Privacy Policy

Who we are

MOTMate UK (“we”, “us”, “our”) operates the website motmateuk.com. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect when you use the site and how we handle it.

Information we collect

When you check a vehicle on MOTMate, the registration you enter is sent to our servers and forwarded to the DVSA MOT History API and DVLA Vehicle Enquiry API to retrieve vehicle data. We do not require you to create an account, log in, or provide any personal details.

We may collect standard server logs (IP address, user agent, request timestamp and URL) for security, abuse prevention and rate limiting. We may use anonymised analytics (e.g. Google Analytics) to understand site usage in aggregate.

How we use information

• To return the MOT history and tax status you requested
• To cache recent lookups briefly (around 60 seconds) to reduce API calls and improve speed
• To enforce per-IP rate limits and prevent abuse
• To diagnose errors and improve reliability
• To understand site usage in aggregate via anonymised analytics

Cookies

MOTMate uses minimal cookies. We may set analytics cookies to count visitors in aggregate. You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings without losing functionality.

When you click one of our affiliate or partner links (for example, to buy car parts from one of our retail partners), the affiliate network and the partner you visit may set cookies on their own websites to recognise that you came from MOTMate, so we can be credited for any resulting purchase. These cookies are set by those third parties on their domains, not by MOTMate, and are only involved if you choose to click such a link. You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings at any time.

Third-party services

We rely on the following third-party services:

• DVSA MOT History API (vehicle MOT records)
• DVLA Vehicle Enquiry API (tax and vehicle details)
• Google Analytics (anonymised site usage)
• Awin (affiliate network that tracks referrals from our partner links)
• Affiliate retail partners we link to, such as Amazon, eBay and GSF Car Parts
• Hosting infrastructure (for site delivery)

Affiliate links

Some links on MOTMate are affiliate links, clearly labelled “Ad”. If you click one and go on to make a booking or purchase, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. This helps keep MOTMate free to use. We only recommend services we believe are useful to UK drivers, and being an affiliate does not change the information or results we show you.

Your rights

Under UK GDPR you have rights including access, rectification, erasure, restriction and objection. Because we do not hold accounts or personal profiles, most requests concern server logs. To exercise your rights, email info@motmateuk.com.

Changes

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The latest version will always be available on this page.