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Car Tax Check UK

Check if a car is taxed for free. See its tax or SORN status, when the tax is due, its MOT status and car details.

  • Free, no account needed
  • Official DVLA and DVSA data
  • Tax and MOT in one check

What does a free car tax check show?

Everything below is in the free Basic Car Report. No payment and no account.

  • Tax status

    Whether the car is taxed, untaxed or SORN, as DVLA records it.

  • Tax due date

    When the tax runs out, or when it was due if that date has already passed.

  • Estimated road tax

    What a year’s road tax should cost at this year’s rates, where we can work it out.

  • CO₂ tax band

    Where the car sits on the A to M band scale, for cars first registered from March 2001 to March 2017.

  • MOT status and history

    Whether the MOT is valid, when it runs out, and every recorded test with its advisories.

  • The rest of the report

    Mileage at each MOT, ULEZ status, safety recalls, car details and emissions.

Taxed, untaxed or SORN: what each result means

The tax status comes from DVLA’s record for the car, checked against today’s date.

  • Taxed

    Can be driven

    The car is taxed. It can be used on the road as long as it also has a valid MOT, if it needs one, and insurance.

  • Untaxed

    Can’t be driven

    The car isn’t taxed, so it can’t be driven or kept on a public road until someone taxes it.

  • SORN

    Off the road

    Declared off the road. It can’t be driven or kept on a public road, except to a pre-booked MOT.

  • Tax was due

    Check again

    The due date has passed. Tax paid by Direct Debit may have renewed since, so refresh the report to check.

Can I rely on a tax check before buying?

It tells you what you need to know about the tax. Tax doesn’t transfer when a car is sold, so you’ll need to tax it yourself before you drive it away, and an untaxed car for sale isn’t a warning sign on its own. A car that has been SORN for a long time has been off the road, though, and its MOT history will show the gap.

What a tax check can’t tell you is whether the car is safe to pay for. Outstanding finance, write-off history and stolen records aren’t held in public DVLA or DVSA records, so no free check can show them.

Before you hand over money, run a Full History Report to check the car’s history for finance, write-offs and theft.

Where does our car tax data come from?

DVLA
Tax status, tax due date, SORN, CO₂ emissions, engine size and first registration date, from the car’s DVLA record.
GOV.UK tax rates
The road tax estimate applies this year’s published rates to the car’s CO₂ band, engine size or registration date. It can’t know a car’s list price, so it leaves out the extra charge for expensive cars.
DVSA
The MOT status, expiry date and every recorded MOT test.

Each Basic Car Report shows when it was last checked, and you can refresh it for the latest records.

More free car checks

Car tax check FAQs

Is the car tax check free?

Yes. It costs nothing and you don’t need an account or card details. The tax status is in the free Basic Car Report, with the MOT history and car details.

How do I check if a car is taxed?

Enter the car’s registration at the top of this page. The Basic Car Report shows whether it is taxed, untaxed or SORN and when the tax is due, along with its MOT status.

Can I check tax and MOT at the same time?

Yes. The same free report shows the tax status and due date next to the MOT status, the MOT expiry date and the full MOT history.

What does SORN mean?

SORN stands for Statutory Off Road Notification. It means the keeper has declared the car off the road. A SORN car can’t be driven or kept on a public road, except to a pre-booked MOT.

Can I check if a car is SORN?

Yes. If a SORN is declared, the report shows it. It shows the current status only, because DVLA doesn’t publish a car’s SORN history.

Does car tax transfer to a new owner?

No. Tax isn’t passed on when a car is sold. The seller gets a refund for any full months left, and the new keeper has to tax the car before driving it.

How much is the road tax on a car?

It depends on when the car was first registered and on its CO₂ emissions or engine size. Where it can, the Basic Car Report estimates a year’s road tax at this year’s rates.

Is a taxed car road legal?

Not on its own. To be driven on a public road, a car also needs a valid MOT if it is old enough to need one, and insurance. The report shows the MOT status and links to the official MIB insurance check.

What’s the difference between a tax check and a Full History Report?

A tax check shows the car’s tax status, tax due date and MOT status, for free. The £15 Full History Report adds outstanding finance, write-off history, stolen status, previous owners, mileage checks, plate changes, and import, export and scrapped records.

Check if a car is taxed for free

See its tax or SORN status, tax due date and MOT status in the free Basic Car Report.

  • No payment or account
  • Official DVLA and DVSA data
  • Upgrade to the Full History Report any time