BASIC RULES AND WHAT TO DO IF YOU'RE NOT SATISFIED

If your vehicle is more than three years old you will have to get it tested every year to show that it meets the minimum road safety and environmental standards.

An MOT certificate confirms that at the time of the test your vehicle met, as far as can be reasonably determined without dismantling, the minimum acceptable environmental and road safety standards required by law.

MOT CERTIFICATE

Records of MOT test results are held on a secure central database connected to all MOT testing stations.

The document you receive from the testing station is your receipt and shows the information that is held on the MOT database. It is not proof of an MOT and you should not rely on it as such i.e. when buying a used car.

Any recommended advisory work - potential problems not currently severe enough to result in a test failure - will also be shown.