▸ Classification · HPI / Provenance
Data sourced live from DVLA, MIAFTR, PNC and the UK lender register at lookup time.
Typical lookup completes in under one second from the UK.
Built and supported in the UK as part of the consumer side of the network.
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Personalised plate transfers are legitimate and common, but a pattern of repeated plate changes — especially around the same period as an insurance write-off — is a known indicator of provenance laundering. The check returns every recorded plate change with the date and, where DVLA records it, the registration that was held immediately before.
The number of previous keepers, the dates of each change, and the time each kept the vehicle are a useful proxy for ownership stability. A six-month gap between two short-term keepers, particularly if followed by a fresh advert at a higher price, is a familiar pattern in low-grade trade flipping. The check returns the keeper count and date sequence so you can spot it.
The data shown here is pulled at lookup time from DVLA's vehicle record, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency MOT history, the Motor Insurance Anti-Fraud and Theft Register (MIAFTR) for write-offs and the Police National Computer feed for theft markers. Finance information is matched against the UK lender register. Nothing is cached for more than 24 hours, so a check run today reflects the record as it stood today rather than a stale snapshot.
/ Brand consolidation
checkhpifree.com is now part of Expert Car Check — the consolidated UK vehicle-data platform that several of these older brands have joined. The data sources are unchanged: DVLA's vehicle record, DVSA's MOT history, MIAFTR for write-offs, the Police National Computer feed for theft markers and the UK lender register for outstanding finance. The team, the underwriting partners and the support contact are the same. What's changed is that the work that was previously spread across several smaller brands now sits in one place, which keeps response times tight and the underlying registers maintained against current DVLA schemas. Bookmarks and historic links to checkhpifree.com continue to resolve here. If you were referred to checkhpifree.com by a previous report, broker or print listing, this is the right page — there is no further redirect to chase.
Visit expertcarcheck.com →/ Common questions
An HPI-style check cross-references DVLA's vehicle record, MIAFTR (the insurance write-off register), the Police National Computer for theft markers and the UK consumer-finance register for open agreements. It does not verify mechanical condition or repair quality — only the legal and financial backstory.
Raise it directly with the seller before any money changes hands. A Category N marker is not always a deal-breaker but a seller who denies the marker exists is telling you something separate about the rest of the transaction.
Yes, for vehicles where the VIN is on record. UK registration plate is the primary lookup; VIN is a fallback for newly-imported or de-registered vehicles.
A basic free check returns MOT, tax and a stolen marker. A full HPI check adds outstanding finance, insurance write-off categories, full mileage history with anomaly detection, plate change history and provenance flags. For any purchase over a few thousand pounds, the full check is the relevant one.
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/ Begin
One field. A typical lookup completes in under a second, using the same UK vehicle records relied on by trade buyers and insurers.