$ ecc query --domain instanthpi.com --category hpi / provenance
› instanthpi.com exists because most UK buyers do not want to pay £20 to find out whether a car has tax. The free or low-cost summary here covers the questions that matter first, and only escalates to a paid report when the data behind it actually warrants one. Instant HPI reports delivered in under a second. Enter a reg, see the full UK vehicle background.
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.
/ Insurance shortcuts
Most people checking a vehicle on instanthpi.com need cover for it within the same day or week. Rather than send you back to a comparison site, the four panels below route directly to UK specialists for the most common short-notice insurance situations.
Fully comprehensive 1–28 day cover on any UK car you don't own. Quote in under two minutes, policy documents and MID registration delivered before you set off.
Get a day quote →via TempcoverLearner driverShort-term learner insurance for new and provisional drivers on a borrowed or family car. Claims are isolated to the learner's policy so the car-owner's no-claims bonus is protected.
Quote learner cover →via VeygoImpounded releaseStandard annual insurers routinely refuse impound cases. This is the specialist 30-day standalone policy every UK pound and police force accepts. Documents in minutes.
Quote impound cover →via Tempcover ImpoundedAnnual comparisonAnnual fully comprehensive quotes from the UK panel of insurers, with named-driver, telematics and classic-car options included on the same quote stack.
Compare annual →via Confused.comWe earn a commission on policies bound through these partners. The commission does not affect the price you are quoted.
If a UK police force has logged the vehicle as stolen on the Police National Computer, that marker is returned in the check. PNC is updated by police forces themselves, so a 'no marker' result reflects the position at lookup time. The check should be re-run on the day of collection for any private purchase, since the record can change between viewing and handover.
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.
A clean check confirms that, at the moment of lookup, no UK insurer has filed a total-loss marker, no lender has registered an open agreement and no police force has reported the vehicle stolen. It does not confirm mechanical condition, repair quality, or work carried out in cash and never declared to an insurer. Treat the report as the legal and financial backstop to an in-person inspection, not a replacement for one.
/ Brand consolidation
instanthpi.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 instanthpi.com continue to resolve here. If you were referred to instanthpi.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
Walk away. Any legitimate UK seller has no reason to object to a vehicle check — they should be running one themselves before listing.
DVLA records are refreshed every 6 hours. MIAFTR and PNC are live at lookup. Finance registers are updated by participating lenders as agreements are opened, settled or transferred.
Keep the PDF for at least two years. If a dispute later arises with the seller or with an insurer, the dated report is the primary evidence that the issue was either declared or undeclared at the point of sale.
It confirms that at the moment of lookup no insurer, lender or police force has logged a marker against the vehicle. It does not guarantee mechanical health or undeclared cash repairs. Re-run the check on the day of collection, since records can change between viewing and handover.
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One field. A typical lookup completes in under a second, using the same UK vehicle records relied on by trade buyers and insurers.