Before you hand over the money
Check it is theirs to sell
Finance, theft and write off records on a car or a motorhome. A theft register check on a tractor, a digger or a trailer. The first step is free and shows you how many problems we found. The report costs a few pounds and shows you what they are, with the source and the date next to every line.
This is not a government website. VehicleChecks is a private company service and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or authorised by DVSA, DVLA, the police or any government body. MOT history is free from DVSA at check-mot.service.gov.uk and tax status is free from DVLA at gov.uk/check-vehicle-tax. We charge for the finance, theft and write off records, which no government body publishes, and for putting everything in one report.
How it works
Why a private buyer checks
If a car you bought from a private seller is still on finance, Part III of the Hire Purchase Act 1964 usually lets you keep it, as long as you paid in good faith and did not know. The check is your written proof that you did not know. It is dated, it names what was searched, and it is the exact thing the law asks you to show.
A stolen vehicle is different. The police can take it and the money is gone. Farm and plant machinery has no logbook at all, and The Equipment Register reported in September 2026 that 11 percent of the checks it ran that year found theft or a finance problem. One in nine.
Sources: Hire Purchase Act 1964 Part III, legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1964/53/part/III. TER research reported by Pro Landscaper, 11 September 2026. Both read 23 September 2026.