How to Check a Car's Write-Off Category by Reg (UK)

To find out what category a car is, run a write-off check on its registration. The category is set by the insurer that wrote the car off. DVLA is told, but its free vehicle enquiry service does not show it, and it does not appear on the MOT history, in the advert or on a number plate. If the car has no write-off record, the result says so. If it does, you get the category, when it happened and what was damaged.

The rest of this guide covers where the category is held, how to look it up for one specific car, how to read what comes back (including the awkward cases), and what to ask for when a seller says the car has been "repaired".

If you want to know what each category means in depth, our guide to the write-off categories covers that. If you want to know whether a car was written off at all, and what to do about it, see how to check if a car has been written off. This page is narrower: it is about finding the category for one particular car.

Key takeaways

• The category lives in insurers' records. It is recorded by the insurer that settled the claim, so the DVLA vehicle enquiry service and the MOT history will not show it.
• A write-off check by reg is the route. Read the category, the date, the cause and the damaged areas, not just the letter.
• Our free check does not include write-off records. The full report does.
• The V5C is not a reliable test. For Cat S the category is recorded in the log book, but for Cat N the keeper can keep the existing one, so a clean V5C proves nothing.
• Old Cat C and D do not convert neatly into S and N. The old letters were about repair cost, the new ones are about damage.
• A "repaired" car needs evidence. Ask for invoices, photos, the repairer's name and, for Cat S, an independent engineer's report.

The write-off categories at a glance

You will see up to six letters on a car's record: four current letters and two that were retired in 2017. This table is the quick version, based on GOV.UK's description of the current categories and the ABI's Code of Practice for the categorisation of motor vehicle salvage.

Cat C and Cat D can no longer be given to a car. They only turn up on cars written off before the code changed on 1 October 2017. More on how they relate to S and N below. For the full meaning of each letter, see the categories explained, and for a direct comparison of the two repairable categories, Cat N vs Cat S.

Where a car's category is actually recorded

It helps to know where the information sits, because it explains why some sources show it and others do not.

On the insurers' register

When an insurer decides a damaged car is a total loss, it assigns a category under the ABI's salvage code and records the loss. The industry database for this is known as MIAFTR (the Motor Insurance Anti-Fraud and Theft Register). The Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB) now describes the same data as Vehicle Salvage and Theft Data, held on its Navigate platform, and calls it the central record of claims relating to written-off and stolen vehicles. MIB says access is restricted to authorised professionals, which is why there is no public search page you can type a reg into.

One caveat is worth knowing. The record exists where an insurer recorded the loss. A car that was damaged, repaired privately and never claimed on has no write-off record, because no insurer ever assessed it. An insurer can correct or re-categorise a record in exceptional cases, but repair alone does not remove it.

With the DVLA and on the V5C

GOV.UK says that when your vehicle has been written off you must tell DVLA, and that you can be fined £1,000 if you do not. The insurer also has its own legal duty to tell DVLA whether the car can be repaired and whether the damage was structural, which it does through the insurers' salvage and theft database.

What the V5C then shows depends on the category. According to GOV.UK:

• Cat S: the keeper who wants to keep the car sends the complete V5C to the insurer and applies for a free duplicate using form V62, and DVLA records the category in the log book.
• Cat N: the keeper can keep the existing log book, and the insurers' code says a replacement log book for a Cat N car carries no note of the category.
• Cat A and Cat B: the car cannot be returned to the road, and DVLA will not re-register a vehicle that is an "actual loss".

So a V5C might name a Cat S category, but a V5C with no mention of a write-off tells you very little. Log books get lost, replaced and photocopied, so use it to confirm the VIN and the keeper, not to clear the car. Our V5C fraud guide covers the risks.

