Does your car have a valid MOT?

Driving your vehicle without a valid MOT is a motoring offence and can lead to hefty fines. It can also lead to problems if you are involved in an accident or your vehicle is stolen.

In May 2018 the MOT test changed – and so did the associated fines. The maximum fine for driving a car without an MOT is £1000. In many cases the Police will issue a £100 on the spot fine. Driving a vehicle that has failed an MOT with a “DANGEROUS” notification could lead to a fine of £2500 and up to 3 points on your licence. 2018 MOT test is explained in more detail here.

New cars are exempt from an MOT until they reach the third anniversary of their registration. Once a car/ motorbike / van is 3 years old the owner is required to obtain an MOT (* see exceptions below)

Don’t forget to check your car’s insurance

The penalty for driving without valid insurance is far greater than an MOT. It’s easy to forget whether you have renewed your car insurance, especially if you have several vehicles. Check to see if your car is insured now – if not do it as soon as you’ve got your MOT sorted out.

Check your MOT expiry

An MOT certificate is evidence that a vehicle has passed a rigorous series of tests ensuring it is road worthy, safe and performing within the UK’s emissions standards. If you are unsure as to whether or not your vehicle has a valid MOT certificate please use our checker below.

This service is FREE. The data feed is updated every 24 hours. If your vehicle has just passed an MOT – within the last few hours – it may still report it as NO MOT – please check again tomorrow. To proceed simply enter your VRM (vehicle registration mark) in the box and click enter. If you want to find out more about your vehicle’s history then please visit our affiliated partners below

Please scroll down this page for more related information including:–

• a free MOT History Report (back to 2008)
• information regarding MOT exemptions (Historic Vehicles)
• an explanation of MOT advisories
• MOT reminder service (email or text)

MOT History Report

It is possible to obtain a detailed MOT history of your vehicle from the UK government’s official vehicle enquiry service. Simply enter your registration number for a detailed history of previous tests back to 2005. The report gives access to the following

• if the vehicle passed or failed
• what the vehicle’s mileage was when it was tested
• what the failures were at each test – and whether any parts had minor problems reported as “advisories” on the report
• when the next MOT is due

Please click the button below for a free MOT history check with GOV.UK website. However, if you want to know more about your car, van or motorbike’s history then please consider the service offered by our affiliated partners via the yellow advert blocks.

MOT Advisories

From the GOV.uk website – “Advisory items are provided for advice. For some of these, if they became more serious, your vehicle may no longer be roadworthy and could require immediate attention”

The detailed history report above is from a car I recently bought. The MOT advisories can be used in several ways – hopefully saving you money and hassle. On my specific example above the MOT centre highlighted the following advisories

• Nearside Front Tyre worn close to the legal limit 3mm on outside edge (4.1.E.1)
• Nearside Rear Tyre worn close to the legal limit 3.5mm on outside edge (4.1.E.1)
• Rear exhaust heat shield is loose
• Offside Rear Brake pipe slightly corroded (3.6.B.2c)

With this knowledge I have time to shop around for some good value tyres. Rather than wait until the car fails it’s next MOT – thus feeling obliged to have the MOT centre replace the tyres. I have the opportunity to make good BEFORE the MOT test and get the tyres I want at the best price.

Similarly, I can get quotes from 2 or 3 local garages for checking the “offside rear brake pipes”. With regard to the “Rear exhaust heat shield is loose” – this is something I am confident to tackle myself

Common Exemptions

Most vehicles require an MOT test on the third anniversary of their registration. In general, once your car, van or motorbike reaches 3 years old you will need to book it in for a test. However, there are certain classes of vehicle that are exempt from an MOT. The list of vehicles that are exempt is quite complicated and regularly reviewed.

A better understanding of these exceptions can be found on the MOT forms page of the gov.uk website. The Dept for Transport made considerable changes to the exemption from testing of  specialised vehicles in 2017 – this subject is covered well on the TransportOperator website

Historic Vehicles

One group of vehicles that can take advantage of MOT exemption are Classic Cars and other older vehicles. If you have an Historic Vehicle over 40 years old then that it may be exempt. To check if your historic vehicle is exempt from an MOT test please press the button below