UK registration lookup

Free number plate check

Look up a UK number plate for vehicle details, MOT, tax, mileage and VehicleScore.

5,000,000+ vehicle checks generated in the last 12 months

  • Plate lookup
  • MOT & tax
  • Mileage
  • VehicleScore
  • Any UK plate
  • Free dashboard
  • No account needed
  • The plateMatches the vehicle
  • MOT & taxCurrent status
  • MileageFrom MOT records
  • VehicleScoreOut of 999

What a number plate check is

A number plate checker uses the plate on the car. You type that plate, we match the vehicle, and you get a free VehicleScore dashboard. In UK terminology this is a number plate, not a licence plate. The characters are the registration.

If you want vehicle information from the registration, rather than a page about the plate, use the car registration check. It is the same free dashboard. This page stays with number plate information: what the lookup can show, and what it cannot.

It is not a police terminal and it is not the DVLA website.

What you can see from a UK registration

Where the records exist, the free dashboard can include:

Not every field appears on every car. If we do not hold a specification or a test result, the dashboard leaves it blank rather than guessing.

Number plate check vs DVLA records

The DVLA holds the official keeper, tax and MOT records. VehicleScore uses licensed vehicle data to show a practical buyer-facing summary. For a walkthrough of official data points, see the DVLA vehicle check.

A plate does not reveal the keeper’s name or address. We do not show that, and we do not claim to.

What a number plate cannot tell you

The free check does not include:

  • Outstanding finance
  • Stolen markers
  • Insurance write-off category
  • Salvage auction history
  • Previous keeper names

Those records sit in the paid vehicle history check after you have opened the free dashboard.

How to check a car from its registration

  1. Type the plate into the box above. Spaces do not matter.
  2. Open the free VehicleScore to confirm make, model and MOT.
  3. Compare the dashboard mileage with the odometer on the car.
  4. If you are buying, continue to Hidden History for finance, stolen, write-off and salvage.

Related lookups

Vehicle details from a registration, including how the age identifier on a current-format plate is read, are on the car registration check.

For engine, size and emissions figures across a model range, use the car spec check. Power by model is on the BHP check.

Enter a UK registration to open the free VehicleScore. Hidden History is optional from the dashboard.

Hear from people like you

Recent reviews from people who checked a car before they bought.

  • Simple, informative, easy to navigate and gives confidence in the decision making process.

    Keith

    Verified Customer

  • Brilliant, easy to use, will use VehicleScore for all my car purchases in the future.

    Peter

    Verified Customer

  • Very helpful and a necessary part of buying a car privately. Two cars showed up faults — one was a cat S, the other had finance outstanding. This third one is totally clear. Thank you for the service.

    Michael

    Verified Customer

Frequently Asked Questions

A number plate check looks up the vehicle from the plate fixed to it. In the UK that plate shows the registration. This page is the number plate lookup: make, model, MOT, tax or SORN, mileage and a VehicleScore, where we hold them.

For a general check of car info by registration, use the car registration check. It opens the same free dashboard.

The plate and the registration are the same characters. The pages are split by what you are looking for. This one is the number plate checker. The registration page is for vehicle information from the reg.

Where we hold the data, the free check can show make and model, year, fuel type, colour, engine size, power, MOT status and history, tax or SORN, recorded mileage, and VehicleScore.

It does not show outstanding finance, stolen markers, write-off category or salvage auction history. Those sit in the paid Hidden History Check.

No. VehicleScore is not the DVLA. We use official and licensed vehicle data to run our own check.

If you want the government MOT or tax pages, start from our DVLA vehicle check explainer and follow the official links there.

You can enter any current UK registration format. If we cannot recognise the vehicle, the lookup says so — we do not invent a result.