Is the old MOT certificate still valid if the car fails a Test whilst still 'MOT'd'?

A customer has purchased a vehicle with the benefit of 7 months MOT, the customer asked if we re-MOT the vehicle will the existing MOT be withdrawn if the car fails the MOT Test?

The MOT is an annual test of vehicle safety, roadworthiness and exhaust emissions which is required in Great Britain for most vehicles over three years old and used on a road as defined by the Road Traffic Act 1988.

It was introduced in 1960 for vehicles 10 year old and over and was originally a basic inspection of a vehicle’s brakes, lights and steering. The testable age for an MOT reduced over the years from 10 to 7 and is now three years. Once a car is 3 years old it will require an annual MOT test.

However, an MOT certificate does not mean that the vehicle is roadworthy for the life of the certificate, an MOT certificate simply confirms that at the time of the test the vehicle met the MOT standard.
In 2005 the MOT Test was revised and computerisation was introduced. The computerised MOT system retains an electronic copy of all MOT test results in an online retrievable database. This allows vehicle owners to check the authenticity of an MOT certificate using the Online service.

It also makes it possible for police forces and other officials to know if your car has an MOT based on your registration number. Automatic Number Plate Recognition, ‘ANPR’, cameras check whether your car is MOT’d, Taxed or insured and alerts the Police if it is not.

Returning to the question asked by your customer, Will the existing MOT be withdrawn if the car fails the MOT Test?

An MOT certificate is valid until the date of expiry, and a new test will not invalidate the current MOT certificate. If your customer chooses to have the vehicle retested and it fails the existing certificate will still be valid.

However, following the computerisation of the MOT test a "Fail" result will be recorded on the online DVLA database together with the "Pass" test result, and therefore a search on the DVLA data base will show both a pass and a fail result.

The ANPR system operated by the police is likely to draw the Police Officer’s attention to the MOT history and if checked the officer would see a "Fail". The Police Officer is almost certain to pull the vehicle over and check whether any repairs have been undertaken. If the repairs have not been completed the car is therefore not roadworthy and your customer is likely to be prosecuted.

If your customer is concerned about the roadworthiness of the vehicle he has purchased, perhaps you could offer a ‘pre MOT’ inspection undertaken by your nominated tester to the same level as an MOT but without logging the car’s details with the MOT Computer.

If the vehicle fails, the failure will not be recorded centrally for anyone to access, and the defect could be repaired by your technicians once authorised by the customer.