[Closed] when is a cars first mot

It is valid for 12 months from the date you have it tested.

IIRC you have 7 days grace to have it tested so any time up to 6 April - but check!

It is valid for 12 months from the date you have it tested.

So the 30? day early rule only applies to subsequent mots and not the first?

3 years from date of first registration and every year after that.
You can not wait until April unless you take it off the road and (I think) use a trailer to get it to the MOT station.

I think you can test it up to one month before its due, but unless you're planning on going away, why would you?
You could take a risk of course, but if you're caught... no insurance, several points and a hefty fine

I generally do mine about 2 weeks before its due - on the odd occasion that it fails, you have time to fix it before it's not legal

If you do get it tested early, but not too early, the certificate is valid until 12 months from its anniversary, not from the date of the test. It'll say on the test certificate the earliest date you can test it to keep the anniversary the same

Example, you get it tested on 14th March and it passes, the certificate is valid until 30th March next year, but you can get it tested up to 30(?) days early and it keeps the expiry date as the 30th March; and so on

Mrmo - apparently the rule is the same - my mistake

I generally do mine about 2 weeks before its due - on the odd occasion that it fails, you have time to fix it before it's not legal

I thought if it failed, even in the grace period, then it was illegal to drive.

The law states you must have a road worthy vehicle if its being driven on the road? And a vehicle that's failed an MOT is not road worthy, in the eyes of the law?

Could be wrong, but that's how I've always interpreted it.

Yes, you need to get it tested some time in March and the test centre can date it 1 April. To preserve the anniversary the earliest you can present it for test is 1 March, not sure about the latest date.

Thinking about it, the car has a three year warranty i think? so would i be sensible in getting the test done a couple of weeks before the anniversary of the registration date incase it fails on a warranty replaceable item?

Sounds like a good idea, that's what I'll be doing with my 2010 car, in June.

I thought if it failed, even in the grace period, then it was illegal to drive.

That only applies to dangerous faults IIRC, in which case they specifically tell you you can't drive it away.

Can somebody please show me evidence that there is a grace period after the expiry date of a vehicles MOT ?

john_drummer - Member

You can not wait until April unless you take it off the road and (I think) use a trailer to get it to the MOT station.

You can drive directly to a test centre with no MOT as long as you have it booked, and take it from the testing centre to a place of repair.

But, driving a vehicle that's unsafe is a separate issue- as it's perfectly possible for a vehicle to fail an MOT but still be safe, or to have an MOT and be unsafe. And if you're involved in an accident which the unroadworthiness contributed to, when it's on record that it's unsafe, you're potentially going to end up belonging to the man with the most cigarettes.

honkiebikedude - Member

Can somebody please show me evidence that there is a grace period after the expiry date of a vehicles MOT ?

Don't think anyone's suggested there is one?

[i]I think you can test it up to one month before its due, but unless you're planning on going away, why would you?[/i]

Because it gives you a month to fix any failures. I always get mine done early, as you get credit for the time left - why wait until the last minute?

IIRC you have 7 days grace to have it tested so any time up to 6 April

Sugests that some people believe there may be a grace period ?

Aye, but "my mistake" suggests otherwise 😉

Can somebody please show me evidence that there is a grace period after the expiry date of a vehicles MOT ?

There isn't. The grace period I was referring to was the 30 day period where you can MOT your car before it officially expires and still get a years MOT from the day it expires. Perhaps 'grace period' is the wrong terminology

You can MOT a car whenever you like, the 30 day rule is so you can effectively get 13 months test. If its tested 31 days before expiry or 3rd birthday you get 12 months, no more.

You could take a risk of course, but if you're caught... no insurance, several points and a hefty fine

Insurance will be fine. A current MOT is only evidence that the car was roadworthy on the day it was tested

You can not wait until April unless you take it off the road and (I think) use a trailer to get it to the MOT station