Why the MOT history will not show it

The MOT history on GOV.UK records tests: the date, the result, the mileage, failures and advisories. It has no field for an insurance category, because an MOT is a roadworthiness test, not an insurance record. The DVLA vehicle enquiry service shows tax and MOT status, first registration date, engine size, fuel type, emissions, the last V5C issue date and export status, but not a category. A car with a spotless MOT history can still be a Cat S. The MOT history can give clues, such as a long gap between tests or repair-related advisories, and our MOT history guide shows how to read them.

Why an advert or the seller's word is not proof

A seller can only tell you what they know. A car may have changed hands several times since the loss, and the person selling it may honestly not know. A less honest seller may leave it out. Either way, the advert is a description, not a record.

If a dealer describes a car as having a clean history and it turns out to have a write-off marker, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 may give you remedies, because goods must match the description. With a private seller you have fewer rights, but the car must still match the seller's description, so a seller who said it had never been written off can be challenged. Both routes are slower than finding out first. Keep the advert and any messages in case you need them.

How to check a specific car's category, step by step

Step 1: Get the registration and the VIN

Ask the seller for the registration number and for a clear photo of the V5C, which shows the 17-character VIN. When you see the car, find the VIN on the car itself (commonly at the base of the windscreen, on a door pillar or on a plate in the engine bay; the handbook for the model will say). Our VIN check guide explains why this matters.

Why bother before you check the category? Because the check runs on the registration. If the plates on the car belong to a different vehicle, you would be reading the clean record of a car you are not buying. This is how cloned cars get through. Compare the full VIN on the car with the V5C, and check that the make, model, colour and fuel type on the result match what is in front of you. Our guide to number plate cloning goes into it.

Step 2: Run a write-off check on the reg

Enter the registration into a write-off check. This looks the car up against insurance write-off records and returns the category if one is recorded. If you already know which category you are worried about, there are pages for a Cat S check and a Cat N check. The full car history check adds outstanding finance, stolen records, plate changes, previous keepers and more in the same report. You can look at a sample report first to see the layout.

The free check is useful for a first look, but it does not include write-off records. It shows each MOT test's result, date and mileage, the advisories on tests that passed, tax and MOT status, whether DVSA records an outstanding manufacturer recall, and the car's specification. It does not include finance, write-off or stolen checks, which are part of the full report. First-time visitors give an email address and get the free result by an emailed link. Our post on what a free write-off check can and cannot do explains the gap in more detail.

Do this before you travel to view and before you hand over a deposit. It costs far less than a wasted journey, and it gives you something concrete to ask the seller about.

Step 3: Read what the record shows

If the car has a recorded write-off, the full report shows:

• The category (A, B, S or N, or C or D for an older loss).
• The date of loss, the date of the incident that led to the write-off.
• The cause of damage, where the insurer recorded one, such as collision, fire or flood.
• The damaged areas, shown with a damage diagram.
• The insurer and the date recorded (shown as "Recorded on"), where the insurer recorded them.

The letter alone is the least interesting part. The date tells you where the loss falls against the car's MOT history and mileage readings. The cause and the damaged areas tell you what to look at on the car. The details depend on what the insurer recorded, so some fields can be blank on some records. If the car went through a salvage auction, the full report also shows the lot, the damage described and the auction photos or links to them, where they exist, and the salvage auction history guide explains what that trail means.

Step 4: Ask the seller for the paperwork

Once you know what the record says, ask the seller about it, and ask in writing so there is a trail. Useful questions:

1. Were you aware the car had been written off, and when did you buy it?
2. Who repaired it, and where are the invoices?
3. Is there a photo record of the repair?
4. For a Cat S, is there an independent engineer's report?

GOV.UK's consumer guide to buying repaired written-off vehicles suggests asking who handled the vehicle between being declared a total loss and being repaired for the road, and asking to see the V5C and the full service history. A seller with nothing to hide usually has answers or knows who does.

Step 5: Inspect the car

A record tells you what an insurer judged. Your eyes and an independent engineer tell you what the car is like now. GOV.UK recommends an independent expert's report or an engineer's check for structural damage, which may also reveal faults unrelated to the original write-off. Our guide to checking for accident damage lists the physical signs, from overspray to uneven panel gaps, and the how-to guide has a viewing checklist.

