Guidance

MOT special notice 11-18: changes to MOT inspection manuals and defects

Published 10 September 2018

This guidance was withdrawn on

This MOT special notice has been withdrawn because the information has been added to the MOT inspection manual, so it is no longer relevant.

You can find all the information in the latest version of the MOT inspection manual at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mot-inspection-manual-for-private-passenger-and-light-commercial-vehicles

Applies to England, Scotland and Wales

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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mot-special-notice-11-18-changes-to-mot-inspection-manuals-and-defects/mot-special-notice-11-18-changes-to-mot-inspection-manuals-and-defects

1. Overview

The MOT inspection manuals for motorcycles (class 1 and 2) and cars and passenger vehicles (class 3, 4, 5 and 7) were updated when changes to the MOT were introduced on 20 May 2018.

The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) has monitored how the new test is working. Following feedback from MOT testers, DVSA is making changes to the MOT inspection manuals from Thursday 13 September 2018.

2. What the changes are

The changes to the manuals will include:

  • clarifying and improving the wording of some defects
  • changing the category of some defects (for example, from ‘major’ to ‘dangerous’)
  • adding new defects

Before the manuals are updated

Familiarise yourself with guidance about the:

After the manuals are updated

You’ll be able to see a list of all updates made in each manual’s change log.

  1. Select the relevant manual from your MOT testing service homepage.

  2. Select (+ show all updates) at the bottom of the manual’s contents page.

3. Tests until 12 September 2018

MOT tests up to and including Wednesday 12 September 2018 must follow the current standards.

However, you should tell the vehicle’s keeper about any of the new defects you find. Record them as manual advisories in the MOT testing service to do this.

4. Retests from 13 September 2018

Vehicles you retest from Thursday 13 September 2018 (which were originally tested before then) still only need a partial retest.

This means you only need to retest the original test failure items and any associated items.

The new standards will apply to these items.

If you see new defects in other areas during a retest

During the retest of a vehicle originally tested before 13 September 2018, you will not need to test any of the other new areas being introduced.

However, if you do see new defects in these areas, you must record them. Major and dangerous defects will mean the vehicle will fail the retest.

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