Last updated: 8 August 2026
This privacy policy explains how Used Car Checker ("we", "us", "our"), operated at usedcarchecker.co.uk, collects, uses and protects information when you use our website.
Who Is Responsible for Your Data
The data controller for this website is Mark Bolton, an independent sole operator based in the United Kingdom, trading as Used Car Checker (usedcarchecker.co.uk).
If you have any question about this policy, wish to exercise your data protection rights, or want to make a complaint about how your information is handled, contact hello@usedcarchecker.co.uk. Enquiries are answered personally, normally within two business days.
If you are not satisfied with the response, you have the right to complain to the UK's supervisory authority, the Information Commissioner's Office, at ico.org.uk.
1. Information We Collect
1.1 Information You Provide
When you use our MOT history checker, you enter a vehicle registration number. We do not require you to create an account, provide your name, email address or any other personal information to use our service.
1.2 Automatically Collected Information
When you visit our website, we may automatically collect certain technical information, including:
- Your IP address (used for rate limiting to prevent abuse)
- Browser type and version
- Operating system
- Pages visited and time spent on each page
- Referring website
1.3 Local Storage
We use your browser's local storage to save your recent search history for your convenience. This data is stored only on your device and is not transmitted to our servers. You can clear this data at any time through your browser settings.
2. How We Use Information
We use the information we collect for the following purposes:
- To provide our service: Vehicle registration numbers are sent to the DVSA and DVLA APIs to retrieve MOT history and vehicle data.
- To prevent abuse: IP addresses are used for rate limiting to prevent excessive API usage. IP addresses are hashed and not stored in plain text.
- To improve our service: Aggregated, anonymised usage data helps us understand how people use our tools so we can make improvements.
- To support the service: We display third-party advertising on this site to fund it. See Section 4 for details about advertising cookies and how to control them.
3. Data Sharing
We do not sell, trade or rent your personal information to third parties. We may share information in the following limited circumstances:
- Government APIs: Vehicle registration numbers are sent to DVSA and DVLA APIs to retrieve vehicle data. This is necessary to provide our service.
- Advertising partners: Google, as a third-party vendor, and other advertising partners may collect data through cookies and similar technologies, subject to your consent choices. See Section 4.
- Legal requirements: We may disclose information if required to do so by law or in response to valid legal requests.
4. Cookies and Advertising
Our website uses cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
- Essential cookies: Required for basic site functionality such as rate limiting.
- Analytics storage: Google Analytics helps us understand how the site is used in aggregate. This is disabled until you consent.
- Advertising cookies: Google and other advertising partners may use cookies to serve ads, measure their performance and, where you consent, personalise ads based on your visits to this and other websites.
4.1 Google AdSense and Third-Party Vendors
We use Google AdSense to display advertising on this site. In connection with this:
- Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this website or other websites.
- Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to you based on your visits to this site and/or other sites on the internet.
- Third-party vendors and ad networks other than Google may also serve ads on this site and may use their own cookies, web beacons or similar technologies to measure the effectiveness of their advertisements and to personalise advertising content.
- We do not have access to or control over cookies set by third-party advertisers, and this privacy policy does not cover their practices.
You can find out how Google uses information from sites that use its services at policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites.
4.2 How to Control Advertising Cookies
Optional analytics and advertising storage is disabled by default until you accept via our consent banner, and we pass your choice to Google using Google Consent Mode. You have several further options:
- Users may opt out of personalised advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings.
- You can opt out of a third-party vendor's use of cookies for personalised advertising by visiting www.aboutads.info/choices.
- Alternatively, you can opt out of some third-party vendors' uses of cookies at youronlinechoices.eu.
- You can block or delete cookies entirely through your browser settings, though this may affect how parts of the site work.
- To change the consent choice you gave us, clear this site's storage in your browser and reload the page — the banner will appear again.
Declining advertising cookies does not stop you seeing ads. It means the ads you see will not be personalised using your browsing history.
4.3 Children
This site is intended for adults buying or selling vehicles and is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.
5. Data Retention
Vehicle lookup results are cached on our server for up to 24 hours to improve performance and reduce API usage. Cached data is automatically deleted after this period. We do not maintain long-term records of individual vehicle lookups.
6. Data Security
We take reasonable measures to protect information transmitted through our website. Our server uses HTTPS encryption for all connections. However, no method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
7. Your Rights
Under UK data protection law (UK GDPR), you have the following rights:
- The right to access information we hold about you
- The right to request correction of inaccurate information
- The right to request deletion of your information
- The right to object to processing of your information
- The right to data portability
Since we collect minimal personal data and do not require accounts, in most cases there will be little or no personal data to action. If you have any concerns, please contact us.
8. Children's Privacy
Our service is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.
9. Third-Party Links
Our website contains links to external sites such as GOV.UK. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of other sites. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of any website you visit.
10. Changes to This Policy
We may update this privacy policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated "Last updated" date. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.
11. Contact Us
If you have any questions about this privacy policy, please visit our contact page.