Full MOT History — Every Test, Every Fault
See every pass, failure, and advisory from the DVSA database going back to 2005. Know exactly what the car has needed — and what's been ignored.
Instant Results
Full MOT history retrieved in seconds
Every Advisory Listed
All failure points and advisories detailed
Official DVSA Data
Direct from the government MOT database
What MOT Records Reveal
MOT history is the most complete picture of a car's mechanical wellbeing available to any buyer.
MOT tests recorded in the DVSA database
Cars tested each year fail their first MOT attempt
Year DVSA digital records begin — full history from
What advisories actually mean
An advisory is recorded when the examiner identifies a component that is still within acceptable limits but showing signs of wear. The vehicle passes, but the item is formally noted as one to monitor and repair before it worsens. It is not a throwaway comment — it goes on the official DVSA record.
Typical advisory items include tyres with tread approaching the legal minimum, corrosion on brake hydraulic lines, worn suspension joints, weeping engine seals, and steering component play. Left unaddressed, each of these can deteriorate from an advisory into an outright failure — or worse, a safety hazard before the next test is even due.
A single advisory on a vehicle with an otherwise consistent history is rarely cause for alarm. What matters is the pattern across multiple years.
When the same advisory appears twice
When the same component is flagged as an advisory at consecutive tests, the most likely explanation is that it was never properly fixed. The owner may have relied on temporary remedies, carried out just enough work to scrape through, or simply done nothing and hoped for the best. A sequence of passes with the same recurring advisory can make a neglected vehicle look better than it is.
Common advisory items to watch for
Tyre tread depth
Below 3mm approaching the 1.6mm legal limit. Wet-weather braking distance increases sharply.
Brake pipe corrosion
Surface rust on hydraulic lines. Left unchecked, pipes can develop pinhole leaks and cause brake failure.
Suspension wear / play
Play in ball joints, wishbones or dampers. Affects handling and increases stopping distances.
Oil or fluid leaks
Minor seep from engine or gearbox seals. Can worsen rapidly under normal driving conditions.
Wiper blade condition
Smearing or streaking in wet conditions. Low individual risk but signals general maintenance neglect.
Brake disc wear
Discs below minimum thickness. Continued use reduces braking efficiency and risks disc cracking.
Understanding MOT Failure Results
Not all failures carry the same severity. The category of defect determines whether the car can be driven at all.
Dangerous Defect
The vehicle poses a direct and immediate risk to road safety or the environment. It must not be driven on public roads under any circumstances. A VT30 refusal certificate is issued.
Major Defect
A significant fault that affects the vehicle's roadworthiness. The car fails the MOT but may be driven directly to a garage or booked test centre for repair — not for general use.
Minor Defect
A fault with no significant effect on safety. The vehicle passes the MOT but the minor item is recorded. It should be repaired as soon as reasonably practicable.
Repeated failures on the same system — particularly brakes, suspension, or emissions — are a significant red flag. They indicate either long-term neglect, low-quality repairs that don't hold, or an underlying mechanical fault that the owner has not properly investigated.
MOT mileage as odometer fraud detection
Every MOT test captures the odometer reading at the time of inspection and sends it directly to DVSA. Once recorded, no one can go back and change it — not the seller, not a mechanic, not a forecourt. This makes the MOT mileage sequence the only part of a vehicle's history that cannot be falsified after the fact.
Someone who winds back a dashboard odometer cannot touch the DVSA database. The historical readings stay exactly as they were logged, and the gap between what the dashboard shows and what the records show becomes immediately visible.
By comparing mileage across each test in the sequence, our report lets you verify whether the figure shown on the dashboard is consistent with the car's official history. Any anomaly — a sudden drop, an implausibly small annual increase, or a long unexplained gap — should be investigated before purchase.
Mileage drops between tests
The single clearest sign of odometer clocking. Legitimate mileage only ever increases. Any figure lower than the previous test is near-certain evidence of tampering.
Implausibly low annual mileage
A car covering 500 miles per year on MOT records but advertised as an '80k mile motorway car' is inconsistent. Verify the pattern, not just the current reading.
Gaps with missing mileage data
A vehicle untested for two or more years may have gaps in its mileage record. These can legitimately reflect SORN periods, but unexplained gaps near a change of ownership warrant scrutiny.
Mileage inconsistent with claimed history
If the seller claims the vehicle was 'used only locally' but MOT records show 15,000+ miles per year, the description does not match the evidence.
Everything in Your MOT Report
A complete, unfiltered view of the vehicle's test history direct from DVSA.
Every Pass & Fail
Complete list of every MOT test with its pass or fail outcome, going back to the vehicle's first digitally recorded test.
All Failure Reasons
Detailed breakdown of every reason a vehicle failed an MOT test, categorised as dangerous, major, or minor.
Advisory Items
All advisory items noted at each test — faults that passed but are expected to deteriorate before the next annual test.
Mileage at Each Test
The official DVSA mileage recorded at every test, used to verify the vehicle's mileage timeline and detect clocking.
Current MOT Status
Whether the vehicle's current MOT certificate is valid, expired, or due imminently — with the exact expiry date.
Test Station History
Which testing station carried out each test, useful for identifying unusual geographic patterns or single-site dependency.
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Every test, every advisory, every failure — delivered in a clear, structured report.
Frequently asked questions
It shows every MOT test the vehicle has undergone since digital records began in 2005 — including the date, pass/fail result, mileage recorded at the test, and all advisories and failure reasons noted by the examiner. Tests before 2005 may not appear if they predate digital logging.
An advisory is recorded when the examiner spots a component that is worn or marginal but has not yet reached the point of failure. It does not fail the vehicle on that occasion, but it signals that the item is on borrowed time. Common examples include tyres nearing the tread limit, corroded brake pipes, suspension play, and minor oil seeps. Each advisory deserves attention before the next test.
When the same item is flagged year after year, it almost always means the problem was never genuinely fixed. The owner may have deferred the repair, had cosmetic work done to pass the test, or returned to the same station knowing a pass would be issued. Serial advisories on the same component are one of the clearest indicators of neglected maintenance in a vehicle's history.
Major defects are serious enough to fail the MOT but do not make the vehicle immediately dangerous to drive to a garage. Dangerous defects mean the vehicle poses a direct risk and must not be driven on public roads until repaired. A vehicle with a dangerous defect is issued a VT30 refusal certificate and is legally unroadworthy.
Each MOT test captures and submits the dashboard reading directly into DVSA's database. That figure is locked in and no seller can alter it retrospectively. Plotting the readings across a vehicle's whole test history lets you build a verified mileage timeline, and any inconsistency — a drop, a freeze, or an implausible jump — is a reliable indicator of odometer interference.
A mileage figure that is lower at a later test than at an earlier one is a near-certain indicator of odometer tampering (clocking). Legitimate mileage only goes up. Any downward movement in the sequence should be treated as a serious fraud warning and the vehicle should not be purchased without expert independent verification.
Gaps in MOT history can indicate a period off the road (SORN), an untaxed period, a vehicle kept abroad, or in some cases incomplete DVSA records for older tests. Our report highlights significant gaps with context so you can judge whether the explanation is plausible.
A vehicle can be sold without a valid MOT, but it cannot be driven on public roads without one — except to a pre-booked test appointment. Always verify the current MOT expiry date before buying and never accept a seller's verbal assurance as a substitute for checking.
Yes. We pull directly from the DVSA (Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency) database, which holds the complete official MOT record for every vehicle tested in Great Britain.