Book Your MOT
Every year your car needs an annual MOT to ensure that your vehicle meets road safety and environmental standards. Our MOT testing centre and testers who are regularly reassessed by the Vehicle Operator Agency (VOSA) can carry out MOT tests and help identify and repair any faults found
Why do I Need an MOT?
If your vehicle is over 3 years old you are required, to have an annual safety check to ensure that your vehicle meets the minimum safety standard required by law as set by the Ministry of Transport.
All MOTs are conducted by a nominated tester who has been authorised by the Government body called VOSA (Vehicle and Operator Services Agency).
A series of tests and examinations are carried out in and around the vehicle and this is recorded on the central MOT testing system. If a vehicle passes you will be issued with a VT20 pass certificate, otherwise, you will be issued with a VT30 failure document which will list areas that need to be remedied before a valid MOT pass certificate can be issued.
If you do not have a valid MOT certificate you will be unable to lawfully drive your vehicle and you could be liable for a fine, if found to be driving a vehicle without an MOT certificate.
Worse, if you are in a crash without a valid MOT certificate, any insurance claim could be affected especially in the case of an injury.
What checks are conducted for an MOT?
Interior checks
- Seats and seat belts
- Warning lamps
- Switches (position lamp, headlamp, hazards)
- View to front, wipers and washers
- Brake controls, servo operation
- Steering wheel and column
- Doors, mirrors, horn
- Speedometer, driver controls (Class 5 only)
- driver controls (Class 5 only)
Exterior checks
- Registration plates
- Lamps, registration plate lamps
- Indicators, hazards
- Headlamps & aim
- Stop lamps, fog lamps, reflectors
- Wheels, tyres
- Shock absorbers
- Mirrors, wiper blades, fuel tank cap
- Glazing (Class 5 only)
- Doors, boot lid, loading doors, bonnet
- Towbars
- General condition of body
Under bonnet checks
- Vehicle structure
- Braking systems
- Exhaust systems, fuel system
- Speed limiter (if applicable)
- Steering & power steering components
- Suspension components
Under vehicle checks
- Steering including power steering
- Drive shafts (if applicable)
- Suspension, shock absorbers
- Wheel bearings
- Wheels & tyres
- Brake systems & mechanical components
- Exhaust system
- Fuel system & fuel tank
- Structure, general vehicle condition
What checks are conducted for an MOT?
Interior checks
- Seats and seat belts
- Warning lamps
- Switches (position lamp, headlamp, hazards)
- View to front, wipers and washers
- Brake controls, servo operation
- Steering wheel and column
- Doors, mirrors, horn
- Speedometer, driver controls (Class 5 only)
- driver controls (Class 5 only)
Exterior checks
- Registration plates
- Lamps, registration plate lamps
- Indicators, hazards
- Headlamps & aim
- Stop lamps, fog lamps, reflectors
- Wheels, tyres
- Shock absorbers
- Mirrors, wiper blades, fuel tank cap
- Glazing (Class 5 only)
- Doors, boot lid, loading doors, bonnet
- Towbars
- General condition of body
Under bonnet checks
- Vehicle structure
- Braking systems
- Exhaust systems, fuel system
- Speed limiter (if applicable)
- Steering & power steering components
- Suspension components
Under vehicle checks
- Steering including power steering
- Drive shafts (if applicable)
- Suspension, shock absorbers
- Wheel bearings
- Wheels & tyres
- Brake systems & mechanical components
- Exhaust system
- Fuel system & fuel tank
- Structure, general vehicle condition
What happens if I fail an MOT?
In some cases, your vehicle can have a partial retest for free or a reduced MOT fee.
If you leave your vehicle at the test centre for repair and it’s retested within 10 working days. There’s no fee for this.
You can take your vehicle away if your MOT certificate is still valid.
If your MOT has run out you can take your vehicle to:
- Have the failed defects fixed
- A pre-arranged MOT test appointment
In both cases, your vehicle still needs to meet the minimum standards of roadworthiness at all times or you can be fined.
You won’t have to pay again if you take it back to the same test centre before the end of the next working day for a partial retest on one or more of these items:
- access panels
- battery
- bonnet
- bootlid
- brake pedal antislip
- break glass hammer (class 5 vehicles only)
- doors (including hinges, catches and pillars)
- door open warning device (class 5 vehicles only)
- dropsides
- electrical wiring
- emergency exits and
- signs (class 5 vehicles only)
- entrance door remote control (class 5 vehicles only)
entrance/exit steps (class 5 vehicles only) - fuel filler cap
- headlamp cleaning or levelling devices (that doesn’t need a headlamp aim check)
- horn
- lamps (excluding headlamp aim)
- loading door
- main beam ‘tell-tale’
- mirrors
- rear reflectors
- registration plates
- seatbelts (but not anchorages), seatbelt load limiter and seatbelt pre-tensioner
- seats
- sharp edges or projections
- stairs (class 5 vehicles only)
- steering wheel
- tailboard
- tailgate
- trailer electrical sockets
- towbars (excluding body around anchorage points)
- tyre pressure monitoring system
- vehicle identification number (VIN)
- windscreen glass, wipers and washers
- wheels and tyres (excluding motorcycles and motorcycles with sidecar)
You’ll only need a partial retest if you take the vehicle from the test centre for repairs and take it back within 10 working days. You can be charged a partial retest fee for this.
