MOT results explained

Each item the tester checks gets one of these results, and each one tells you what to do next:

• Dangerous (fail). The problem is an immediate risk to road safety, or has a serious impact on the environment. Don’t drive the car until it has been repaired.
• Major (fail). It may affect the car’s safety, put other road users at risk or have an impact on the environment. Have it repaired straight away.
• Minor (pass). It has no significant effect on the car’s safety or the environment, but it should be repaired as soon as possible.
• Advisory (pass). Not bad enough to fail, but it could get worse. Keep an eye on it and have it repaired if needed.
• Pass. The item meets the minimum legal standard, and it’s up to you to keep it that way.

One dangerous or major problem is enough to fail the car, however well the rest does, and a pass can still come with a list of minor problems and advisories.

Whatever the outcome, the result is recorded in the MOT database, and you can see it in the car’s online MOT history.

• After a pass, you can ask the test centre for a printed MOT certificate. It lists any defects under their grades.
• After a fail, you can get a ‘refusal of an MOT test certificate’ from the test centre.

For tests in England, Scotland and Wales, the online history also lets you download current and previous certificates, and shows what failed at each test and any parts with minor problems.

If you lose a certificate, you can get a replacement online free, with the registration and the 11-digit number from the log book (V5C). You can also ask any MOT centre for one in person, not only the one that did the test, and it can charge up to £10.

It depends on two things: whether the old MOT is still valid, and whether any dangerous problems were listed.

• Old MOT still valid, nothing dangerous. You can take the car away.
• A dangerous problem listed. The car has to be repaired before it’s driven. Driving a car that failed its MOT because of a dangerous problem can mean a fine of up to £2,500, a driving ban and 3 penalty points.
• Old MOT already run out. You can only take the car to have the failed items fixed, or to a pre-arranged test.

In every case, the car must meet the minimum standards of roadworthiness whenever it’s driven, or you can be fined. When is my MOT due? covers the rules on driving without a valid MOT.

After repairs, the car may only need a partial retest rather than a full MOT. What you pay depends on where it’s repaired and how soon it goes back:

• Left at the test centre for repair. If it’s retested within 10 working days, the partial retest is free.
• Taken away, and back by the end of the next working day. Take it back to the same test centre and you won’t pay again for a partial retest on certain items. They include the lamps (not the headlamp aim), horn, mirrors, windscreen glass, wipers and washers, wheels and tyres, seats, seatbelts (not their anchorages), doors, bonnet, bootlid, registration plates, fuel filler cap, battery and electrical wiring. GOV.UK’s retest page has the full list.
• Taken away, and back within 10 working days. It needs only a partial retest, but you can be charged a partial retest fee.
• Any other case. It needs a full retest, and you pay the full MOT fee again.

So if the repairs will be done somewhere other than the test centre, check the timing before you book them. On Matchanic you can post ‘MOT failure repairs’ or an ‘MOT retest’, with the failed items from your result, and garages on Matchanic can choose whether to quote. The retest, like the MOT itself, has to be done at an approved MOT test centre. Matchanic doesn’t check whether a garage is one, so ask before you accept a quote for it.

You can appeal to the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) if the car failed, or if it passed and you think it should have failed. Don’t have any repairs done until the appeal is over.

Appealing a fail

1. Talk to the test centre about the result before anyone starts repairs.
2. Fill in DVSA’s complaint form and send it within 14 working days of the test.
3. DVSA will contact you within 5 days to discuss the appeal.
4. If DVSA decides to recheck the car, you arrange a date and pay the full test fee again. If the appeal succeeds, the fee is refunded.

Appealing a pass

Send the complaint form within 3 months of the MOT if the problem is related to corrosion, or within 28 days for anything else. If DVSA rechecks the car, you don’t pay the test fee again.

The form and DVSA’s contact details are on GOV.UK’s page about MOT test result appeals and problems.

A pass with minor problems or advisories still leaves you with work to plan: minor problems should be repaired as soon as possible, and advisories watched in case they get worse. You’re responsible for keeping the car safe to drive at all times, and GOV.UK points out that a car can be unsafe even with a current MOT certificate.

Keep a copy of your result. If you’d like the items dealt with, you can post ‘MOT advisory repairs’ on Matchanic with the wording from the result, and garages on Matchanic can choose whether to quote. Brake and suspension items can also go under Brake repair or Steering and suspension.