From Friday 9 January 2026, the DVSA will introduce several important changes to the MOT scheme that directly affect MOT testers and Authorised Examiners (AEs). These updates focus on disciplinary action, tester eligibility, training oversight and compliance. While some of the groundwork has already been laid through recent guide updates, January 2026 marks the point where several stricter rules formally…
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The MOT first started on 12th September 1960 – but whilst an annual requirement, initially it only applied to vehicles over ten years old. That changed in 1961 to vehicles over 7 years old, and then six years later in 1967 the current three-year old vehicles having to have their first MOT was set up. That remains the case today.…
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Beverley Warmington has been appointed as the new Chief Executive of the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA). She will take up the role on 5 January 2026, succeeding Loveday Ryder, who has led the agency since January 2021. Warmington brings nearly 20 years of experience in public service, with a strong background in leading large operational organisations. Prior to…
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How much is an MOT? The cost of an MOT test in the UK is set by the government’s Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) as a statutory maximum fee. This MOT test cost is reviewed periodically in consultation with the MOT industry to account for factors like changes in vehicle technology, stricter inspection requirements (e.g. new emissions checks), the…
Read More![Mechanic checking a car with a clipboard [url=http://www.istockphoto.com/my_lightbox_contents.php?lightboxID=5481886][img]http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w171/manley099/Lightbox/flame.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.istockphoto.com/my_lightbox_contents.php?lightboxID=5455224][img]http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w171/manley099/Lightbox/cars.jpg[/img][/url]](https://motester.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/MOT-Tester.jpg)
Introduction In 2023 alone, over 43 million MOT tests were conducted in Great Britain and 9.87 million (22.6%) resulted in failure, meaning roughly one in five vehicles failed their MOT that yearracfoundation.org. This national average, however, masks significant regional differences. MOT failure rates can vary widely across different parts of the UK, influenced by factors ranging from vehicle condition and…
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Tyre safety, MOT failure reasons, and how garages can tackle tyre neglect. A Growing Trend: Drivers Waiting for the MOT Before Addressing Tyres Across the UK, tyre neglect remains one of the most persistent issues encountered by MOT stations and independent garages. Research consistently shows that a large percentage of drivers only replace their tyres when prompted by an MOT…
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The current MOT fee was set on 6th April 2010 – over 15 years ago at the current cost of £54.85. After the DVSA cost of the £2.05 slot fee, this leaves just £52.80 received by MOT Test Stations for an MOT vehicle examination that can take up to an hour, or even more. Are there any other costs of…
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Drivers across the UK have been warned they could face repair costs averaging £617 if they skip an MOT test or ignore necessary repairs. The warning comes amid data highlighting how many motorists are hit by unexpected breakdowns and expensive repairs when maintenance is neglected. (Original source: GB News – Millions face huge £617 repair bill without MOT test) What…
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From 10 June 2025, major changes to driving licence entitlements for zero-emission vans have come into force, designed to make it easier for businesses and drivers to adopt electric fleets. These changes have key implications for MOT garages, MOT testers, and suppliers in the EV van space. (Original source: EV Fleet World – New licence rules for heavier electric vans…
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Diesel Particulate Filters and the MOT A Parliamentary lobbying group called The Westminster Commission for Road Air Quality (WCRAQ) set up by Barry Sheerman, the Labour MP for Huddersfield, claims that up to 10 percent of diesel cars could have faulty or damaged diesel particulate filters (DPFs). The organisation has further suggested that stricter MOT Testing should be introduced to…
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The links below will take you directly to the page which has details of the MOT test of that item, with descriptions of ‘Minor’, ‘Major’ and ‘Dangerous’ criteria.
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We recently received this letter from a reader of the magazine – unfortunately too late for publication in the February ’15 edition, but we will include it in the May edition as we consider it to be one of the most important issues connected with MOT Testing in the UK at the moment – price cutting and fee discounting, and…
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The MOT Trade For the year to 15th March last year there were well over 21,600 Vehicle Testing Stations (VTSs), conducting, over just under 27 million ‘first presentation’ MOT inspections. That’s a lot of Testing Stations and a lot of Tests – so who does what? Are just a handful of VTSs doing most Tests? Do some do hardly any…
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Appeal Tests… Many Testers and Authorised Examiners have, at some time or another, suffered the anxious experience of attending a VOSA ‘Appeal’ Test following a complaint from a motorist about the MOT outcome – pass or fail. There are too many uncertainties to ever contemplate an Appeal Test with an easy mind. There are, however, a few important ‘do’s and…
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A ‘service’ – not to be confused with an ‘MOT’ When is a ‘service’ not a ‘service’, and how much, if anything, inspected during a ‘service’ would be the same as an MOT? In a Transport Research Laboratory report assessing the road safety affects of reduced MOT frequency, the authors made the assumption that half of all motorists would be…
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Diesel particulate filters – and the MOT [Please note that MOT Test regulations have changed since this article was first posted – see below for revised regulations] In late September, a Labour Peer in the House of Lords, Lord Berkeley, asked the Government what on the face of it was a simple question: “what steps they are taking to warn…
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As Testers know, Special Notice 3 0 2013 took effect on 26th June this year. It mandated a new way of measuring and recording brake imbalance by using either ‘lock-up’ or ‘slippage’ readings. There is, however, a problem. In practice the new method of inspection means that what’s measured is as much the level of traction between the tyre and…
Read More“…dangerous to drive…” Whenever an MOT Tester decides a vehicle should fail the MOT Test, there is an option to declare that one or more of the defects discovered render the vehicle ‘dangerous to drive…’. This is stated in a box at the bottom left of the failure certificate, and the dangerous items are noted as such in bold, and…
Read MoreLate last year, the Parliamentary Transport Committee decided to scrutinize the DfT’s framework plan for road safety and asked for anybody who had an interest to provide evidence. Our Editor, Jim Punter in his role as Chairman of the MOT Trade Forum, a body which promotes the interests of the MOT industry, provided written evidence to the committee noting that…
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Electric vehicles (more specifically battery-driven vehicles, to differentiate them from trains, trams and trolleybuses, which use a land-based power source) previously thought of as confined to the realms of golf carts, the milkman or mobility for the disabled, are now emerging as a viable commuting vehicle. Further, as road performance and battery endurance increase, and the downward pressure on emissions…
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