What does a car history check show you?
Private sellers don't have to disclose any of this. A car can look immaculate and still be a repaired write-off, be tens of thousands of miles further round the clock than the dashboard says, or come with someone else's finance agreement attached to it. A history check is how you find out before it becomes your problem.
A typical paid check (like our Comprehensive check) pulls together several separate DVLA, insurance industry and police data sources into one report. Here's what you're looking at.
Write-off / insurance category
If an insurer has ever declared the car a total loss, that gets recorded against its registration. This is the single most important thing a history check reveals, and it's covered in full detail below because it's also the fact most guides — including, until this update, our own — get wrong.
Outstanding finance
Most used cars bought on finance are still being paid off when they change hands privately. A history check flags whether there's an active hire purchase, conditional sale or personal contract purchase agreement registered against the car. This matters because of an unusual quirk in UK law. If you buy a car in good faith from someone who's still paying it off under hire purchase or conditional sale, and you had no reason to know that, you can in some circumstances become the legal owner under the "innocent purchaser" protection in Part III of the Hire Purchase Act 1964 — while the finance company pursues the seller, not you. It's not automatic and the detail is genuinely legal-nuanced, so don't rely on this as a fallback.
Mileage
A check compares the mileage recorded at MOT tests, and sometimes other data points, against the number showing on the odometer now. A drop, or a gap that doesn't add up, is the classic sign of clocking.
Stolen vehicle markers
Checks cross-reference the Police National Computer's stolen vehicle register. A hit here means walk away — a stolen car has no legal owner you can buy from, whatever the seller tells you.
Previous keepers and plate changes
The number of previous registered keepers, and whether the number plate has been changed, both feed into the picture. Frequent keeper changes or a recent plate change aren't automatically a problem, but they're worth asking about.
Import, export and scrapped status
Whether a car was imported (and from where), exported, or has already been recorded as scrapped by the DVLA are all things that should match what the seller tells you. A car marked as scrapped that's being offered for sale is a serious red flag.
MOT history and tax status
Our free car check shows both of these in one place from just the registration number: a car's MOT pass/fail history and recorded mileage at each test, and its current and historical road tax status — no need to look them up on two separate gov.uk services. A history check report pulls all of this in alongside the paid-for checks above.
Insurance write-off categories explained (Cat A, Cat B, Cat S, Cat N)
This is the part most worth getting right, and where a lot of older guides — including outdated versions of this one — go wrong. UK insurers have used four write-off categories since 1 October 2017: Cat A, Cat B, Cat S and Cat N. If you see an older article, or even an insurer's own paperwork, referring to "Cat C" or "Cat D", that's the previous system — it was retired and replaced, not renamed, under the Association of British Insurers' Code of Practice for the Categorisation of Motorised Vehicle Salvage.
- Cat A — scrap only. The car is so badly damaged it must be crushed in its entirety. Even parts that look salvageable can't be sold on. It should never appear on the road again.
- Cat B — bodyshell scrapped, parts salvageable. The car itself can never return to the road and the bodyshell must be crushed, but individual parts can be stripped out and reused in other vehicles.
- Cat S — structural damage, repairable. "S" is for structural: damage to the chassis, frame or another structural part of the car. It can legally return to the road, but only once it's been professionally repaired and is safe to drive.
- Cat N — non-structural damage, repairable. "N" is for non-structural: damage that doesn't affect the frame or chassis, such as electrics, trim or body panels — though it can still include safety-related items like brakes or steering. Like Cat S, it can legally return to the road once properly repaired.
The old Cat C and Cat D system worked differently: it categorised cars mainly by repair cost versus value, not by what was actually damaged. The switch to Cat S/N moved the focus onto whether the car's safety-critical structure was affected, which is a better question for a buyer to have answered. One practical wrinkle: a car categorised Cat C or Cat D before October 2017 generally keeps that historic marker on record rather than being reclassified after the fact. So you may still see "Cat C" or "Cat D" on an older car's history — that's not an error, just its original category from before the system changed.
A Cat S or Cat N marker isn't automatically a reason to walk away — plenty of these cars are repaired properly and driven for years afterwards. It is a reason to ask for the repair paperwork, get an independent inspection, and factor a lower resale value into your offer. A Cat A or Cat B marker on a car for sale, on the other hand, should never happen — if you see one, the car legally shouldn't be on the road at all.
What a history check can't tell you
Be realistic about the limits. A history check tells you what's on record — it can't tell you about mechanical wear that hasn't yet caused a fault, and it can't substitute for physically inspecting the car or getting an independent engineer's report before you buy. It also can't catch fraud that simply hasn't been recorded anywhere yet. Treat it as one essential layer of due diligence, not the whole process.
How to run a car history check
Enter the registration number into a check provider's site. Our Comprehensive check covers write-off category, outstanding finance, mileage, stolen markers, keeper history, import/export status, and MOT and tax data in one report — you can see exactly what's included by looking at a sample Comprehensive check report before you buy.
FAQs
Is a Cat N car safe to buy?
It can be, if it's been properly repaired. Cat N means non-structural damage, so the chassis and frame weren't affected — but ask for evidence of the repair and get it inspected before you commit.
Is a Cat S car worth buying?
Often, at the right price. Cat S means the car had structural damage but has been repaired and passed the checks needed to return to the road legally. Expect a lower resale value than an equivalent car with no history, and get an independent inspection first.
Can a car history check tell me if a car has outstanding finance?
Yes — this is one of the core checks. It flags whether a hire purchase, conditional sale or PCP agreement is still active against the vehicle.
Does a history check cover MOT history?
Most paid checks include it, and you can also look it up for free yourself with our free car check using just the registration number.
How much does a car history check cost?
Costs vary by provider and by how much data the check includes — a Basic check typically costs a few pounds, and a Comprehensive check like ours costs more but covers write-off category, finance, mileage, stolen markers and more in one report.