Jun 13, 2019
An MoT certificate confirms that your car met the minimum acceptable environmental and road safety standards required by law at the time of testing.
All vehicles that are over 3 years old must have a current MoT test certificate. This is then renewed yearly. This annual MoT inspection is your responsibility as a vehicle owner.
It’s an offence to use a car or vehicle of test age that doesn’t have a current test certificate on a public road except when:
However, even in the above circumstances, you may still be prosecuted for driving an unroadworthy vehicle if it doesn’t meet various regulations affecting its construction and use. The insurance may also not be valid.
If you’re not sure when your MoT is due, it’s easy to find out. An A4 size, plain paper, vehicle test certificate will be issued following the inspection of your vehicle. You can find out when your current MoT expires on this test certificate.
However, if you can’t find this, all you need is your vehicle registration in order to be able to check online. Visit > https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk/ and enter your vehicle registration number. This will tell you straight away if the vehicle has a valid certificate and when your MoT expires.
Once you have found out when your MoT expires, you can book your next test as soon as possible. This can be carried out a month before your current certificate expires. The expiry date associated with your new MoT will still be a year from when your old one expires rather than a year after the date of the test.
Essentially, this means that if your MoT is due within a month or less, you won’t 'lose' days if you choose to have your car tested early.
It’s important to ensure your car is ready for MoT.
If your MoT test is coming up you’ll want to pass it with flying colours, that’s why we’ve decided to put together a handy list of top tips that will help you ace your way through the test. Read our tips to avoid failing an MoT today.
Due an MoT? Get quotes with MyCarNeedsA.com from approved MoT centres near you.