Commercial vehicle testing data for Great Britain
Statistical data sets about vehicle tests, including annual tests for lorries, buses and trailers, top failure reasons, and test sites.
About this data set
This data set comes from data held by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA).
It isn’t classed as an ‘official statistic’. This means it’s not subject to scrutiny and assessment by the UK Statistics Authority.
Annual tests for lorries, buses and trailers
The annual test for lorries, buses and trailers is similar to the MOT test that cars take each year.
Summary of annual tests for lorries, buses and trailers
The initial fail rate is the rate for vehicles as they were brought for the annual test. The final fail rate excludes vehicles that pass the test after rectification of minor defects at the time of the test.
The non-DVSA rows show tests done at designated premises and authorised testing facilities.
This data table is updated every 3 months.
Top 10 reasons for vehicle fails
These data sets give the percentage of vehicles tested where the item was listed as a reason for failure.
Vehicles can fail for one or more items, so these percentages can’t be added to give a total fail rate for these items.
These data tables are updated every 3 months.
Vehicle initial test fail rate by age
There’s no trailer registration scheme, so the age of trailers tested has been estimated using each trailer’s ID number. These are allocated by DVSA when the owner or operator can’t give a precise date of manufacture.
The failure rates are based on this estimation.
This data table is updated every 3 months.
Vehicle initial test fail rate by fleet size
This data table is updated every 3 months.
Voluntary tests
You can have a voluntary test of roadworthiness, or voluntary checks of certain parts of your HGV or PSV, eg a headlamp aim test.
These figures show the number of items tested. For brakes, this is the number of axles tested and not vehicles tested.
This data table is updated every 3 months.
Annual test sites
The number of DVSA and non-DVSA sites where annual tests are carried out. Non-DVSA sites include:
- designated premises (DPs)
- authorised testing facilities (ATFs)
This data table is updated once a year.
Specialist tests
As well as the annual test, your vehicle must be tested if you want to be able to use it for certain activities.
Certificate of Initial Fitness (COIF)
You need a COIF for your vehicle if it has more than 8 passenger seats, will be used for profit and either:
- isn’t registered in the UK and was built before the type approval scheme was introduced
- is registered in the UK but doesn’t have a type approval as a passenger vehicle with more than 8 passenger seats
This data table is updated every 3 months.
ADR test for vehicles carrying dangerous or hazardous goods
The ADR is a specialist test for vehicles carrying dangerous or hazardous goods in bulk by road.
This data table is updated once a year.
ATP scheme for carrying perishable foodstuffs
Many countries require you to comply with the agreement on the international carriage of perishable foodstuffs (ATP) if you carry perishable foodstuffs abroad in an insulated refrigerated vehicle or container.
This data table is updated once a year.
TIR test
The TIR system allows UK customs officials to pack and seal goods before they are transported outside the EU. This means that the load won’t need to be opened and inspected by customs officials at border crossings.
This data table is no longer updated.
Reduced pollution certificates (RPC)
The RPC scheme to reduce vehicle tax ended on 31 December 2016.
If you modified a vehicle to cut its emissions, you could get it tested by DVSA for an RPC. This reduced the cost of your vehicle tax and could mean that you could drive in London’s Low Emission Zone without charge.
This data table is no longer updated.
Last updated 28 March 2024 + show all updates
-
Updated to include data from July to December 2023.
-
Updated the 'ATP scheme for carrying perishable foodstuffs' dataset to include annual data for 2021 to 2022. Updated the 'Annual test sites' dataset to include annual data for 2022 to 2023. Updated the following attachments to include data for April to June 2023: - Summary of annual tests for lorries, buses and trailers - Top 10 reasons for heavy goods vehicle (HGV) vehicle fails - Top 10 reasons for heavy goods vehicle (HGV) trailer fails - Top 10 reasons for public service vehicle (PSV) fails - Vehicle initial test fail rate by age - Vehicle initial test fail rate by fleet size - Certificate of Initial Fitness (COIF) The TIR test dataset is no longer updated.
-
Updated the following attachments to include corrected data for January to March 2023: - Summary of annual tests for lorries, buses and trailers - Top 10 reasons for heavy goods vehicle (HGV) vehicle fails - Top 10 reasons for heavy goods vehicle (HGV) trailer fails - Top 10 reasons for public service vehicle (PSV) fails - Vehicle initial test fail rate by age - Vehicle initial test fail rate by fleet size - Certificate of Initial Fitness (COIF)
-
Updated to include data for January to March 2023.
-
Updated to include data from October to December 2022.
-
Updated to include data from July to September 2022.
-
Updated with data up to June 2022.
-
Updated with data for Quarter 4: January to March 2021 to 2022
-
Updated all datasets with data up to 2021 to 2022 Quarter 3: October to December.
-
Updated to include data from July 2019 to September 2019
-
Updated annual tests for lorries, buses and trailers data tables, and Certificate of Initial Fitness (COIF) data table with data to June 2019.
-
Updated with data for April 2018 to March 2019.
-
Updated with data for April 2017 to March 2018.
-
Updated with data for April 2016 to March 2017.
-
Updated with data for April 2015 to March 2016.
-
First published.