J. Vehicle prohibitions

Who can issue prohibition notices, how a prohibition notice can be lifted, how to test vehicles with prohibition notices.

1. Prohibitions general

DVSA’s examiners and specially authorised police officers have the power to issue prohibition notices (PG9) to prevent use on public roads of any vehicle found to be defective. In serious cases the prohibition has immediate effect, but in less serious cases, its effective date may be delayed for up to ten days.

If a prohibition notice is issued to a vehicle of a class which is required to pass an MOT test, or which would normally only be required to pass an MOT test if it was older, that notice can be lifted only through the following procedure:

  1. The defect or defects noted on the prohibition notice must be remedied, as must any other defects that would prevent the vehicle from passing an MOT test.

  2. The vehicle must be submitted for and pass a normal MOT test which has to be carried out by a suitable vehicle testing station (VTS) in the normal way.

  3. If the PG9 was issued by the police, follow the prohibition removal instructions issued by the police. If the PG9 was issued by a DVSA examiner, the prohibition is automatically cleared once the vehicle has passed its MOT.

2. Role of the VTS

It’s an offence to move a prohibited vehicle on a public road except in limited and clearly defined circumstances that are listed in the notes on the prohibition notice.

Where asked to carry out a test on a vehicle that has a prohibition notice in force, it is essential - to protect the vehicle owner and driver from prosecution - that a firm appointment with the VTS is made and recorded.

To protect the authorised examiner (AE) and his staff from prosecution, the AE must ensure that, while the vehicle is in the custody of the VTS, it is not driven on the road unless such driving is considered necessary for:

  • test runs following repairs or rectification, within 3 miles of the place of repair

  • conducting the MOT test itself

A prohibited vehicle submitted for test must be treated in all aspects as a normal MOT, concluding with the issue of the appropriate documentation. However, if you are asked to rectify the defects as well this should not be done during the test.