Can I check a car's mileage for free?

Yes. Every MOT test records the odometer reading, and the MOT history is free to look up by registration on GOV.UK. That gives you a mileage reading for each test since 2005 — once a year for most cars over three years old.

How can I tell if a car has been clocked?

The clearest sign is an MOT reading lower than the one before it. Other signs are a long run of tests with almost no mileage followed by a jump, service invoices whose mileage doesn't fit between the MOT readings, and wear — pedals, steering wheel, seat bolsters — that looks heavier than the mileage suggests.

Can I check the mileage of a car under three years old?

Not from MOT records, because a new car doesn't need its first MOT until it's three years old in Great Britain. For a younger car the service invoices and the manufacturer's digital service record, which a dealer can print, are the main sources of mileage readings.

How to check a car’s mileage is genuine

A car’s mileage is one of the biggest things behind its price, and one of the easiest to lie about: an odometer can be wound back, or a replacement fitted and never declared. The good news is that most UK cars have a mileage trail you can check for free. Here’s where to find it and what to look for.

Where the mileage history comes from

MOT tests. The tester records the odometer reading at every MOT, and those readings are public. You can see them free on GOV.UK’s MOT history service by entering the registration. For most cars that’s one reading a year from the third birthday onwards.

Service invoices. Almost every garage invoice states the mileage on the day. These give you readings between MOTs, and before the first one.

The manufacturer’s digital service record. Dealer servicing is often logged with the mileage. A dealer for the make can usually print it — see digital service history.

What a genuine mileage history looks like

Readings that go up at every test, by amounts that fit how the car has been used. The yearly figure doesn’t have to be even — a car used for commuting and then kept as a second car will slow down — but it should never go backwards, and changes of pace should have an obvious explanation, such as a change of owner.

Warning signs

A reading lower than the one before. The clearest sign of a wound-back or replaced odometer. Occasionally it’s a typing error at the test centre, which is why it’s worth checking the readings either side.
Years of almost no miles, then a jump. Can be innocent — a car in storage — but ask.
An advertised mileage lower than the last MOT. The odometer can’t read less today than it did at the last test.
Invoices that don’t fit. A service at 60,000 miles dated between MOTs at 48,000 and 52,000 means one of them is wrong.
Wear that doesn’t match. A shiny steering wheel, worn pedal rubbers or a sagging driver’s seat on a low-mileage car.
A replacement instrument cluster with no paperwork recording the mileage at the time it was fitted.

Checking the mileage on CarKept

A free MOT history check on CarKept plots every MOT mileage reading on a graph and flags any test where the reading went down, so a gap or a drop is easy to see. When an owner adds a service record, its mileage is checked against the car’s MOT readings and flagged if it doesn’t fit. It’s the same DVSA data as the GOV.UK service, set out to make the pattern obvious.

What the mileage can’t tell you

A consistent MOT mileage trail is good evidence the odometer hasn’t been tampered with since the car’s first MOT. It says nothing about how those miles were driven or whether the car was maintained along the way — for that you need the service history. Paid vehicle history checks from specialist providers may also hold mileage readings from other sources, and cover outstanding finance and write-offs, which the free checks don’t — see how to check a car’s history for free.

See a car's mileage history

Enter a registration for its MOT mileage graph, test results and advisories — free.

Have service invoices? Upload and keep them with your car’s history →

Frequently asked questions

Can I check a car's mileage for free?: Yes. Every MOT test records the odometer reading, and the MOT history is free to look up by registration on GOV.UK. That gives you a mileage reading for each test since 2005 — once a year for most cars over three years old.
How can I tell if a car has been clocked?: The clearest sign is an MOT reading lower than the one before it. Other signs are a long run of tests with almost no mileage followed by a jump, service invoices whose mileage doesn't fit between the MOT readings, and wear — pedals, steering wheel, seat bolsters — that looks heavier than the mileage suggests.
Can I check the mileage of a car under three years old?: Not from MOT records, because a new car doesn't need its first MOT until it's three years old in Great Britain. For a younger car the service invoices and the manufacturer's digital service record, which a dealer can print, are the main sources of mileage readings.