Reading the result

The record says Cat S or N, the seller says something different

The record and the seller's account can disagree in a few ways:

• "It was only cosmetic" but the record says Cat S. Cat S means the insurer's record is of structural damage: a load-bearing part such as a chassis leg, A or B pillar, sill or inner wing. A seller may genuinely believe the damage was cosmetic. Treat the record as the more reliable statement and ask for the engineer's report and repair evidence before going further.
• "It was a Cat S" but the record says Cat N. That is better news on paper, but ask why the seller thought otherwise. It may be a mix-up, or the seller may be describing a different car.
• "No, it has never been written off" but a record exists. Ask for an explanation in writing. Either they did not know or they were not telling you. Both are useful to learn before you buy.

Repairing the car does not remove the record. A repaired Cat S car is still recorded as a Cat S car.

The record says Cat C or Cat D

A Cat C or Cat D means the car was written off before 1 October 2017. These categories were not reassigned when S and N arrived, so a car that was a Cat D keeps its letter.

It is tempting to translate "Cat D" as "Cat N" and "Cat C" as "Cat S". Do not. It is not an exact conversion, and the reason is the basis of the old and new systems. Under the old code the letters reflected the economics of the repair: C was where the repair cost exceeded the car's pre-accident value and D was where it did not, but the insurer still chose not to repair. The current code reflects the damage itself: S for structural, N for non-structural.

Since 2017 the code bases the category on the type of damage, with no comparison of repair cost and value. Because the old letters were set by repair cost against value, a Cat C or D car might have had light panel damage or a bent chassis leg, and the letter does not tell you which. An old C or D is a prompt to find out what was damaged, which is where the damaged areas on the report, the inspection and an engineer's view matter most. See our guide to Cat C and Cat D write-offs.

The record says Cat A or Cat B

GOV.UK says a vehicle deemed an "actual loss" should never be repaired and returned to the road, and DVLA will not re-register it. A car for sale with an A or B record needs a clear explanation, and until you have one you should not hand over money. Our guide to Cat A and Cat B write-offs explains what those markers mean for a car you are viewing.

More than one write-off record

Occasionally a car's record shows more than one entry. Look at the dates and the categories side by side:

• Different dates and different damage areas point to separate incidents. A car that has been written off twice deserves a more cautious look than one that has been written off once, and it is a good reason to insist on an independent inspection.
• The same date or nearly the same date, with the same damage may be the same loss recorded twice. The ABI code allows for two entries by different insurers for the same vehicle and incident. Do not assume either way: ask the seller, and ask the insurer named on the record if you can.

Repeated losses, a short ownership history and a thin story from the seller together are a reason to walk away.

A write-off record, but no damage visible

A good repair is designed to leave no trace, and a write-off is a financial decision as much as a physical one: the insurer judged that repair was not worth paying for, not that the car was ruined. So seeing nothing wrong does not mean the record is mistaken.

It does mean the repair evidence matters more, because you cannot see for yourself. Check the date of loss against the MOT history and mileage readings to see how long the car was off the road and what happened afterwards. Compare the damaged areas on the record with those areas on the car: look at panel gaps, paint texture, seam sealer and fixings there in particular. Then get an independent engineer to look at it, especially for a Cat S.

The car is described as "repaired"

When a seller says the car has been repaired, ask for:

• Itemised invoices from the repairer, naming the work done and the parts fitted.
• The name of the bodyshop and whether it carried out structural work, so you can contact it.
• Before and after photographs of the damage and of the repair in progress.
• Evidence that any deployed airbags and seat belt pre-tensioners were replaced, not reset or bypassed. A lit airbag warning light is also an MOT failure.
• For a Cat S, an independent engineer's report, and any measurement printout from the repair showing the structure was brought back to the manufacturer's dimensions.
• Parts invoices, to check that new parts were fitted rather than second-hand ones from a donor car.

