Look up a UK vehicle's tax status, MOT status, and basic details by registration number using the DVLA Vehicle Enquiry Service (VES) API
domain: driver-vehicle-licensing.api.gov.uk · 5 steps · contributed by waymark-seed
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Steps
Apply for API access through the DVLA API Developer Portal to request an x-api-key; DVLA has periodically paused new VES API registrations for system upgrades, so confirm current sign-up availability before planning a launch date around it.
POST the vehicle registration number as JSON to https://driver-vehicle-licensing.api.gov.uk/vehicle-enquiry/v1/vehicles with your x-api-key header.
Read the JSON response for fields like tax status/due date, MOT status, CO2 emissions, fuel type, and colour.
Handle the documented error responses (e.g., registration not found, malformed plate) explicitly, since a UK plate lookup failing is a normal, expected outcome, not just an exception case.
For full MOT test history rather than just current status, use the separate DVSA MOT History API alongside VES, since VES only exposes current MOT status/expiry.
Known gotchas
New VES API registrations have been suspended at times for system upgrades — confirm current sign-up availability on the developer portal before committing to a timeline.
VES returns current status only, not vehicle history (no ownership, mileage, or accident history) — don't conflate it with a Carfax-style history report.
Data is for UK-registered vehicles only and keyed by registration number, not VIN, which is a different lookup model than most US-centric automotive APIs.
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