Vehicle data services
MOT history API integration
The DVSA MOT history API gives you every MOT test since 2005 for a registration: result, expiry date, odometer reading and each defect or advisory by category. We integrate it into garage websites, dealer stock pages, reminder systems and apps, handling the OAuth 2.0 auth, rate limits and key housekeeping DVSA imposes.
The MOT History API is the most useful free dataset in UK motoring. It covers cars, motorcycles and vans in Great Britain since 2005, Northern Ireland since 2017, and HGVs, trailers and buses since 2018. For each test you get the date, result, expiry, odometer reading and unit, the test number, and every defect and advisory tagged dangerous, major, minor or advisory. It also returns make, model and first-used date. The mileage series is the prize: it is the only free official source of odometer readings.
It is free but not casual. Authentication is OAuth 2.0 client credentials through Microsoft Entra ID, with a token that lives 60 minutes, plus an X-API-Key header on every request. Keys unused for 90 days are revoked and client secrets expire every two years, which is how a garage's 'MOT check' box quietly stops working eighteen months after launch. Rate limits are 500,000 requests a day, 15 a second with a burst of 10, and a 24-hour lockout if you breach the quota.
What you do with it depends on the trade. Garages and MOT centres want the expiry date for reminders and the last advisories for a quote ('your last test flagged rear brake pads'). Dealers want the mileage history on stock pages as a trust signal. Tyre and fast-fit sites want the advisory categories to drive upsell. Auction houses and leasing firms want the full history for cataloguing and de-fleet. We build the token service, the cache and the parsing once, then expose the pieces each use case needs.
How it works
End to end
- 01
Register and obtain credentials
Apply to DVSA for MOT History API access. You receive a client ID, client secret, scope and API key. We hold these in a secrets manager, never in the front end or the repository.
- 02
Build the token service
A server-side service requests the OAuth 2.0 client-credentials token from Microsoft Entra ID, caches it for its 60-minute life, refreshes ahead of expiry, sends the X-API-Key header, and tracks secret expiry so rotation happens before the two-year cut-off.
- 03
Look up by VRM
Normalise the registration, check your cache, then call the registration endpoint. The response is the vehicle plus an array of tests, newest first, each with defects and odometer data.
- 04
Parse and normalise
Convert the tests into a mileage series with units, a latest-expiry date, a pass/fail timeline and advisories grouped by category. Flag mileage that goes backwards or jumps between miles and kilometres.
- 05
Use it in the product
Pre-fill the garage quote or booking, schedule MOT reminders from the expiry date, show mileage history on dealer stock pages, or feed the advisories into a tyre and brake upsell.
- 06
Govern the rate limits
Queue requests at 15 a second, back off on HTTP 429, keep a daily counter against the 500,000 quota, and schedule bulk refreshes (stock lists, reminder runs) overnight so they never lock out live traffic.
Deliverables
What you get
- DVSA credential setup, secrets management and secret-rotation reminders
- Token service and lookup endpoint with caching, queueing and backoff
- Parsed MOT model: mileage series, expiry, defects and advisories by category
- MOT check widget for your website, styled to your theme
- MOT reminder pipeline with opt-in capture and PECR-compliant sends
- Stock-page or quote-form integration
- Usage dashboard against the daily quota
- Documentation and developer handover
Data sources
Providers we integrate
We are provider-neutral: we pick the source that fits your budget, licensing position and the fields you actually need.
| Source | What it returns | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| DVSA MOT History API | Per-test records: test date, result, expiry, odometer reading and unit, defects and advisories with category (dangerous, major, minor, advisory), test number, plus make, model and first-used date. Cars, motorcycles and vans in GB since 2005; NI since 2017; HGVs, trailers and buses since 2018. | Free. OAuth 2.0 client credentials via Microsoft Entra ID (token valid 60 minutes) plus X-API-Key. 500,000 requests a day, 15 a second, burst 10; 24-hour lockout on quota breach. Keys unused for 90 days are revoked; client secrets expire every two years. |
| DVSA MOT open data (bulk) | Anonymised MOT test results published as annual bulk files: test outcomes, defects and vehicle attributes without registrations. | Open data, suitable for analysis, failure-rate content and benchmarking rather than per-vehicle lookups. |
| DVLA Vehicle Enquiry Service (VES) | motStatus and motExpiryDate alongside tax status, make, colour, fuel and engine capacity. No test history or mileage. | Free; sufficient where you only need the current MOT and tax position. Not accepting new registrations as of September 2026. |
| Vehicle Data Global (VDG) MOT History package | MOT history bundled with the provider's vehicle identity data, so one call returns make, model, derivative and the test history. | Commercial alternative or complement to the DVSA API. Listed at £0.068 per lookup PAYG or £0.042 on subscription, ex VAT (published price, check current). |
| HPI and cap hpi provenance checks | MOT data alongside National Mileage Register discrepancies, finance, stolen and write-off markers. | Pricing on quotation. The right layer when MOT mileage needs to be reconciled against other mileage sources for a provenance check. |
Data quality
Where this goes wrong, and what we do about it
The API key is revoked after 90 days without use and the client secret expires every two years, so low-traffic sites break silently.
A scheduled keep-alive call, secret-expiry tracking with alerts, and a monitored health check on the lookup endpoint.
Bulk jobs such as nightly stock refreshes or reminder runs breach the 15-per-second limit or the daily quota and trigger a 24-hour lockout.
A single rate-limited queue shared by live and batch traffic, with batch jobs scheduled overnight and capped below the quota.
Odometer readings switch between miles and kilometres or go backwards between tests, and new or NI vehicles have no history at all.
Normalise units, flag anomalies rather than hiding them, and handle the empty case (vehicles under three years old, NI before 2017) with a clear message.
Make and model from the MOT record are free text and do not match the DVLA or provider strings.
Use the MOT record for tests and mileage only; take vehicle identity from your primary lookup provider.
First-used date is not the same as first registration or build date, which matters for MOT due-date logic on imports.
Compute the first-MOT-due date from first-used date, and surface import flags from the identity lookup so the customer can confirm.
MOT History API: common questions
Is the DVSA MOT history API free?
Yes. DVSA provides it free with a quota of 500,000 requests a day and 15 a second. You register for credentials, authenticate with OAuth 2.0 client credentials via Microsoft Entra ID and send an API key header with every call.
What data does the MOT history API return?
For each test since 2005: date, result, expiry date, odometer reading and unit, test number, and every defect or advisory tagged dangerous, major, minor or advisory. It also returns make, model and first-used date. NI vehicles are covered from 2017.
Can I use the MOT API to send MOT reminders?
Yes. Store the expiry date against a customer who has opted in, then schedule email or SMS ahead of it. The reminder itself is direct marketing under PECR, so you need consent or a valid soft opt-in and an opt-out in every message.
Why did our MOT check stop working?
The usual causes: the API key was revoked after 90 days without use, the client secret expired at two years, or a batch job breached the quota and triggered a 24-hour lockout. We build keep-alives, expiry alerts and a shared rate-limited queue to prevent all three.
Does the MOT API give mileage history?
Yes. Each test record carries the odometer reading and unit, so you can plot mileage over time. It is the only free official source of odometer readings and is widely used on dealer stock pages and in provenance checks.
Can I get MOT history for a van or motorcycle?
Yes. The API covers cars, motorcycles and vans in Great Britain since 2005, and HGVs, trailers and buses since 2018. Vehicles too new to have been tested return no test records, so handle that case in your interface.
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Scope mot history api for your platform
Tell us your platform, your data provider (if you have one) and what the customer should be able to do. We will come back with a fixed-price scope and an honest view of the data licensing.