About PlateClear
PlateClear is a free UK vehicle history checker. Enter any UK number plate and see the same official government data used by insurers, garages, and consumer HPI checkers — with no credit-card wall.
What we do
We turn the UK Government's open vehicle data into a clean, fast, mobile-friendly report you can read in seconds. Type a plate, get:
- Vehicle basics — make, colour, year, fuel type, engine size, CO2, type approval, V5C issue date.
- Tax and MOT status — current, plus expiry dates.
- Full MOT history — every test since digital records began, with mileage readings, advisories, and failure reasons.
- Mileage timeline — a chart of odometer readings across all recorded MOTs.
- PlateClear Risk Score — an at-a-glance 0–100 signal based on advisories, failures, and mileage anomalies.
Where the data comes from
Two authoritative UK Government sources, both official public APIs:
- DVLA Vehicle Enquiry Service — vehicle registration information, tax, and MOT status.
- DVSA MOT History API — every MOT test and reading held by DVSA.
These are the same feeds behind gov.uk/check-mot-history, so PlateClear shows exactly what DVLA and DVSA say — not scraped or resold data.
What we do NOT do
PlateClear is not an HPI check. We do not (currently) surface outstanding finance, stolen-vehicle status, or insurance write-off categories (Cat N/S/A/B). Those datapoints come from Experian, MIAFTR, and the Police National Computer, which are commercial/restricted feeds. For a full HPI check use the official HPI Check or an Experian-backed reseller.
How we make it free
Both government APIs are free-of-charge under the Open Government Licence (DVLA VES) and DVSA developer terms. We ask for your email address in return for the full report, which allows us to send occasional related updates. You can unsubscribe with one click at any time. We do not sell your email or share it with third parties.
Contact
Email hello@plateclear.co.uk for any question — press, data, partnerships, or bug reports.