Archive Website of the UK government

What’s an MOT?

Most vehicles that are older than three years must by law go through yearly roadworthiness checks. The MOT test makes sure that a vehicle meets the government’s road safety and environmental standards.

• MOT tests – more information

Documents you need for your check

To check a vehicle’s MOT status or history online you will need the vehicle registration mark. You also need the MOT test number from one of the following documents:

• VT20 test certificate
• VT30 refusal certificate

If you don’t have your latest VT20 or VT30 certificate, you can use the document reference number from the V5C registration certificate.

You cannot do an online check without this information.

Check the current MOT status of a vehicle

You can check the current MOT status of any vehicle online. This might be one that you own already or a second hand vehicle that you are thinking of buying.

The online MOT status check gives you information about:

• the date of the last test
• mileage on the vehicle at the time of the test
• the expiry date of the test

You can compare the online information against the paper certificate to make sure it’s genuine.

Check the MOT history of a vehicle

To find out details of previous MOT tests on a vehicle you can do an online MOT history check.

You can only look up information online going back to 2005 when the MOT Scheme was computerised.

The MOT history check will give you the following information:

• full test details
• mileage at the time of each test

More useful links

• Advice on keeping your vehicle

• Advice on buying and selling a vehicle