Free Car Mileage Check by Registration
Quick answer
Enter a registration to see the mileage recorded at every MOT since 2005, in date order, with the average miles a year and any drop or odometer-unit switch flagged. A drop is a reason to ask questions, not proof of clocking — the record itself can contain errors. No account is needed.
Check the actual vehicle
Check a car's mileage history
Enter the registration to see every mileage reading recorded at MOT, the yearly average, and anything inconsistent. 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 DVSA MOT record and lays the readings out in order, so the pattern is visible rather than buried in a list of tests.
- The mileage recorded at every MOT test held by DVSA
- Average miles a year, to compare with the advert's claim
- Any reading lower than the one before it, flagged
- Readings that switch between miles and kilometres
- Gaps where no test was recorded for a year or more
- MOT status, tax status and the vehicle's identity details alongside
Most of what looks alarming has an innocent explanation, and most clocking is obvious once the readings are in order. These are the patterns worth pausing on.
| What you see | What it often means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| A reading lower than the one before | A keying error at the test station, a replaced instrument cluster, or clocking. | Ask the seller directly and look for an invoice for cluster work. |
| Readings switch between miles and kilometres | An import, or a tester recording the other unit. 100,000km is 62,000 miles, so this looks like a huge drop. | Convert before drawing conclusions, and check the import paperwork. |
| A year with almost no miles added | Storage, illness, a second car, or lockdown-era use. Common and usually genuine. | Check for a SORN period and ask why it was off the road. |
| A sudden jump well above the car's average | A change of owner or job, or a period of commuting. | Nothing to fear — but service intervals should keep pace. |
| The advert shows fewer miles than the last MOT | The advert is wrong, or the odometer has been altered since the test. | Treat as serious. Get it in writing before you travel to view it. |
No. MOT readings are typed in by a person at the test station, so a transposed digit or a missing zero is not unusual. A replaced instrument cluster legitimately restarts the reading, and a car recorded in kilometres one year and miles the next will appear to have lost most of its mileage.
What turns a flag into a finding is corroboration: a service book and invoices that match the MOT timeline, wear that suits the mileage — pedal rubbers, steering wheel, driver's seat bolster, gear knob — and a seller whose explanation does not change when you ask twice.
Check the actual vehicle
Check a car's mileage history
Enter the registration to see every mileage reading recorded at MOT, the yearly average, and anything inconsistent. 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.
Adjusting an odometer is not in itself a criminal offence in the UK, which is why "mileage correction" firms can advertise openly. Selling a vehicle without disclosing that the reading has been altered is a different matter: it can be an offence under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 and the Fraud Act 2006.
The Competition and Markets Authority has estimated the cost of illegal clocking to buyers at up to £580 million a year. If you believe a trader has sold a clocked car, report it to Trading Standards through the Citizens Advice consumer service.
The MOT record is the best free mileage evidence there is, but it has edges. DVSA publishes car, motorcycle and van results from 2005 only, so earlier readings are not there. A car under three years old has no MOT and therefore no reading at all. Nothing is recorded between tests, so a year's driving is invisible until the next one.
That matters most on the cars where clocking pays best: newer, higher-value cars with few tests behind them. For those, the optional Full History Check adds mileage readings collected outside the MOT system and flags an anomaly where they disagree with the MOT timeline.
Mileage is one of several things a seller can misrepresent. A car with a clean mileage record can still carry outstanding finance, an insurance write-off marker or a stolen record — none of which appear in DVLA or DVSA data. The Full History Check covers those for the same registration.
- Is the mileage check free?
- Yes. The MOT mileage timeline, the yearly average and MotorMkt's warning flags are all in the free check, with no account needed.
- How do I check a car's mileage history by registration?
- Enter the registration in the free check. It returns the mileage recorded at each MOT test in date order, with drops and unit switches flagged.
- How far back does mileage history go?
- DVSA publishes car, motorcycle and van test results from 2005, and Northern Ireland results from 2017. There are no published readings before that.
- Does a mileage drop prove clocking?
- No. It is a red flag worth investigating. Data-entry errors at the test station, a replaced instrument cluster and readings recorded in kilometres can all produce a drop.
- Is clocking illegal in the UK?
- Adjusting an odometer is not itself an offence, but selling a vehicle without disclosing the adjustment can be one under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 and the Fraud Act 2006.
- What is an average yearly mileage?
- Around 7,000 to 10,000 miles a year is typical for a UK car, but the useful comparison is against the car's own history and the seller's description, not an average.
- Can I check the mileage of a car with no MOT history?
- Not from MOT data. A car under three years old has no test on record, so the reading has to come from the service book, the sales invoice or the paid history check.
- Can MotorMkt see service-history mileage?
- Not in the free check, which uses official DVLA and DVSA data. A separate Service History Check looks for garage service records where they are available.
- What should I do if I think a car has been clocked?
- Do not buy it on the strength of an explanation alone. Ask for documents, and report a trader to Trading Standards through the Citizens Advice consumer service.
Check the actual vehicle
Check a car's mileage history
Enter the registration to see every mileage reading recorded at MOT, the yearly average, and anything inconsistent. 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.