What is the difference between a free and paid vehicle check?

Free checks (like the DVLA's own lookup) only confirm basic, publicly available details — tax status, MOT status, and general vehicle information. They don't access finance, insurance write-off, or stolen vehicle databases, because that data isn't public.

A paid check draws on those private industry databases, which is the only way to see outstanding finance, write-off category, or stolen status. If a "free vehicle history check" claims to show this information, treat it with caution — it's either incomplete or not what it claims to be.