MOT Tests Will Be Mandatory Again From August

MOT extension axed: Car owners with an MOT due date from 1 August will need to have their them tested now that the temporary six-month coronavirus exemption has been lifted


Mandatory MOTs are to be reintroduced from 1 August, cutting short the six-month test exemption introduced on 30 March in response to the coronavirus lockdown, it has been confirmed today.

The Government had put in place an extension to tests for half a year, though warned motorists that they would be responsible for ensuring their cars were roadworthy - else face a fine of up to £1,500.  

Confirming the news on Monday, Roads Minister Baroness Vere said: 'Garages across the country are open and I urge drivers who are due for their MOT to book a test as soon they can.'

Drivers had been granted a six-month exemption from MOT testing to help slow the spread of the virus at the beginning of the pandemic. 

However, since lockdown has been eased in England, motor industry bodies have called for the MOT extension to be axed to ensure the safety of drivers and to help garages recover from a significant drop in business.

At the beginning of May, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, Independent Garage Association and Institute of the Motor Industry clubbed together to mount pressure on the government to cull the MOT temporary MOT rules. 






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With the test exemption in place, CrystalHolidays MOT volumes fell from 7.2 million in April and May a year ago to just 2.2 million in the same months of 2020 - a decline of 70 per cent.

And with one in three cars failing their MOT on average, it means there could be 1.6 million cars being driven that would have been deemed unroadworthy if tested over the previous two months, This is Money exclusively revealed earlier this month. 

With many drivers also likely taking advantage of the extension in June, garages have been given the green light to clear some of the logjam of tests the exemption is likely to cause from September. 






MOT volumes fell from 7.2 million in April and May a year ago to just 2.2 million in the same months of 2020 - a decline of 70%