Car, van and motorcycle MOT expiry dates will be extended by 6 months if it’s due on or after 30 March 2020 – but you must keep your vehicle safe to drive.
- Eligibility
- First MOT Due
- How the 6-month Extension Works
- If you take your vehicle for its MOT and it fails
The government announced back in March that MOTs due to expire after the 30th March 2020 will be extended by six months. Since then there has been little demand from the public for MOT tests and as a result most MOT Stations and repair workshops have temporarily closed.
I have been in constant contact with the MOT Station I use for my customer’s MOT tests and I’m now pleased to announce that they have reopened but with reduce staffing and reduced operating hours. This means I can now take bookings for MOT tests when they fall due.
New guidance issued by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency on May 27th 2020 clarifies the rules regarding vehicles which fail the MOT test. This will have implications for my customers as their vehicle will be unusable until a repair and retest have been carried out.
I will keep this page updated with any changes or new information as an when it released.
A brief outline of these changes is detailed below. You can read the full guidance here.
1. Eligibility
Your MOT certificate will be extended by 6 months if it was due to expire on or after 30 March 2020 and your vehicle is a:
- car
- motorcycle
- light van
- other light vehicle
2. First MOT due
The extension also applies to these types of vehicles that are due their first MOT test on or after 30 March 2020.
3. How the 6-month extension works
Your vehicle’s MOT expiry date will be automatically extended by 6 months if it’s eligible. This will be done about 7 days before it’s due to expire.
This means that:
- your vehicle will still have a valid MOT certificate for an extra 6 months
- you can still tax your vehicle – you might need to wait to do this until later in the month if both your MOT and vehicle tax run out this month
- your insurance will still be valid
- your vehicle’s record will be updated so the police can see you have a valid MOT
You will not get a new paper MOT certificate with the new expiry date on it.
You must still keep your vehicle safe to drive.
Example
Your vehicle’s MOT was due to expire on 3 May 2020.
This will automatically be extended to 3 November 2020. You will need to get your MOT by this date.
4. If you take your vehicle for its MOT and it fails
Your MOT extension will no longer apply if you take your vehicle for its MOT and it fails.
Your vehicle will need to be fixed and pass its MOT before you can use it again.
Example
Your vehicle’s MOT was originally due to expire on 3 May 2020, but has been extended to 3 November 2020.
You take your vehicle for its MOT in August and it fails. You must stop using the vehicle until it’s fixed and passes another MOT test.
Our Safe Workshop Practice Charter
- We try to minimise contact with customers and suppliers.
- The workshop is closed to visitors and all work is carried out by appointment only.
- Initial customer contact is by telephone, email or social media messaging only.
- Drop-off and pick-up times will be staggered to ensure there is only one customer present at the workshop at any time.
- We are not providing a while-you-wait service and there will be no waiting at or in the vicinity of the workshop.
- We keep customers safe by using new disposable seat covers, floor mats and gloves for every job.
- We will turn off vehicle Air Con/Climate Control to avoid spreading germs.
- We wipe down all vehicle contact points as we work with Smartsan-V (passes BS EN1276:1997 & BS EN 1650:1998 disinfection standards), a non-staining broad spectrum sanitiser that is effective against a wide range of pathogenic virus, bacteria, yeast and fungi. A sanitation checklist will be left in all vehicles after the final treatment.
- Items in the workshop which come into contact with customers such as the card machine will be sanitised after each use with Smartsan-V.
- Our workshop follows all current government social distancing guidelines.
- New signage and barriers have been installed at the workshop complying with the government’s latest ‘COVID-19 Secure‘ guidelines.
- A clear plastic cough/sneeze guard is now installed at the reception counter.
- Alcohol-based hand sanitiser gel (≥70% alcohol content, passes BS EN 1276 & BS EN 1500 disinfection standards) is available on the reception counter. I would ask all visitors to use it on arrival at reception and before they leave.
- We respect high risk customers by maintaining an external drop-off and collection point.
- When necessary and for high-risk customers we will increase our level of personal protective equipment (PPE) to include a 3M FFP3 respirator and disposable nitrile examination gloves.
- We will offer you value-added services; e.g. Air Con disinfection, cabin filter replacement (HEPA) etc. for your added protection.
- To keep your vehicle legally roadworthy we will carry out a free visual safety check of the following:
- Brake Discs
- Brake Pads
- Horn
- Lights
- Wipers & Washers
- Tyres
- MOT Due Date
- We will notify you of any defects found during this check.
- We will ensure all contact points and keys are wiped down before collection.
Jonathan Fry Automotive Ltd 