A mileage discrepancy on the MOT history

Every MOT records the mileage, and the public MOT history shows each one. Buyers look for a reading that goes down, because that is the classic sign of clocking. If one of your cars has an odd reading on its record, this is what it means and what to do.

Why a reading looks wrong

• A typing error at the test. DVSA’s testing service now warns the tester when a reading they enter is considerably different from the last test (DVSA, November 2024).
• A replaced instrument cluster or odometer. The new unit may start from a different figure.
• Clocking. The odometer has been wound back. For a trader, altering an odometer reading is listed as a misleading action (Business Companion).

How a wrong reading gets corrected

GOV.UK sets out two routes (correcting MOT certificate mistakes):

1. Within 28 days of the test. Ask the MOT centre that did it. They need to see the car again, and they update the record to the mileage at the time they check it.
2. After 28 days. Report the mistake to DVSA online. You need evidence showing what the mileage should be and a date within one day of the test, such as the MOT invoice, an emissions printout, a service receipt or a job card from the MOT centre. Once DVSA updates it, a corrected certificate can be downloaded from the MOT history.

DVSA set out the same 28-day split in 2023 (Matters of Testing).

Selling the car

Trading standards guidance for car traders under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 is direct about mileage (Business Companion):

• Unless you are satisfied the odometer is accurate, the mileage “must not be quoted in advertisements, discussions or negotiations”, nor in the sale documents.
• Discrepancies in the mileage are among the things to tell the buyer before the sale.
• Do not rely on a mileage disclaimer “as a substitute for carrying out reasonable checks”. Where a disclaimer is used, it must be shown in good time and where the buyer will see it (mileage of used vehicles).
• If the odometer was found faulty and replaced, say so.

How a report shows it

A report plots every MOT reading and says plainly whether the mileage always went up. On the sample car it did:

Sample data, for illustration.

When a reading does go backwards, the report marks the mileage in red at the top and the chart line turns red, with the reading from each test in the MOT history below it. Run one on every car as it comes in, before you quote a mileage in an advert.