Driving a Failed voluntary MOT vehicle?

[alfie austin]

Hello,
Perhaps others can confirm my understanding of the requirements in this situation…

Today I’ve been at a local charity classic car show, from conversations with the two car owners either side of me and from checking online later, both (1970s) cars had failed an MOT over 3 years ago (both for poor brake efficiency issues), no retest or further MOT since - But have carried on using them !

So they are driving a knowingly failed MOT vehicle, is they not a requirement to retest and pass, even if not submitted for MOT again the in future ?

Kind regards

[svenedin]

My understanding is that there is no requirement to present an MoT exempt vehicle for testing. However, if you do present it for an MoT test and it fails, then the vehicle must not be used on the public highway as it is has been found to be unroadworthy. If, the vehicle is to be driven again on the public roads then the faults must be rectified and the car must have, and pass another MoT. I have my Morris MoT tested every year even though I am not legally required to do so. Many people do.

Stephen

[Bill_qaz]

How do you know the defects were not rectified post fail?

Its the owners responsibility and legal requirement to keep a vehicle roadworthy even if MOT is not a requirement.
See previous post.
viewtopic.php?t=78914

Internet says:
Voluntary MOTs:

While MOTs are not mandatory for vehicles 40 years or older (with some conditions), owners can choose to have them tested voluntarily. 

Failure and Retests:

If an MOT-exempt vehicle fails a voluntary test, it will be issued a "refusal of an MOT test certificate" (VT30), detailing the "dangerous" or "major" failure items. 

Roadworthiness:

A failure, even in a voluntary test, means the vehicle is deemed unroadworthy and cannot be driven on public roads until repaired and successfully retested. 

Retests:

The owner must have the failed items repaired and then book a retest, which will involve a review of the repairs. 

Partial vs. Full Retest:

If the retest is within 10 working days of the original test and the repairs are limited to the previously identified issues, a partial retest might be possible. Otherwise, a full retest is required. 

[Chief]

My insurance policy says the vehicle must be in a roadworthy condition or the insurance is void, so when they were driving with a failed MOT they likely were uninsured (and potentially I suppose the failed MOT could still be counted against them 3 years on).

One would hope they did at least fix the issues.

[mike1864]

I am not a lawyer, but I don't agree with "What the Internet Says".
Can the poster provide a link to this source, or must we assume it's just someone's opinion, regurgitated by AI?
If an exempt car fails the MOT through having an empty screenwasher bottle, and you simply fill it at the MOT station, what crime are you committing by then promptly driving it home - and around - with no further MOT test?
A. It simply doesn't NEED a MOT Certificate.
B. It is demonstrably NOT unroadworthy; you could demonstrate your squirt to any police officer, even if he accessed the Fail Note.
A MOT certificate relates only to the the condition of the vehicle at the time of the test. It can get better (or worse) only a minute later; eg a brakelight fails as you leave the MOT station.
As I (and the other topic) see it, a MOT certificate (when not required) is a useful check, and evidence in the event of an accident. But a failure is not a condemnation notice that needs revoking to make the vehicle legal.

[Bill_qaz]

it was a general internet sesrch I posted but at
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... design.pdf

you will find the failure form info.

screenshot

Screenshot_20250711_122548_Drive.jpg (186.41 KiB) Viewed 254 times

"If an exempt car fails the MOT through having an empty screenwasher bottle, and you simply fill it at the MOT station."

Rectified on site so would be a pass

[mike1864]

I can see a "Do Not Drive" instruction, but nothing to say that any future remedial action (at the same station, or -via a trailer - elsewhere) requires a new Test.
As for the empty water bottle example, I was thinking of the owner pocketing the Fail Certificate, and topping up the bottle from his Evian bottle just before he drove off, with no Pass MOT issued. A strange thing to do, but I can't see how he'd be breaking any MOT or Roadworthiness law.

[Bill_qaz]

I suppose from the original op comments. if it fails as in major defect,so you cannot drive away. Assuming you now trailered it away and completed your own repair and didnt submit for retest.
The question is do you need to prove roadworthy?
There will be a mot fail on record but no pass,even if the car has been repaired.
This info is accesible to ins, police etc.
So a grey area.
IMHO if you submitted for a test in the 1st place,why wouldn't you retest when repaired.
Or if you don't have skill or confidence to inspect you can get a garage to do a pre mot inspection without failure registered with dvsa.

