Glossary · UK car ownership
What is a full service history? What FSH means.
FSH is short for Full Service History: a complete record of every manufacturer-recommended service a car has had, evidenced by dealer stamps, garage invoices, or a digital service log. Few documents matter more to UK buyers, and the difference between FSH and "no history" can be worth hundreds or thousands when you come to sell.
FSH, FDSH, PSH: what each one really means
Classified ads and dealer listings lean on four shorthand terms for service history. They don't mean the same thing, and knowing them apart pays off whether you're buying or selling.
| Acronym | Stands for | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| FSH | Full Service History | Every recommended service carried out on schedule and logged, by a dealer or an approved independent. |
| FDSH | Full Dealer Service History | Every service handled by an authorised manufacturer dealer. The toughest standard to meet. |
| PSH | Part Service History | Some services logged, others missing or never done. What you'll see most often in practice. |
| NSH | No Service History | Nothing documented at all. Usually a mislaid service book or an inherited car. |
Why FSH matters at resale
Documented full service history tells the next owner the car has been cared for. It shapes what you can ask for it, how fast it sells, and how much leverage a buyer has to talk you down. Auto Trader, dealers, and private buyers alike check service history early on. A 2024 industry survey pegged the FSH premium at 5–15% of the sale price for mainstream brands, and more still on premium marques such as Audi, BMW, and Porsche.
It cuts the other way too. A car advertised with "no service history" lingers on the market and draws lower offers, because buyers factor in the risk of maintenance they can't account for. Sellers with no records to show tend to either cut the asking price or pay to recover the history before listing.
How to work out what service history your car has
Begin with the paper service book, usually in the car's document wallet or the glovebox. Check for stamped entries listing the garage name, the date, and the mileage at each service. A good number of manufacturers (Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Porsche, and others) now keep a digital service portal too, where entries are held online and authorised dealers can see them.
When the book has gone missing or the stamps run out halfway through, that's normally when it dawns on an owner they're dealing with PSH or NSH. The records usually still exist — they're just not in your possession. Authorised dealers hold workshop records for roughly 7–10 years, depending on the manufacturer, and independent garages keep theirs for varying lengths of time as well.
What to do when your service history is missing
Gaps in the record aren't something you have to live with. servicelogbook.co.uk gets missing service records back by approaching the dealers, specialists, and independent garages most likely to have serviced the car. You enter your registration, we look at what's already sitting in the digital portals, then we chase down confirmation from anyone who might hold the paperwork, stamps, or invoices for the visits your book doesn't cover.
For most UK cars, getting some or all of the missing history back takes anywhere from 24 hours to 14 days, depending on how many garages we need to reach and how quickly they respond. You end up with a single downloadable record pack you can pass straight to a buyer.
Find your service history by brand
No two manufacturers keep their records quite the same way, each with its own portal, dealer policies, and network of specialists. If you already know your brand, head straight to its page:
Service history missing? Start a search.
Enter your registration and we'll look at the dealer portal first, then chase the garages most likely to hold the records you're missing. You get a clear service-history pack to keep or send on to a buyer.