In short
MOT History is a free shortcut to GOV.UK. You type a registration into its toolbar box and it opens the official MOT history page in a new tab.
Dabers ANPR reads the plate from a car photo and shows the MOT history in a popup on the page you are on. Each check costs a credit.
For one or two cars where you already have the reg, MOT History is enough. For a catalogue of cars it leaves you with the same typing and the same tabs as before.
MOT History is a Chrome extension offered by lewisbelldev. On 12 October 2026 its store listing showed 8 users, no ratings, version 1.0.0 and a last update on 30 October 2025. The listing describes it in one line: "Search for a car's MOT history using the registration, opening a link to the gov.uk's MOT history page."
What MOT History does#
We unpacked version 1.0.0 and read it. The toolbar popup holds a text box and a search button. Type a registration, press Enter, and the extension removes the spaces and opens check-mot.service.gov.uk for that registration in a new tab, with the recall check switched on. The package contains nothing else.
The extension asks Chrome for no permissions and has no account or payment. The listing says the developer "will not collect or use your data", and the code matches that: the only place the registration goes is GOV.UK.
Side by side#
| MOT History | Dabers ANPR | |
|---|---|---|
| How a check starts | Type the reg into the toolbar box | Right-click the car photo |
| Where the result shows | A new GOV.UK tab | A popup on the same page |
| Reg needed in advance | Yes | No, it is read from the photo |
| Data | GOV.UK MOT history page | DVSA MOT History API |
| Recalls | Yes, GOV.UK checks them | No |
| Account | None | Sign-in needed |
| Cost on 12 Oct 2026 | Free | From 1.75p to 2.5p a check, see pricing |
Where MOT History is the better choice#
It costs nothing and it sends you to the official page, which also shows outstanding safety recalls. Dabers ANPR does not show recalls. If you check a handful of cars a month and the reg is written in the advert, MOT History saves you finding the GOV.UK page and that is all you need.
It also works when there is no usable photo. Dabers ANPR needs a plate it can read in the image.
Where it slows a trade buyer down#
Auction and classified listings often show the plate only in the photos. With MOT History you still read the plate off the picture, type it in, and get a new tab for every car. After forty lots that is forty tabs, and you have to match each one back to its listing.
That routine is the same one described in Dabers ANPR vs the GOV.UK MOT check, with one step removed. Dabers ANPR removes the typing and the tab as well: you right-click the photo and the history opens over the listing. How it works covers the steps.
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