Can you drive an MOT fail car if the previous test hasn’t expired?

You can drive a car after it fails the MOT test , but only in certain circumstances. We explain the current DVSA rules.

Can you drive your car after an MOT fail if the old test hasn't expired?Driving a car after it fails the MOT test could lead to three licence penalty points, a £2,500 fine and even a driving ban. However, it is permitted in certain circumstances.

Goverment guidelines on this topic have changed over the years, but the current rules are as follows.

If your car fails the MOT test before the previous MOT certificate elapses, you can drive it away – but only if the none of the faults are classed as ‘dangerous’ and the minimum standards of roadworthiness are met.

The Gov.uk website details these minimum standards. They include requirements that all lights are working, brakes are fully functional and tyres have a minimum depth of 1.6mm across the middle three quarters of the tread.

MOT stations cannot retain your car

MOT test

A Pistonheads forum user queried whether an MOT tester had a right to detain their car, even if it failed on a non-dangerous fault. The answer? In no circumstances, or with the car in any condition, can a tester keep the car if you don’t want them to.

Speaking with an operative at the DVSA, we were told: “No MOT station can impound a car, even if they find a dangerous defect. You are within rights to get the car towed elsewhere for work”.

However they went on to stress that “It’s a grey area regarding dangerous and non-dangerous defects. Ultimately, if you drive the car away and something happens, you’re still liable”.

Just to reiterate, the DVSA website states: ‘You can be fined up to £2,500, be banned from driving and get three penalty points for driving a vehicle that has failed its MOT because of a “dangerous” problem’.

Our advice is to have the remedial MOT work done there and then at the garage if possible. Alternatively, have the car towed – rather than driving it – if there is any doubt about its legality.

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Gavin Braithwaite-Smith
Gavin Braithwaite-Smithhttp://www.petrolblog.com
Writer with a penchant for #FrenchTat. Owns 15 vehicles of varying degrees of terribleness. Also doing a passable impression of Cousin Eddie in an Italian-German beige motorhome. Doesn't get out much.

9 COMMENTS

  1. A vehicle without an MOT doesn’t mean its dangerous, but its illegal to have your car without a valid MOT and you can be sure about your safety considering the fact that you get your vehicle checked for safety requirements while doing a MOT test.

  2. Hi my R/R has been classed as dangerous because the running board has rust underneath that is breaking off this is on the passenger side ,everything else is ok .My current MOT runs out on the 29-12-2020. I just dont understand it my R/R is a 2012 plate in great condition.

  3. my MoT still has 2 months to go but it was tested eatly; it failed but the fault is now fixed. i cant get it retested for a week; can i drive it?

  4. Mercedes has just called me to say my car failed MOT due to middle back seat buckle not wrking correctly. As a result, they have elected to detain my car until they can replace the buckle for £200+. I dont know who to ask for sure as I dont want to be nicked by the police because the officer could interprete the law however he likes. Back seatbelt buc;kle doesnt sound dangerous in any way. I have a valid MOT cert until Oct 8 and they have just failed the car today 9 Sep

  5. Hi, I bought a van 6 weeks ago from a garage, before buying it they had it in twice for m o t, it failed 1st time with a few faults one of which was dangerous, when they put it back for retest it failed on something completely different but this time it was a major fault, they did repair fault but couldn’t get it in for retest before I collected it, van had to go back for repairs, before I went to collect it(160 miles away) I wanted an independent inspection on van to ensure repairs had been carried out, examiner wouldn’t Road test as he said van did not have valid m o t as it had failed on dangerous fault even though 2 days later it failed on major that as dangerous was listed and work may have been done to rectify problem until it was retested with new m o t then van was illegal on road, garage insist as van had repair done and current m o t runs until next march van is legal, who is right

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