to see its tax status, tax due date and estimated tax cost, alongside the MOT and mileage record. Free, instant and no account needed.
Free: vehicle identity, tax/SORN, MOT history, mileage and buyer red flags.
Full history: adds outstanding finance, stolen, insurance write-off and other paid provenance checks.
The full report is optional. Review the free official record first if you are unsure. Payment is completed securely on the next screen.
MotorMkt reads the vehicle's current DVLA record and its DVSA MOT history and shows them together. Tax status and due date are shown exactly as DVLA supplies them.
- Taxed, untaxed or SORN status
- Tax due date, where DVLA supplies one
- Tax band and an estimated 12-month, 6-month and monthly tax cost
- MOT status and expiry date — a taxed car still needs a valid MOT
- Every MOT test on record, with the mileage recorded at each one
- Make, model, colour, fuel type and first-registration date to compare with the advert
The check returns one of three statuses. They mean different things for a keeper and for someone about to buy.
| Status | What it means | What it means for a buyer |
|---|---|---|
| Taxed | Vehicle tax is in force until the due date shown. | The tax belongs to the current keeper and will not pass to you. You still need to tax it yourself. |
| SORN | The keeper has declared the vehicle off the public road. | It cannot be used on the road until it is taxed. Ask why it was taken off the road. |
| Untaxed | The tax has expired and the vehicle has not been declared SORN. | The keeper may face a penalty. Ask the seller to explain, and do not assume it can be driven. |
No. Vehicle tax is not passed on when a vehicle is sold or given to someone else, including a family member. The seller's tax is cancelled and they are refunded automatically for any full months left.
As the buyer, you need to tax the vehicle before driving it away. You can do it online straight away using the green new keeper slip from the V5C logbook, and you will need insurance in place too. A car showing as taxed in the check today will not still be taxed for you once the sale goes through.
Check the actual vehicle
Check a vehicle's tax
Enter the registration to see its tax status, tax due date and estimated tax cost, alongside the MOT and mileage record. Free, instant and no account needed.
Free: vehicle identity, tax/SORN, MOT history, mileage and buyer red flags.
Full history: adds outstanding finance, stolen, insurance write-off and other paid provenance checks.
The full report is optional. Review the free official record first if you are unsure. Payment is completed securely on the next screen.
Not in full. The DVLA record gives the current tax status and due date, not a timeline of past tax payments or SORN declarations, and no free check can honestly show one.
The MOT history is usually the best evidence of a car's past. A long gap between MOT tests, little mileage added over several years or a failed test just before a gap all suggest the car spent time off the road or untaxed. If the V5C was issued recently, ask why.
The rate depends mainly on when the car was first registered. The free check works out the band for you and estimates the cost; always confirm the exact amount when you tax the vehicle.
- Registered before 1 March 2001: based on engine size
- Registered 1 March 2001 to 31 March 2017: based on CO2 emissions band
- Registered from 1 April 2017: a first-year rate based on CO2, then a flat standard rate
- From 1 April 2017, cars with a list price over £40,000 (£50,000 for electric cars) pay an extra expensive car supplement for five years, starting from the second time they are taxed
- Electric cars have had to pay vehicle tax since 1 April 2025
Paying for 12 months at once is the cheapest option. Paying by Direct Debit monthly or every six months adds a 5% surcharge, and a single six-month payment costs more than half the yearly rate. The monthly estimate in the free check includes the Direct Debit surcharge.
DVLA enforces vehicle tax from its records, so an untaxed car can be penalised even if nobody sees it on the road.
- A keeper who neither taxes nor declares SORN can receive an £80 late licensing penalty, reduced to £40 if paid within 33 days
- An untaxed vehicle used or kept on a public road can be clamped or impounded, with release and daily storage fees on top
- The keeper can be offered an out-of-court settlement of £30 plus one and a half times the tax owed
- If it goes to court, the fine can be £1,000 or five times the tax due, whichever is greater
Some vehicles have a £0 rate or are exempt, but the keeper must still tax them. That includes historic vehicles made before 1 January 1986 and vehicles used by disabled people who qualify for the exemption. A £0 rate is not the same as being taxed — the check will still show untaxed if the keeper has not done it.
A car can be fully taxed and MOT'd and still have outstanding finance, an insurance write-off record or a stolen marker. None of those appear in the free DVLA or DVSA data. The optional Full History Check adds finance, write-off, stolen and plate-change checks for the same registration before you pay for the car.
- Can I check whether a car is taxed for free?
- Yes. Enter its UK registration and MotorMkt returns the current DVLA tax status — taxed, untaxed or SORN — without requiring an account.
- How do I check when a car's tax is due?
- Run the free check. Where DVLA supplies a tax due date, it is shown next to the tax status.
- Can I see how much tax a car costs?
- Yes. The free check shows the tax band and an estimated 12-month, 6-month and monthly cost based on the vehicle's registration date, fuel type and emissions. Confirm the exact amount when you tax it.
- Can I check tax and MOT at the same time?
- Yes. The same free check shows the tax status and due date alongside the MOT status, expiry date and full MOT history.
- Does vehicle tax transfer when I buy a car?
- No. Tax is not passed on to a new keeper. You must tax the vehicle before driving it, which you can do online with the new keeper slip from the V5C.
- Can I check a car's tax history?
- The DVLA record shows only the current tax status and due date, not past payments. Gaps in the MOT history are the best indication that a car spent time off the road.
- Is untaxed the same as SORN?
- No. SORN is a formal declaration that the vehicle is kept off the road. An untaxed vehicle has not been declared SORN and its keeper can face a penalty.
- What happens if you drive an untaxed car?
- The vehicle can be clamped or impounded, and the keeper can face an out-of-court settlement or a court fine of up to £1,000 or five times the tax owed, whichever is greater.
- Do electric cars need to be taxed?
- Yes. Electric cars have had to pay vehicle tax since 1 April 2025.
- Do I need to tax a car that is exempt?
- Yes. Exempt vehicles, such as historic vehicles made before 1 January 1986, must still be taxed even though there is nothing to pay.
Check the actual vehicle
Check a vehicle's tax
Enter the registration to see its tax status, tax due date and estimated tax cost, alongside the MOT and mileage record. Free, instant and no account needed.
Free: vehicle identity, tax/SORN, MOT history, mileage and buyer red flags.
Full history: adds outstanding finance, stolen, insurance write-off and other paid provenance checks.
The full report is optional. Review the free official record first if you are unsure. Payment is completed securely on the next screen.