What Happens If Your MOT Runs Out?

Everyone knows an MOT lasts a year. Fewer people know exactly what happens when it runs out, what you can and cannot do with the car in the meantime, and that you can renew it early without losing anything. Here is the full picture.

Is it illegal to drive without an MOT?

Yes, once the car is more than three years old. If you are caught driving a car without a valid MOT you can be fined up to £1,000. Police cars with number plate recognition cameras check MOT status automatically, so it is not something you can rely on getting away with.

The exception: driving to a test

There is one exception. You are allowed to drive a car without an MOT directly to a pre-booked MOT test, or to and from a garage for repairs that are needed to pass the test. "Pre-booked" is the important word. If you are stopped, you will need to show the booking, so keep the confirmation on your phone. You cannot drive it anywhere else on the way, and the car must be roadworthy: if a tyre is bald or a brake light is out, driving it even to the test is an offence in its own right.

Your insurance

This is the part that catches people. Most insurance policies require the car to have a valid MOT. Driving without one can invalidate your cover, which means that in an accident you could be treated as uninsured, with everything that follows from that. Even if your insurer would pay out on a third-party claim, they may refuse to cover damage to your own car. It is not a risk worth running.

Your road tax

You cannot tax a car without a valid MOT. If your MOT and your tax fall due together, you will find you cannot renew the tax until the test has been passed, and driving an untaxed car is a separate offence. Get the MOT done first.

How to check when yours runs out

You can check any car's MOT status and expiry date free on the government's website using the registration number. You can also sign up there for a free reminder by text or email a month before it is due. We send reminders to our customers too, but it is worth having your own.

Renewing early without losing days

You can have your MOT done up to a month, minus a day, before the current one expires and keep the same expiry date. So if your MOT runs out on 15 September, you can have the test any time from 16 August and the new certificate will still run to 15 September the following year. You lose nothing, and you have a month's leeway to fix anything the test finds. That is the sensible way to do it, particularly if you rely on the car.

What if it fails?

If the car fails and the old certificate has not yet expired, you can still drive it until that date, provided the failure was not for something that makes it dangerous to drive. If the old certificate has expired, the car can only be driven to have the repairs done and back for a retest. If the repairs are done and the car is brought back within ten working days, only a partial retest of the failed items is needed rather than a full test.

Enter your registration when you book online and we will show you when your MOT is due and the earliest date you can have it done.

Book online at bestgarages.co.uk or call your nearest branch: Newport on 01983 533360, Lymington on 01590 674776, or Fordingbridge on 01425 561504.