Share My Creation Reg Check

REG CHECK​

My first iOS app is now available
(in UK only as it isn`t useful elsewhere)

Easily check Vehicle Excise Duty and MOT test status
directly using the DVLA database

Type in the registration number and make then hit "SEARCH"

Display shows whether the vehicle has current or expired VED and MOT

Also shows details about the vehicle and what it would cost to tax

You can also enter the V5C doc ref number and show the MOT history of the vehicle

The idea was to create an app quickly and take a run through the process of creating, uploading and "jumping through the Apple hoops" until I had my first iOS app on iTunes.

Although it only took me a relatively short time to make the app, (thank you Erel for making the b4a > b4i transition a fairly smooth one), it still took Apple 2 weeks to review and approve the app.

It would have been a day less, if I had thought to put some sample data in the Notes field on the submission form.

I plan to continue developing this app, to make it look better and add more info.


A very big THANK YOU to my friends in the chat: Sorex, tds, NJDude and anyone else that helped
​

 

[Peter Simpson]

Very nice.
Where are you getting that data from though. Aren't you suppose to pay an officially vetted 3rd party company who are registered with the DVLA either a subscription fee or a fee on a per data retrieval basis.

I only know this because I've written Windows insurance accident claim packages for a few different clients and they are paying for the service. Hmm well actually they are getting back more information like Engine No, VIN No, first purchased date, engine size etc.

Each time I had to tell the clients to make sure that they tell the firms that they are developing the package in house, if not then I had to be vetted as well, then these firms gave out their API information and user key the information.

So I'm baffled to where you are getting this information from not unless you're paying a fee for it. I've never found a company that gives this information out for free as the DVLA charges for the information except to the police, courts and insurance companies.

But that was a few years ago, things could easily have changed by now and I could be completely wrong @MikeH, please enlighten me.

Thank you.

 

[sorex]

It was just parsing public data.

Not all countries are as open as the UK or Holland, in Belgium you can only get if the car plate is registered or not so pretty useles to make an app round that

 

[MikeH]

Thanks Sorex, yes, that`s exactly right. The data is public. The app just enables the user to access data and display it in a more convenient way. I know there are other services that charge but they provide more info as you say.

The relevant document is here: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

 

[Peter Simpson]

Hey @MikeH I was only asking the question as I've developed a couple of major insurance assessment programs for windows, and when it came to retrieving vehicle details (well the amount of details that the claims company needed), a fee was always applied no matter which company they signed up to. What I didn't know and was enquiring about was the fact that you can get the basic information for free. I didn't know that and was only asking you to educate me about it, nothing else that's it. I'm used to typing in my car reg into these insurance claim programs that I've developed and seeing just about every single bit of information that you could ever need, so I just presumed that to get basic information you had you jump through the same hoops but pay less. Just me, the information that I see when I type in my own car reg is just astonishing. So no @sorex I wouldn't say that the UK was that open after all as the basic information is not a patch on the full information, but thank you anyway.

Here is the start of one of my queries but obviously without the long string that follows it with my developers ID, encoded reg number etc etc etc.

http://uat.automotivemxin.com/default.aspx

I'm off out to do some 450 3D stuff.

Cheers @MikeH and nice app...