Check an imported car’s UK MOT history

• Every MOT test, and whether it passed or failed.
• Every failure and advisory item the tester noted.
• The mileage at each test, on a chart, with the average a year.
• The UK registration it had, and whether its MOT is still valid.

1. Enter the car’s Irish registration on the search.
2. Under UK MOT history, enter its VIN: the 17-character vehicle identification number. It’s on the logbook, and at the base of the windscreen on the driver’s side.
3. The history loads, and your browser remembers the VIN for the next time you open that car.

For a car still on UK or Northern Irish plates, it’s quicker: enter the plate and the history loads by itself.

Looking at an ad? Under the history, enter the mileage the ad gives. If it’s lower than a mileage the car’s MOT already recorded, either the ad has a typo or the odometer has been wound back.

A gap of years between tests, or a much lower mileage a year than before, is worth asking the seller about too.

The MOT history doesn’t show finance owed, whether the car was written off, or how many owners it has had. For those, use a full paid history check before you buy.