How to check if your car is insured
askMID's free check, which the Motor Insurers' Bureau now calls Check Your Vehicle, looks up a registration on the Motor Insurance Database and shows whether a policy is recorded against it. The MIB says to use it only for vehicles you own or have been given the legal right to drive.
A new policy can take several days to show. If your car shows as not insured just after you bought or renewed the policy, the MIB suggests searching again after seven days. If it still does not show, ask your insurer.
Checking someone else's car
After an accident, askMID offers a one-off search to check whether the other vehicle is insured. It cost £10 on askmid.com on 3 November 2026. Your insurer or solicitor can also check other vehicles, through their own access.
Buying a car? You cannot use the free check on the seller's car, and you do not need to: insurance never moves to a new keeper. Arrange your own policy before you drive it away, even from the seller's driveway.
Continuous insurance enforcement
A vehicle must be insured unless it has been declared off the road with a SORN, even when it is parked and not driven. So a taxed car, which is not declared off the road, must be insured too. This rule is called continuous insurance enforcement.
The registered keeper of an uninsured vehicle that is not declared off the road can be fined £100, and the vehicle can be clamped, impounded or destroyed. If it goes to court, the fine can be up to £1,000 (GOV.UK).
Why Vettly cannot show whether a car is insured
The Motor Insurance Database is run by the Motor Insurers' Bureau. Searching it for other people's vehicles is for insurers and those they authorise, so our check cannot tell you whether a car is insured. We send you to askMID for that, and show what the vehicle records do hold.
Buying a used car? The free check shows the MOT history and mileage, and the full history check for £7.99 adds outstanding finance, write-offs and the police stolen record. Neither shows insurance.
Insurance groups, and what moves the price of cover, are on our car insurance page.