Lorry History Check
Check finance, write-off markers, stolen status, keeper history and vehicle details for any UK-registered lorry in one £15 report.
Included in your report:
- Outstanding finance
- Accident & write-off
- Stolen status
- Keeper history
- Scrapped markers
- Tax & spec details
Example report section
See the Lorry history before you buy.
This is how a flagged record appears in your report, drawn straight from official records.
Finance Status
Outstanding finance
Outstanding finance
Theft Status
Theft record found
Recorded as stolen
Example data shown. Your report will show the recorded history for the reg you check.
What a Lorry history check helps you spot.
The risks that cost buyers the most are the ones you cannot spot on a test drive. These are the ones the report puts in front of you.
Finance on the truck
Lorries are bought on hire purchase and lease. Confirm no lender still has a claim on the registration.
Keeper changes
The report shows how many registered keepers a lorry has had and when it last changed hands.
No car MOT trail
Above 3,500kg a lorry takes an annual DVSA test, so there is usually no MOT mileage history to read.
Lorry history check
What a history check can tell you about a lorry.
Lorries over 3,500kg are tested differently to cars and vans. Instead of an MOT they take an annual DVSA test at an authorised testing facility, with a plating certificate setting the permitted weights. That changes what a registration check can show you, because the mileage trail that normally comes from MOT readings usually is not there.
What the report does cover is the record behind the plate: outstanding finance, insurance write-off markers, police stolen markers, keeper history and keeper change dates, plate transfers, colour changes, import and export markers, scrapped markers, tax status and the vehicle specification. On a rigid tipper or a 7.5 tonne box van, that is the paperwork most sellers cannot show you.
Risks to check on a used Lorry.
These are the specific things worth confirming before you put any money down.
Annual test, not an MOT
Above 3,500kg a lorry goes through DVSA plating and testing each year rather than a car MOT. The test certificate and the plate live with the vehicle, so ask to see them. The mileage timeline in a history report is built from MOT readings, which a heavy lorry will not have.
Mileage evidence sits elsewhere
On a truck the mileage story comes from the tachograph, its calibration record and the maintenance file, not from a public MOT trail. Ask for the tachograph calibration certificate and inspection sheets, and treat a lorry with no paperwork the way you would a car with no MOT history.
Finance and lease balances
Hire purchase, lease purchase and contract hire are all normal ways to fund a truck, and a vehicle can change hands while an agreement is still live. The report flags any finance recorded against the registration, which is the check to run first when money is moving on a private sale.
Stolen markers and identity
Trucks and tractor units are a target for theft and export, and a cloned plate is hard to spot on a vehicle you see once. The report checks police stolen markers and cross-references the VIN against the registration, so you can confirm the identity before you pay.
Run a Lorry history check
Check a Lorry before you buy.
Enter the registration to see the key facts before you go any further.
- Instant results
- All checks included
- £30,000 data guarantee
What a Lorry history check covers.
Every Carpeep report runs the same core checks against the registration. This is what each one tells you.
Finance
Flags any outstanding finance recorded against the vehicle, so you know whether a lender still has a legal claim.
Car finance checkAccident and write-off history
Shows any recorded accident or insurance write-off marker (Cat A, B, S or N), with the category and date.
Write-off checkStolen status
Cross-references police records to flag any theft marker against the registration and VIN.
Stolen car checkMileage history
Builds a mileage timeline from MOT readings so you can spot drops or inconsistencies that point to clocking.
Mileage checkKeeper & import status
Keeper history, import and export markers, plate changes and the recorded vehicle details.
Import checkThe used lorry market in the UK.
From 7.5 tonne rigids to tractor units.
The busiest end of the used market is the 7.5 tonne rigid, sold as a box van, curtainsider, tipper or Luton, with DAF LF, Iveco Eurocargo, Isuzu and Mercedes Atego stock turning over steadily. Above that sit 18 tonne rigids and the tractor units that come off contract with a maintenance file behind them.
Anyone looking at a smaller truck should watch the 3,500kg line closely. A vehicle just under it takes a class 7 MOT and leaves a public test and mileage record, while anything above it does not. Check the plating certificate, the annual test date and the finance result before you agree a price.
Before you buy
When to run a lorry history check.
Run it before you commit on a private sale or an online auction lot, where the seller may be an owner driver rather than a dealer. Finance and stolen markers are the two results that can cost you the whole vehicle rather than a repair bill.
Keep the operator side separate. An operator licence belongs to the business and the vehicle is specified on it, so nothing transfers with a sale. The same goes for maintenance records and the annual test file, which come from the seller, not from this report.
Where our data comes from.
Always from official records. We do not create, edit or estimate any data.
DVLA
Registration, keeper history, import and export status and recorded vehicle details.
DVSA
Full MOT test history including results, advisories and mileage at each test.
Insurance industry records
Recorded write-off markers such as Cat A, B, S and N from insurance industry records.
UK finance lenders
Outstanding finance agreements including HP, PCP and conditional sale records.
Police stolen vehicle records
Stolen vehicle markers from UK police databases, checked against the registration and VIN.
Vehicle identity checks
VIN and registration cross-referenced to flag plate changes, cloning or identity mismatches.
Lorry History Check FAQs
Do lorries have an MOT history I can check?
Not in the way a car does. A goods vehicle over 3,500kg takes an annual DVSA test with plating rather than a car MOT, and those results do not appear in the MOT history service. Under 3,500kg a light lorry or large van takes a class 7 MOT, which does show up.
Can I check the mileage of a used lorry?
Only where MOT readings exist, which normally means a vehicle under 3,500kg. For a heavy lorry the mileage evidence sits in the tachograph, its calibration certificate and the maintenance file, so ask the seller for those. Carpeep will not invent a mileage trail that public records do not hold.
Can I check if a lorry has outstanding finance?
Yes. Enter the registration and the report flags any finance agreement recorded against the vehicle. Trucks are commonly funded on hire purchase or lease purchase, and an unsettled agreement stays attached to the vehicle rather than the seller, so a lender can still have a claim after you buy.
Does the report show an operator licence or tachograph records?
No. An operator licence is held by the business running the vehicle, and tachograph data belongs to the operator and the driver. Carpeep covers the vehicle record: finance, write-off, stolen, keeper history, plate and colour changes, import, export and scrapped markers, tax status and specification.
Can a lorry be recorded as a write-off?
Yes. Where an insurer has written a vehicle off and reported it, the marker sits against the registration with a category and a date, and Carpeep shows it. The report also flags scrapped and destroyed markers, which matter if a truck was signed off for dismantling and has reappeared for sale.
Check a lorry before you buy
Don't buy a lorry you haven't checked.
Enter the registration and get the key facts before you commit.
- Full vehicle history
- No account required
- £30,000 data guarantee