The short answer
Go to GOV.UK's Check the MOT history of a vehicle service and enter the truck's registration number. It shows whether each test was a pass or a fail, the mileage at each test and when the next test is due. The same service covers buses, coaches and trailers. For a trailer, you enter its trailer identification number instead of a registration.
To check road tax, use GOV.UK's Check if a vehicle is taxed service, which also needs only the registration number. Both checks are free.
This guide is general guidance, not legal advice.
HGV MOT or annual test?
Both names are used. GOV.UK's guide to getting an MOT for an HGV, bus or trailer calls it an HGV, bus or trailer MOT, also known as an "annual test". Drivers, buyers and transport managers often say HGV MOT. Both mean the same thing.
It is a different test from the standard MOT for cars and vans. According to the GOV.UK guide, vehicles that need it include:
- petrol, diesel and hybrid goods vehicles with a gross weight of more than 3,500kg
- vehicles built or adapted to form part of an articulated vehicle, and semi-trailers
- trailers with an unladen weight of more than 1,020kg that have powered braking systems
- horseboxes with a gross weight of more than 3,500kg
- buses and coaches with more than 8 passenger seats, not counting the driver's seat
The guide also covers some zero emission goods vehicles, and links to Form V112/G, which lists vehicles exempt from the HGV test. An exempt vehicle might still need a standard MOT, so check the form before you decide.
When the test is due
The GOV.UK guide says HGVs, buses and coaches usually must be tested each year. The first test should be 12 months after the vehicle was first registered with DVLA. That is much sooner than a new car or van, which needs its first MOT by the third anniversary of its registration, according to GOV.UK's Getting an MOT guide.
Trailers work differently. The guide says a trailer must usually be tested one year after it was first sold or supplied.
When new trucks arrive, put their first test dates in your records straight away.
Checking one truck
The MOT history service works the same way for a lorry as it does for a car. You need the vehicle's number plate (registration number). GOV.UK's step by step guide to getting an annual test for a lorry, bus or trailer points to this service for checking when the annual test is due.
For each test, the service shows:
- whether it passed or failed
- the mileage recorded at the test
- when the next test is due
It may also tell you if the vehicle has been recalled for a safety reason, depending on the manufacturer. For tests done in England, Scotland or Wales you can also download current and previous certificates, see which parts failed and which had minor problems, and see where each test was done. For the test location you'll need the 11-digit number from the vehicle's log book (V5C).
There are limits on how far back it goes. For HGVs, trailers, buses and coaches, the service only has results for tests done since 2018. For tests in Northern Ireland it only has results since 2017, and you can't download certificates there.
When a truck passes, the GOV.UK guide says the result is recorded in the MOT database. You can see it online in the MOT history, or ask the test centre for a printed certificate.
Checking a trailer
A trailer is looked up by its trailer identification number. The MOT history service has a separate option for this, labelled "Looking for HGV trailer history?". Open it and enter the trailer identification number to see that trailer's test history. The examples the service gives look like C236718, A787121 or NI/049095/06.
You'll also need the trailer identification number to book a trailer's test with DVSA, according to the GOV.UK guide. Keep a list of every trailer's ID number somewhere the office can find it, next to the date its next test is due.
Checking road tax
Road tax is a DVLA record, so it is checked in a different place. GOV.UK's Check if a vehicle is taxed service shows whether a vehicle has up-to-date tax or has been registered as off the road (SORN). GOV.UK says it can take up to 2 working days for the records to update after tax or a SORN is approved.
The same DVLA vehicle enquiry service, described on GOV.UK's Get vehicle information from DVLA page, also shows the current tax rate and when the tax expires, the SORN status, when the MOT expires, the date the vehicle was first registered, its weight and other details. That first registration date is useful for working out when a newer truck's first annual test falls.
For trucks of 12,000kg or more there is also the HGV levy. The Department for Transport's HGV road user levy page says UK registered vehicles pay the levy at the same time and in the same transaction as vehicle tax, and DVLA collects it.
If a truck is off the road for a while, our guide to company vehicles and SORN explains how that works.
If the test runs out
GOV.UK's MOT reminder page, which covers lorries, buses and large trailers as well as cars and vans, says you can be fined up to £1,000 for driving a vehicle without a valid MOT.
An expired test can also hold up the tax. GOV.UK's Tax your vehicle page says you might need to show evidence of an MOT that is valid when the tax starts, and that it can take up to 2 days for MOT information to update after a pass.
GOV.UK's guide to roadside checks for HGV, van, bus or coach drivers says the police and DVSA can stop lorries, carry out spot checks, issue prohibitions and issue fines. It also says keeping the vehicle roadworthy is your responsibility.
Our guide to what to do when a company van has no MOT covers the van side of the same problem.
Checking a whole fleet
Checking one truck takes a minute. Checking a whole fleet every week takes far longer, and the results go out of date when a vehicle is tested. There are three common ways to handle it. Our guide to tracking MOT and tax dates across a fleet compares them in more detail.
One at a time on GOV.UK
Free, and the dates come straight from DVSA and DVLA. It suits a handful of vehicles. With more, it means a lot of typing, and nobody sees the whole fleet at once.
A spreadsheet
Also free, and you can see every truck on one sheet. The weakness is that each date is typed in by hand. When a truck passes its test or the tax is renewed, someone has to update the row. If they forget, the sheet shows the wrong date and nobody knows.
Software that checks every truck nightly
Fleet software can look up each registration with DVLA and DVSA automatically, so the dates change when the official records do. It costs money, and software that works from registration numbers can't check trailers, so those still need tracking by hand. It suits fleets where vehicles and dates change often, or where more than one person needs to see the position.
Where VCT fits
When you add a truck's registration to VCT, it looks the vehicle up with DVLA and DVSA straight away and fills in the make, model, test expiry and history, and tax status and due date. Every night it then rechecks every vehicle's road tax with DVLA and its MOT or HGV annual test with DVSA. Reminder emails go out on days you choose, separately for the test and for tax. Each vehicle page shows the full DVSA test history, including results, defects and mileage.
There are limits. DVSA's heavy vehicle test history starts in 2018. VCT can't check trailers automatically, because they have no registration number, so you'll still need the trailer ID lookup above for those. VCT does not schedule safety inspections, manage operator licences, analyse tachographs or track Driver CPC.
Drivers can do their daily walkaround checks on their phones, and the checklist can be edited to include HGV items. Our HGV walkaround check guide explains what DVSA's guidance expects. See HGV fleet compliance and fleet MOT and tax reminders for more.
VCT costs £3.50 per vehicle a month, falling to £2.50 per vehicle for bigger fleets (minimum £35 a month). It is monthly with no contract. See pricing. If you run 50 or more vehicles, you may also want to read about the DVLA fleet scheme.
Sources
- GOV.UK: Check the MOT history of a vehicle
- DVSA: Check the MOT history of a vehicle service (the "Looking for HGV trailer history?" option)
- GOV.UK: Get an MOT for a heavy goods vehicle (HGV), bus or trailer
- GOV.UK: Get an annual test (MOT) for a lorry, bus or trailer: step by step
- GOV.UK: Getting an MOT
- GOV.UK: Check if a vehicle is taxed
- GOV.UK: Get vehicle information from DVLA
- GOV.UK: Tax your vehicle
- GOV.UK: Get, view or stop MOT reminders
- GOV.UK: Roadside checks for HGV, van, bus or coach drivers
- Department for Transport: HGV road user levy
Checked on 15 October 2026. This guide is general information, not legal advice.