Car Service History Check
Quick answer
Enter a UK registration to check a vehicle's manufacturer service history: the date, recorded mileage and work carried out at each franchised-dealer service, pulled from manufacturer systems and cross-checked against the MOT mileage record. It costs £4.99 when added to a full history check or £9.99 on its own — and you are only charged if records are actually found.
Check the actual vehicle
Check a car's service history
Enter the registration. The free check shows its MOT and mileage record; the service history check adds manufacturer dealer records, and only charges if records are found.
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.
Sellers lose service books, and a stamped book can be forged. Manufacturer systems can't be: when a franchised dealer services a car, the visit is recorded centrally with the date, the odometer reading and the work performed. MotorMkt reads those records directly.
- Every recorded franchised-dealer service, newest first
- Date and recorded mileage for each visit
- Work carried out, where the manufacturer records it (oil, brakes, inspections, filters)
- An independent cross-check of service mileages against the MOT mileage timeline
The phrases used in adverts are not standardised, and sellers use them loosely. Knowing what each one claims makes it much easier to ask the right question.
| Term | What it claims | What to ask for |
|---|---|---|
| FSH — full service history | Every scheduled service has been done, somewhere. | The book, the invoices, or the manufacturer record. "Full" is the seller's word until you see it. |
| FDSH — full dealer service history | Every service was done by a franchised dealer for that brand. | This is the claim a manufacturer record can actually confirm. |
| Part service history | Some services are documented, others are not. | Which ones are missing, and what happened in the gaps. |
| Service book stamped | A book carries stamps. | Stamps are ink. Match them to invoices and to the mileages in the MOT record. |
There is no free public register of service records, but you are not without evidence. Start with what is free, and only pay when the car is a serious contender.
- The free MOT mileage timeline shows whether the car's use matches the seller's story
- Ask the seller to photograph the service book and the invoices before you travel
- A franchised dealer will usually confirm a car's service record to its registered keeper — ask the seller to request it
- Recall and warranty work often sits in the same manufacturer systems
- Check the cambelt or chain interval for the model, and ask for the invoice if it is due
Check the actual vehicle
Check a car's service history
Enter the registration. The free check shows its MOT and mileage record; the service history check adds manufacturer dealer records, and only charges if records are found.
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.
Roughly one vehicle in three returns nothing — coverage starts at the 2012 model year and only franchised-network servicing appears. Charging for a search that found nothing would be indefensible, so we don't: your card is authorised at checkout and the authorisation is cancelled if no records exist. You only pay when there is something to show.
A full manufacturer history is strong evidence of a cared-for car, and service mileages that disagree with the MOT record are a classic clocking flag. But an empty result doesn't condemn a car: servicing at independent garages doesn't reach manufacturer systems, and coverage varies by brand.
- Covers vehicles from the 2012 model year onward
- Franchised-dealer network servicing only — independent garage work won't appear
- Coverage varies by manufacturer
- Best read alongside the MOT history and, for private sales, a full history check
Service history is one of the few things that reliably moves a used-car price, because it changes what the next buyer will pay too. A car with no documented history is not necessarily a bad car, but you are buying the risk that something expensive was skipped — and you will be explaining the same gap when you sell it.
Price it honestly: the cost of bringing the car back onto a known schedule, plus whatever the unknown is worth to you. On a car with a cambelt due and nothing to prove the last one, that is not a small number.
- Can I check a car's service history online for free?
- Manufacturer service records aren't published in any free public register. MotorMkt's check costs £4.99 with a full history check or £9.99 on its own, and you're only charged if records are found. The MOT mileage history — which is free — is the best no-cost proxy.
- How do I check the service history of a car by registration?
- Enter the registration here. The check looks up manufacturer records for that vehicle and returns the date, mileage and work done at each franchised-dealer service, alongside its MOT mileage record.
- What does FSH mean in a car advert?
- Full service history — a claim that every scheduled service has been carried out. FDSH means the same but at franchised dealers. Both are the seller's description until you see the book, the invoices or the manufacturer record.
- What if the car was serviced at an independent garage?
- Independent-garage work doesn't reach manufacturer systems, so it won't appear. An empty result means no franchised-dealer records were found — not that the car was never serviced. Ask the seller for invoices in that case.
- How far back do the records go?
- Coverage starts at the 2012 model year and varies by manufacturer. Where records exist they typically run from the first service to the most recent franchised-dealer visit.
- Will I be charged if no records are found?
- No. Your card is authorised at checkout and the authorisation is cancelled automatically if the search finds nothing — you only pay when records exist.
- Does missing service history matter?
- It affects both risk and resale value. It does not prove neglect, but you are buying the possibility that scheduled work was skipped, and the next buyer will ask you the same question.
- Can a service history be faked?
- A stamped book can be. A manufacturer record of a dealer visit cannot be created after the fact, which is why it is worth more than the book in the glovebox.
Check the actual vehicle
Check a car's service history
Enter the registration. The free check shows its MOT and mileage record; the service history check adds manufacturer dealer records, and only charges if records are found.
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.