▸ Classification · MOT, Tax & ULEZ
Data sourced from DVLA, MIAFTR, contracted stolen-vehicle data 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.
A Statutory Off-Road Notification means the vehicle is declared as not used on public roads. A SORN'd vehicle does not need VED or insurance. The check returns any current or historic SORN periods. A long, recent SORN may signal a vehicle laid up after an incident worth reconciling against insurance markers.
Bulbs, wipers, screenwash, tyre pressures and a clear view of the plates account for a large share of avoidable failures and cost very little to fix beforehand. Checking them the evening before the test is the difference between an advisory and a retest fee.
A vehicle check returns information about the vehicle, not about people. Previous keepers appear only as a count and a sequence of dates; names and addresses are protected and are never returned. Your own search history is held against your account for support and dispute purposes and is not sold on.
/ Brand consolidation
motencyclopedia.co.uk 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, contracted UK data providers for stolen-vehicle markers and the UK lender register for outstanding finance. The team 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 motencyclopedia.co.uk continue to resolve here. If you were referred to motencyclopedia.co.uk 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
Not always. A partial retest is free if the vehicle stays at the station and the repair is done there, and free within ten working days for specified items if it returns. Outside those conditions a full fee applies.
Up to a month before expiry, while keeping your existing expiry date — effectively giving 13 months of cover. Test on the expiry day or after and you get a fresh 12-month period from the test date.
Yes, outright. A diesel with a factory-fitted filter fails if it has been removed or tampered with, or if the exhaust emits visible smoke, which matters when buying anything advertised as having had a 'DPF delete'.
An untaxed vehicle on a public road attracts an automatic penalty and can be clamped or removed. Driving without a valid MOT risks a substantial fine and can affect insurance if the vehicle is found unroadworthy.
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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.