When To MOT Your Car

Every vehicle in the UK needs to be tested each year to ensure that it meets the minimum road safety and environmental standards. The vehicle's first MOT is required on the third anniversary of its first registration. For example, a car registered 'from new' on 1 July 2005 will need to be tested for its first MOT no later than 1 July 2008. If a car is used prior to registration, such as an import, the MOT will be required three years from the end of the year of manufacture. For example, a vehicle manufactured at any time in 2005 will require an MOT no later than 31 December 2008.

If the vehicle is presented for test within the calendar month before the test is due, then the MOT certificate will have the expiry post-dated to one year after the expiry date of the current certificate. For example, if the current certificate was due to expire on 1 March 2007 (or a new vehicle needed its first test by that date), the vehicle could be tested any time on or after 2 February 2007 and the new certificate would run from the test date until 1 March 2008. This enables vehicle owners to have time to fix any failures that a test might find, and to have the car retested before the expiry date of the current certificate, without any loss of certificate length.

However, if the vehicle is tested earlier than one month before its due date, the MOT will only run for twelve months.

If your car does not have a current MOT, it must not be used on the public road (see Taking Your Vehicle Off the Road ). However, if you later decide that you want to use your vehicle again, you must book an MOT test. To make sure that you are legal when you present your car for testing, you must book an appointment and record your name and vehicle registration at a local test station before driving the vehicle there.

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