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Help > MOT > What happens if my car fails its MOT?

What happens if my car fails its MOT?

If your vehicle has failed the MOT Test, the technician will provide you with a VT30 Certificate. This is a document that details why your vehicle failed, listing the different components and the reason they contributed to the test failure. It also states the date and location of the MOT Test.

If your previous MOT certificate is still valid you will be able to still drive your vehicle up until the expiration date.

However, you will need to have the parts which failed repaired before your vehicle can pass a new MOT Test.

Repairs and Retest

You will need to ensure any issues that were recorded in the VT30 Certificate are fixed before your vehicle is retested.

If you choose to have the repair work completed at the same garage which carried out the failed test – and the work is carried out within 10 working days from the original test – only a partial retest is required.

Repairs at Other Garages

You are within your rights to take your vehicle away for repair work (if your previous MOT is still valid).

If your previous MOT Certificate has expired, you can only move your vehicle from the test centre to have the fault repaired elsewhere (as long as nothing was listed as ‘dangerous’), or to another garage for a pre-booked MOT Test.

MOT Retest Next Working Day

If you return to the same MOT Test Centre for a retest before the end of the next working day from the Failed MOT Test, you can have a partial retest on one or more of the following components:

  • Access panels
  • Battery
  • Bonnet
  • Boot lid
  • Brake pedal anti-slip
  • Doors (including hinges, catches and pillars)
  • Dropsides
  • Electrical wiring
  • Fuel filler cap
  • Headlamp cleaning or levelling devices
  • Horn
  • Loading door
  • Mirrors
  • Rear reflectors
  • Registration plates
  • Seatbelts (not anchorage), seatbelt load limiter and seatbelt pre-tensioner
  • Seats
  • Sharp edges or projections
  • Steering wheel
  • Tailboard
  • Tailgate
  • Trailer electrical sockets
  • Towbars
  • Tyre pressure monitoring system
  • Vehicle identification number (VIN)
  • Windscreen glass, wipers and washers
  • Wheels and tyres

Retests at a Different Garage

If you choose to have a MOT retest at a different garage from the test centre which originally failed your vehicle – you will be liable for a full test and will need to pay the full MOT fee.

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