UK Vehicle Data APIs Compared: DVLA VES, DVSA MOT History, UKVD, cap hpi and One Auto API

For most UK dealer, garage and parts projects the right answer is one commercial provider (Vehicle Data Global, cap hpi or an aggregator such as One Auto API) for the vehicle record and K-Type, plus the free DVSA MOT History API for mileage and MOT dates, with DVLA VES used only where tax and MOT status is all you need. Which commercial provider depends on whether you need valuations, provenance, tyre data or fitment.

This comparison is what we hand to clients at the start of a vehicle data API project. It is accurate as of September 2026; the providers change their packages and pricing, so check before you commit.

The data chain

Every UK “enter your reg” feature sits on the same chain: DVLA holds the register; a small number of organisations hold DVLA bulk data under licence for “reasonable cause” (parts fitment, provenance checks and insurance count, marketing does not); resellers and API providers build packages on top of that plus their own data (TecDoc linkages, valuations, tyre sizes, provenance); and your website calls the API. The government also runs two free APIs of its own: DVLA VES and the DVSA MOT History API.

The comparison

DVLA Vehicle Enquiry Service in detail

VES is a single POST endpoint (/vehicle-enquiry/v1/vehicles) taking a JSON body with the registration number, authenticated with an x-api-key header. There is a UAT environment. The terms say the current service is free, that you take on data-protection responsibility if you combine VES data with other data to identify an individual, and that data incidents must be reported within 24 hours.

It is the right tool for “is this car taxed and does it have an MOT”. It is the wrong tool for anything that needs the model or the engine, because those fields are absent. And, as noted in the table, DVLA is not accepting new VES API registrations while it upgrades the system, so a new build cannot rely on it today.

DVSA MOT History API in detail

This is the only free, official source of odometer readings, which makes it valuable well beyond garages. Coverage is cars, motorcycles and vans in Great Britain since 2005, Northern Ireland since 2017, and HGVs, trailers and buses since 2018.

Authentication is the part that catches developers out. You obtain an access token with OAuth 2.0 client credentials from Microsoft Entra ID, valid for 60 minutes, and send it alongside an X-API-Key header on every request. Client secrets expire every two years and keys unused for 90 days are revoked, so put both on a calendar. The rate limits are 500,000 requests a day at 15 per second with a burst of 10, and breaching the daily quota locks you out for 24 hours. For bulk analysis DVSA separately publishes anonymised test results as open data.

Typical uses: MOT due-date reminders for garages (with the customer’s consent), mileage history on used-car listings, and a sanity check on the mileage a part-exchange customer has declared. We cover this on our MOT history API page.

Vehicle Data Global (formerly UK Vehicle Data)

UKVD’s website now redirects to Vehicle Data Global; treat them as one provider. It is the pragmatic choice for most parts, garage and tyre projects because it returns the fields DVLA does not (model, derivative, engine code, VIN) and packages for the specific jobs: MOT history, images, tyre data, battery data, valuations, spec and options, and a full VDI provenance check.

Published tier-one prices (ex VAT, September 2026) include Vehicle Data (UK) at £0.153 PAYG or £0.081 on subscription, MOT History at £0.068 or £0.042, Tyre Data at £0.096 or £0.081, Valuations at £0.203 or £0.157 and a VDI Check at £3.00 or £2.54. There is no setup fee and credits last twelve months. Check current pricing; the tiers change. Licensing is standard API terms: per-lookup billing, no bulk scraping, no reselling the results as a database.

cap hpi

cap hpi is the industry’s valuation and taxonomy authority. Black Book trade, retail and forecast values; cap codes and cap IDs that DMS, leasing and insurance systems all speak; New Vehicle Data for spec, options, P11D and CO2; VRM lookup licensed directly from DVLA; tyre data from the Carweb acquisition; and the HPI Check for finance, stolen, write-off and mileage. Access is through cap Web Services or data files, priced on quotation. For dealer stock, valuation widgets and anything that has to reconcile with a DMS, cap hpi is usually non-negotiable. For a parts store it is more than you need.

Aggregators and the rest

One Auto API fronts several providers (Experian AutoCheck among them) behind one integration, which suits projects that need provenance plus spec plus valuation without three contracts. HPI and Experian AutoCheck sell provenance and vehicle data APIs directly, priced on quotation. MotorCheck offers nine API products with OAuth2 and a free trial. Autodata and HaynesPro are workshop technical data (repair times, service schedules, wiring) rather than lookup APIs, and HaynesPro’s vehicle identification by VRM, VIN or engine code is widely embedded in garage software.

How we architect it

Put a thin service of your own between the site and the providers. It normalises the VRM, caches results against VRM plus date, calls the cheapest source that answers the question, falls back to the next one, and logs the lawful basis and retention for anything stored. That way the website never holds a key, provider changes are a config change, and you are not paying £0.15 to look up the same Fiesta four times in one session.

FAQ

Is there a free UK vehicle data API?

Two: DVLA VES (tax, MOT status, basic vehicle facts; new registrations paused as of September 2026) and DVSA MOT History (test history and mileage). Neither returns model, VIN or fitment data, so most projects also need a commercial provider.

Which API gives me a K-Type for parts fitment?

Commercial providers such as Vehicle Data Global, cap hpi and DriveRightData return a TecDoc K-Type or type ID alongside the DVLA fields. DVLA and DVSA do not.

Can I store lookup results?

For your own use, yes, within the provider’s terms and UK GDPR: a VRM linked to an enquiry is personal data, so record a lawful basis and a retention period. You cannot compile results into a resold database.

How do the DVSA rate limits work in practice?

500,000 requests a day, 15 a second, burst of 10. Exceed the daily quota and you are locked out for 24 hours, so throttle batch jobs (MOT reminder runs, for instance) well below the ceiling.

Choosing between these is half the job; integrating and caching them properly is the other half. Our vehicle data API service does both.