Repair quality varies, and the paperwork is how you judge it. An MOT does not settle it either, as it tests roadworthiness against a set list and is not a check of how a repair was done. For the buying decision itself, see is it worth buying a Cat S car and is it worth buying a Cat N car.

Checking your own car's category

If you own the car and want to know its category, the route is the same, with a few extra options.

• Ask your insurer. If your car was written off after a claim, the insurer decided the category and will have told you. Ask for it in writing. If you bought the car second-hand, you will not have that paperwork, so use the other routes below.
• Check the V5C. If your car is a Cat S, a log book issued after the write-off should record it, because the old one is destroyed and DVLA issues the replacement with the category noted. A Cat N may not be mentioned. Check the VIN on the V5C against the car.
• Run a write-off check on your own registration. This is the same lookup a buyer would do, and it is better to know what is on your car's record before you try to sell it.
• Ask MIB for your data. MIB says it can search its vehicle salvage and theft data for evidence of whether a vehicle you own is marked as previously stolen or written off, usually free of charge, through a data subject access request with proof of identity. It says it cannot share markers from before your ownership, so this is no help for finding out what happened before you bought the car.

If you find a category you did not know about, tell your insurer. GOV.UK warns that failing to tell an insurer about a total-loss history can lead to a claim being rejected for non-disclosure. If you bought the car from a dealer or a private seller who did not mention it, keep the evidence and see our guide to what to do if the seller did not tell you.

What the category means for value and insurance

Briefly, because the dedicated guides cover it properly.

Value. A car with a write-off record normally sells for less than a similar car with a clean history, and Cat S usually carries the bigger discount because it involves structural damage. The size varies by model, age, damage and repair quality, so compare against similar clean cars and similar write-offs rather than relying on a rule of thumb. The record stays with the car, so the next buyer will expect the same discount from you.

Insurance. You must tell your insurer about the history. Some insurers will not quote, and those that do may charge more. GOV.UK's guidance is to get a quote before you buy, so any saving is not wiped out by a higher premium. Our guides cover insuring a Cat N car and insuring a Cat S car.

FAQ

How do I check what category a car is?

Run a write-off check on the registration, which checks the insurance write-off records. The category is set by the insurer, so it will not appear on the free DVLA vehicle enquiry service or the MOT history. If the car has a recorded write-off, the full report shows the category, the date of loss, the cause and damaged areas, and the insurer and the date recorded where the insurer recorded them.

How do I check if a car is Cat S or Cat N?

Use a write-off check on the reg. It tells you whether a Cat S or Cat N is recorded against the car, and which. A Cat S means structural damage and a Cat N means non-structural damage. You can use the Cat S check or Cat N check pages if you want to go straight to one, or the general write-off check to see every category.

Can I check a car's category for free?

No, not from the free official services. The free MOT history and DVLA vehicle enquiry service do not hold the category, and our own free check does not include write-off records. The full report does.

Does the V5C show the write-off category?

Not reliably. A Cat S log book should record the category, but a Cat N one carries no note of it, so a V5C that says nothing does not prove there has not been a write-off.

Is Cat D the same as Cat N, and Cat C the same as Cat S?

No. The old Cat C and Cat D were based on the economics of the repair, and the current Cat S and Cat N are based on whether the structure was damaged. Cars written off before 1 October 2017 keep their old letter, and it does not tell you whether the damage was structural. Treat an old C or D as a reason to inspect the car and ask what was damaged.

Will a repaired Cat S or Cat N still show on a check?

Yes. Repair does not remove the record, because the category describes the insurer's decision at the time of the loss. A repaired car is simply a car that was written off and then put back on the road.

What should I do if a car I own turns out to be a write-off?

Ask your insurer for the category in writing, check the V5C, and tell your insurer about the history so a future claim is not rejected for non-disclosure. If you bought it without being told, keep the advert, messages and receipt, and see our guide on what to do when a seller did not tell you. Citizens Advice can explain your rights.