The way the MOT works in England, Scotland & Wales will be changing from Sunday 20th May 2018. The changes will take effect immediately on the 20th May and will cover cars, vans, motorcycles and other light passenger vehicles. It is important that you understand these changes before your vehicle has it's next MOT. We can split the changes into 5 areas and these are as follows.
The traditional MOT will either be a fail or a pass and may contain one or more advisories. Under the new MOT system the defects will be split into 3 possible categories;
Like the old system, the category given to a defect will depend on the defect itself and how this impacts on the use of the vehicle (e.g. safety or emissions). MOT testers will determine the seriousness of a defect and assign it the correct category based on testing guidelines and experience. MOT testers will still be able to issue advisories as per the previous system.
Defect | Description | Result |
Dangerous | A direct or immediate risk to road safety or has a serious impact on the environment Do not drive the vehicle until the problem has been repaired | Fail |
Major | It may affect the vehicle’s safety, put other road users at risk or have an impact on the environment. Repair it immediately. | Fail |
Minor | No significant effect on the safety of the vehicle or impact on the environment. Repair as soon as possible. | Pass |
Advisory | It could become more serious in the future. Monitor and repair it if necessary. | Pass |
Pass | It meets the minimum legal standard.Make sure it continues to meet the standard. | Pass |
Modern diesels are fitted with a DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) that captures and stores soot from the cars exhaust system to reduce emissions. You will receive a major defect if the MOT tester notices:
There will be some new additions to the MOT test from 20th May, these will include;
There are some additional changes and tweaks to existing defect checks, these can be explained by speaking to an MOT tester or representative at the testing station.
The core design of the MOT certificate will change, this will make it easier to understand the defect and which category it falls within. The online MOT History Check will also change to reflect the new layout.
Currently, vehicles built before 1960 are except from the MOT test. As of 20th May, cars, vans, motorcycles and other light passenger vehicles will no longer require an MOT if they are over 40 years old and have not been substantially changed or modified. From the 20th May on wards, vehicles will no longer need an MOT once they reach their 40th anniversary. For example a car first registered on 24th May 1978 will no longer require an MOT from 24th May 2018. You do not need to apply to stop getting an MOT but you will need to declare the vehicle meets the MOT exemption when applying for vehicle tax (even if you do not pay for tax)
Many other MOT aspects will remain the same, importantly the following