Import check. Is the car an import?
EVERY REPORT INCLUDES:
*Data provided by Experian
The DVLA import marker and the dates behind it.
How do I check if a car is an import?
Enter the registration above. The Condition section of the report shows the DVLA import marker where one is held, with the date and whether it was a non-EU import, plus whether the car was used before its first UK registration. The year of manufacture and the UK first registration date sit beside it; a long gap between the two is the classic sign of a car that lived somewhere else first.
Last updated
What the report shows
See the import marker and the dates.
The Condition section shows the DVLA import marker where one is held, with the date and whether it was a non-EU import, plus whether the car was used before its first UK registration, exported or previously exported. The report's vehicle summary gives the year of manufacture and the UK first registration date, so the gap between them is easy to read.
- Imported, with the date and non-EU flag where DVLA holds them
- Used before first UK registration, exported and previously exported markers
- Year of manufacture against the UK first registration date
- Imported
- Yes, non-EU import, 6 May 2019
- Used before first UK registration
- Yes
- Exported
- No
- Previously exported
- No
- Scrapped
- No
Dates
- Year of manufacture
- 2016
- First registered in the UK
- May 2019
What an Import Check Shows
The DVLA markers and the dates, so you know how much of the car's life the UK records cover.
DVLA Import Marker
The Condition section shows whether DVLA holds the car as imported, with the date and whether it came from outside the EU, where the records hold it
Exported and Back Again
The same section shows a car recorded as exported today, or previously exported and now back on UK records, and whether it was used before its first UK registration
Build Year vs UK Registration
The report's vehicle summary gives the year of manufacture and the UK first registration date, so a car that lived abroad for years before it arrived shows the gap
What UK Records Start From
The MOT history, keepers and plate changes begin at UK registration. The report shows them from that point, where records exist, so you can see how long the car has been here
What's Included in Your Import Check
How Carhealth compares to traditional vehicle check services.
Carhealth Report
from
£14.99
Standard checks
- Vehicle Tax Check
- MOT History (Full)
- Stolen Vehicle Check (data provided by Experian)
- Insurance Write-off Check (data provided by Experian)
- Mileage Verification
- Scrapped/Imported Status (data provided by Experian)
- Outstanding Finance Check (data provided by Experian)
Only with Carhealth
- AI Analysis
- Buyers Guide
- Maintenance due
- Common Problems
Also in every report
- Salvage & auction records (data provided by Experian)
- Previous damage
- Market value & 5-year forecast
- Safety recalls & NCAP rating
- Tax & ULEZ status
- Life expectancy estimate
- Previous adverts
- Services required
- Cost to own
- Negotiation brief
- Advert check
- Inspection checklist
- Ask the report
- Specification & options
Typical basic check
Standard checks
- Vehicle Tax Check
- MOT History (Full)
- Stolen Vehicle Check
- Insurance Write-off Check
- Mileage Verification
- Scrapped/Imported Status
- Outstanding Finance Check
Not included
- AI Analysis
- Buyers Guide
- Maintenance due
- Common Problems
*Data provided by Experian
How it works
From registration plate to full report, instantly.
Step 1: Enter your registration
Every UK car has a unique registration on its number plate or V5C logbook. Takes seconds to type in.
Step 2: We search multiple sources
We pull from DVLA, DVSA, Experian, salvage auction records, and more, all at once.
Step 3: Your report is ready
Your history report is ready instantly, covering finance, theft, mileage, accidents, and more.
Step 4: Buy with confidence
Use your report to negotiate a better price, avoid hidden problems, and make a safe, informed purchase.
View sample report →
Everything inside a Carhealth report.
Our checks go far beyond the basics: the full picture, before you hand over any money.
Red flags
Sample report- Outstanding finance (data provided by Experian)Hire purchase
- Insurance write-off (data provided by Experian)Cat N, June 2025
- Stolen records (data provided by Experian)Closed record
- Salvage auction (data provided by Experian)Sold July 2025
- Mileage1 reading out of line
- Taxi or private hirePossible, TfL licence
Finance, theft, write-offs and clocking.
Outstanding finance (data provided by Experian)
Any finance agreement still recorded against the car, with the lender and agreement type.
Write-offs and theft (data provided by Experian)
Insurance write-off categories, police stolen records and the car's DVLA status.
Salvage and auction records (data provided by Experian)
Salvage auction history, with links to the auction photos where available.
Mileage checks
Every recorded reading over time, so you can see whether the mileage adds up.
Taxi and private hire
Whether the car has been licensed as a taxi or private hire vehicle.
See this for your car.
Enter the registration and your report is ready instantly.
Check my carView a sample report
*Data provided by Experian
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about import check on Carhealth
Enter the registration on Carhealth. The Condition section of the report shows the DVLA import marker where one is held, with the date and whether it was a non-EU import, plus whether the car was used before its first UK registration. The year of manufacture and the UK first registration date sit beside it. A car built years before it was first registered here has usually come from abroad.
That DVLA registered the car after it was brought into the UK. GOV.UK says anyone bringing a vehicle in permanently must tell HMRC within 14 days that it has arrived, pay any VAT and duty, get vehicle approval where needed, then register and tax it with DVLA, and that you have to register a car when you import it even if it was registered in the UK before and then exported. The marker is the trace that process leaves.
That the car was recorded as exported from the UK and is now back on UK records. The report shows it as a separate line from a car recorded as exported today. Time abroad is a gap in the UK records: ask the seller where the car was, for how long, and for the foreign paperwork from that period.
Anything from before UK registration. The DVSA MOT history starts with the car's first UK test, and the keeper, plate and V5C records start with its UK registration. Insurer write-off records, mileage readings and keepers from its earlier life are held in the country it came from, where there are records at all. Ask for the export certificate and any service history from abroad.
A few months is normal: cars are often built late one year and registered early the next. A gap of two years or more usually means the car was registered somewhere else first, or stood unregistered. The import marker and the used-before-first-registration line in the report say which, where DVLA holds them.
Not in itself. Many imports are well kept and well specified. The difference is the paperwork: more of it, and less of it held in UK records. The report shows what the UK records hold from registration onwards, including finance, write-off, stolen and mileage records, so you know which questions still need the seller's documents to answer.
Want the dates first? The free car age check shows the year of manufacture and the UK first registration month. For the identity, see the VIN check, and for the exported and scrapped markers together, the scrapped car check.
Related guides
Plain-English reading on this check, from the Carhealth blog.