carVertical is a Lithuanian vehicle history check service that lets you enter a VIN or UK registration number to pull together ownership, mileage, damage, theft and finance records from over 1,000 data sources worldwide, with a single UK report currently priced at £31.99 (less if you buy in bulk). It’s aimed mainly at used car buyers who want to check a vehicle’s background before handing over money, and it’s particularly known for surfacing history on cars that were previously registered in another European country.
This guide covers exactly what you get in a carVertical report, current UK pricing, how the process works step by step, how it stacks up against free DVLA checks and established UK providers like HPI, and the mistakes people commonly make when using it.
What Is carVertical?
carVertical (styled carVertical, lower case c) is a vehicle history reporting company founded in Lithuania in 2017, according to company records. It operates in more than 30 countries, including the UK, and pulls data from over 1,000 sources such as national vehicle registries, insurance companies, law enforcement agencies and official garages.
The company markets itself as using blockchain technology to store report data, though for most UK buyers the practical difference from other providers comes down to the breadth of its European data network rather than the underlying tech. That European reach is genuinely carVertical’s main differentiator: if a car was previously registered in Germany, Poland, or elsewhere in the EU before coming to the UK, carVertical can sometimes surface history that UK-only providers simply don’t have access to.
What’s Included in a carVertical Report
A full carVertical report can include the following sections, though not every section appears for every vehicle, since it depends on what data is actually available:
- Odometer readings, to help detect possible mileage rollback
- Accident and damage history, including repair cost estimates where available
- Theft records checked against international police databases
- Ownership history, showing how many previous keepers the vehicle has had
- Title branding such as salvage, rebuilt or junk status, mainly relevant for US-imported vehicles
- Financial and legal status, including outstanding finance or legal disputes
- Vehicle specifications, covering factory engine, fuel and dimension details
- Market value estimate based on current pricing trends
- Safety ratings and recalls
- Historical photos, where available, which can help spot past damage
- Purpose history, flagging previous use as a taxi, rental or fleet vehicle
- A chronological timeline pulling all of the above into one summary view
How Much Does carVertical Cost?
As of mid-2026, a single carVertical report costs £31.99 in the UK, though the exact price can shift with promotions, so it’s worth checking the current price on carvertical.com/gb before buying. Buying multiple reports at once brings the per-report cost down significantly: two reports work out at around £21.99 each, and three reports drop the per-report price further still, according to current discount listings.
For businesses checking vehicles regularly, such as dealers or leasing companies, carVertical also offers bulk business pricing for 10, 30 or 100 reports, or a monthly subscription option, with per-report costs falling as volume increases.
It’s worth being aware that several independent UK comparison sites have pointed out that carVertical is one of the more expensive options for a standard UK-registered car, since cheaper UK-specific providers offer similar stolen, finance and write-off data for a fraction of the price. Where carVertical tends to justify its cost is specifically for European-imported vehicles, where its cross-border data genuinely isn’t available elsewhere.
How carVertical Compares to UK Alternatives
Before paying for any check, it’s worth knowing what you can get for free directly from GOV.UK. The official DVLA vehicle enquiry service gives you free MOT history, mileage recorded at each test, and current tax and SORN status for any UK-registered vehicle. What it doesn’t cover is outstanding finance, insurance write-off category, or stolen vehicle markers, since those come from separate, privately licensed databases rather than government records.
HPI Check is the UK’s long-established name in this space, trademarked and trading since the late 1930s, and is often used generically to mean “a vehicle history check” even when people mean a different provider entirely. HPI-branded checks and equivalents from providers like the AA, RAC and various independent UK sites typically range from around £5 to £20, covering the same core stolen, finance and write-off checks as carVertical for UK-registered cars.
The honest comparison is this: for a standard UK car with no import history, a cheaper UK-focused check will usually cover the same core risk data as carVertical at a lower price. carVertical’s advantage shows up specifically when a vehicle has cross-border history, since its wider international data network can pick up records that UK-only databases won’t have logged.
How the carVertical Process Works
- Find the vehicle’s VIN or UK registration, usually from the V5C logbook, the vehicle itself, or the seller’s listing.
- Enter the details on carvertical.com or through the mobile app, available for both iOS and Android.
- Choose your report package, single or multi-report, and complete payment by card.
- Receive your report, typically generated within minutes, viewable online and saved to your account.
- Review the findings, cross-referencing anything concerning against the seller directly or against a free DVLA MOT history check as a sanity check.
If the report comes back with no meaningful data in the key sections, described by carVertical as a “no-findings report,” an unused report credit is automatically added back to your account, valid for six months, according to the company’s refund policy.
Is carVertical Worth It? What Reviews Say
carVertical has tens of thousands of reviews on Trustpilot, with a mixed but broadly workable picture: many buyers report the report genuinely flagged an issue, such as undisclosed finance or accident history, that changed their decision to buy. Others report frustration with reports containing limited data for a specific vehicle, or with the refund process taking longer than expected.
The company does actively respond to negative reviews and, per its published refund policy, will return unused report credit automatically for reports with no substantive findings. That said, as with any single data provider, no vehicle history check, carVertical included, can guarantee complete coverage, since it depends entirely on what’s been logged in the underlying databases it queries.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Paying for carVertical on a standard UK car without checking cheaper alternatives first, since UK-focused providers often cover the same core risk data at a lower price.
- Skipping the free GOV.UK MOT and tax check, which takes seconds and can flag obvious issues before you spend anything.
- Not checking the VIN or reg carefully, since a single mistyped character will return a report for the wrong vehicle entirely.
- Assuming a clean report guarantees a problem-free car, when it only reflects what’s been recorded in the databases carVertical has access to.
- Buying single reports repeatedly instead of a multi-pack, if you know you’ll be checking more than one car during your search.
FAQS
Is carVertical accurate?
carVertical’s accuracy depends on how much data exists for a specific vehicle across its 1,000-plus sources, so results vary from car to car. For vehicles with strong European or US registration history, reports tend to be detailed, while some UK-only vehicles return more limited data.
How much does a carVertical report cost in the UK?
A single UK report currently costs £31.99, dropping to around £21.99 per report when you buy two at once, with further discounts for three or more. Prices change with promotions, so it’s worth checking carvertical.com/gb directly before buying.
Is carVertical better than an HPI check?
For a standard UK-registered car, HPI and similar UK-focused providers typically cover the same core stolen, finance and write-off checks at a lower price. carVertical’s main advantage is its European data network, which can be genuinely useful for vehicles previously registered outside the UK.
Can I get a refund from carVertical?
Yes, in specific circumstances. If a report returns no meaningful findings in the key sections, an unused report credit is automatically added back to your account for six months, and other refund requests can be raised directly with carVertical’s support team.
Do I need the VIN or just the registration number?
Either works for a UK car, since carVertical can look up the VIN from a UK registration plate automatically. Having the VIN to hand from the V5C logbook can help if the registration lookup doesn’t return a match.
Does carVertical check UK finance and write-off status?
Yes, carVertical includes financial and legal status checks, including outstanding finance and insurance write-off category, sourced from the same type of licensed databases that UK-specific providers use. For UK-only vehicles, this data typically overlaps closely with cheaper local alternatives.
Is there a free version of carVertical?
No, the full report is always paid, though the VIN decoder tool that shows basic factory specifications is free to use. There’s no way to access the full history report, including mileage, damage and ownership data, without paying.
What’s the difference between carVertical and a free DVLA check?
The free GOV.UK vehicle enquiry service covers MOT history, mileage at each test, and tax and SORN status. carVertical adds finance, theft, write-off, ownership history and, where available, cross-border European records that the free government service doesn’t include.