[Paladin1962]

USA driver here with some insights:
Not all our states have a vehicle safety inspection program; those that do, unless the vehicle is wildly and obviously unsafe to operate, you get a fail sticker (in Virginia, at least) that allows operation of the vehicle ONLY to and from the driver's home and repair shop. Trust me; that yellow badge of shame is highly visible, grabs the attention of any law enforcement officer, and is regarded as YOU WILL OBEY THIS...
In states with no inspection per se, you're not off the hook for keeping your vehicle in safe operating order. Blown lights, broken windscreens, bald tires are just a few eye-grabbers for LEO. Fix-it tickets are frequently issued and, since they have you on the side of the road now, they will find any fail point and make sure you take care of it.
Some states have no provision for rust concerns: some are draconian in their regard for rust damage. Pennsylvania, I recall, was a stickler for any perforation of the sheetmetal. Down here in Florida, I've seen pickups with more hole than bodywork. Odd.
I think our insurance industry drives the inspection system as a way to reduce their liability due to customer inaction.

[Chief]

I am not a lawyer, but I don't agree with "What the Internet Says".

It used to be very clear on the gov.uk websites, basically what Bill_qaz posted was the official stance.

However even though I know I've read the info on the official site (years ago) I couldn't find it on anything other than internet forums, maybe they just presume you know a failed MOT is a failed MOT and treated as such regardless of vehicle age.

Down here in Florida, I've seen pickups with more hole than bodywork. Odd.

Here in the UK I've seen cars with more duct tape than sills, I guess it made it safer for pedestrians...

[Bill_qaz]

Extract from: https://www.car.co.uk/
Some good information about exemption.


What happens if my MOT-exempt car fails a voluntary MOT?

If your MOT-exempt car fails a voluntary MOT testing one, a few implications are involved, primarily revolving around the legal requirement to keep your vehicle in a roadworthy condition:

Legal obligation to repair defects. If your MOT-exempt car fails a voluntary MOT test, it is legally considered unroadworthy, just like any vehicle that fails a compulsory MOT. MOT exemption does not change the requirement that all vehicles driven on public roads must be in a roadworthy condition. So, you cannot drive your car until fixing the issues and passing a retest.

[geoberni]

Extract from: https://www.car.co.uk/
Some good information about exemption.


What happens if my MOT-exempt car fails a voluntary MOT?

If your MOT-exempt car fails a voluntary MOT testing one, a few implications are involved, primarily revolving around the legal requirement to keep your vehicle in a roadworthy condition:

Legal obligation to repair defects. If your MOT-exempt car fails a voluntary MOT test, it is legally considered unroadworthy, just like any vehicle that fails a compulsory MOT. MOT exemption does not change the requirement that all vehicles driven on public roads must be in a roadworthy condition. So, you cannot drive your car until fixing the issues and passing a retest.

Can you provide a direct link to this info, as the link is just to the home page and I can't find it on the various menus.
Not that I don't believe it's what 'they' say, but I've learned to treat all such online info, on whatever subject, as unverified unless I can follow it to an official source. In my work as a H&S professional, I repeatedly found incorrect info copied from website to website.

For example, try looking up having replacement LED headlamp bulbs in the UK.
There are still a multitude of sites that simply say you can't do it, because they don't understand the law, or they jumped on the band waggon when the DVLA made their screwup on the MOT manual some years back....

[les]

Hope you get the info you require but the above quote makes sense, if a vehicle is taken for a test and fails, it’s considered unroadworthy, exempt or not. I personally cannot see any alternative! ——— for example, ‘well carry on, forget it didn’t pass’

[mike1864]

I second what geoberni says. An opinion buried in a commercial website - or its forum - is NOT a statement of the law.
And consider a fully MOT'd modern car that becomes unroadworthy (ie illegal) due - for instance - to a failed bulb. Does IT need to go for a fresh MOT, just to verify that its transitory unroadworthiness has been properly remedied. Of course not.
As I see it, a vehicle under 40 years old just needs to have had an successful MOT test (ie a snapshot) in the previous 12 months. I have seen no reference of any interim problems or repairs necessitating a retest.
And we all agree that every vehicle, regardless of any MOT test, needs to be roadworthy to be used on the road.
But - like geoberni - I'm happy to stand corrected if an OFFICIAL source can be presented that contradicts this stance.

[mike1864]

Hope you get the info you require but the above quote makes sense, if a vehicle is taken for a test and fails, it’s considered unroadworthy, exempt or not. I personally cannot see any alternative! ——— for example, ‘well carry on, forget it didn’t pass’

Nobody on this thread has suggested a position of "carry on, forget it didn't pass".
It needs repairing, and it would clearly be breaking the (roadworthiness) law to even drive it home.
The discussion is whether the law requires the repair to be checked by a MOT retest.
We await referral to any official source that states this, for an exempt vehicle.

[les]

Once an older vehicle had been submitted to a test, and failed, I see no logical reason why there would be any difference in the procedure afforded to a more modern vehicle but ok check it out.