MOT question

[DickBrowne]

Very quick question from me - normally I MOT my cars and bikes regardless of exemption, but the ticket on my GT runs out in next week and I just don’t have time to arrange a test, and there are various events coming up which I don’t want to miss.

I did once miss a test for my old BSA, but that was around 10 years ago, and the memory isn’t what it once was. I’m pretty sure I needed to fill in a form at the time to declare that there were no faults with the bike, but I cannot find that form in gov.uk now.

Is the declaration still a requirement? Do I just carry on driving the car without needing to do anything else? What, in short, is the process these days?


Thank you for any advice you can give!

[Not_Anumber]

My understanding is that so long as you have declared the car as a historic vehicle for road tax purposes and submitted the form to state no MOT is required then all you need is to insure it and drive it.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... om-mot.pdf

[DickBrowne]

Hi Chris, thank you for the reply. The car is definitely registered as historic for tax purposes, but by the previous owner. I wonder how I can find out if the V112 has already been submitted?

[Not_Anumber]

Hi Dick, This suggests that just the age of the vehicle sets that no MOT is necessary https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... n-criteria
It seems cut and dried except in cases where a vehicle has been substantially modified.

The form I linked to before I believe is only used once and satisfies 2 purposes; To authorise DLVA to mark and reissue the V5C as a historic vehicle and As a stand in document in place of an actual MOT when applying for the first year's road tax.

So long as this has been done and the car is the correct age then you dont need to declare this again. From then onwards so long as you have insurance in place you can tax the vehicle each year without a need for an MOT or a form

[Allan T]

If it makes you feel more comfortable, you can submit an online enquiry to DVLA and have an e-mailed response pretty quickly, probably the same day.

I think the advice you've already had is sound, but having it in writing/from the horse's mouth wouldn't do any harm!

Allan

[Peter Cresswell]

The MOT exemption is not a DVLA responsibility, that lies with the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency - DVSA.
There was a lot written on here about how the exemptions works when it was extended to include Historic Tax vehicles. Most of the problems then arose because the Police were not fully aware of the changes, and many people had lengthy roadside chats with the boys in blue after being pulled over for not having a current MOT. The advice then was to complete and carry form V112 as a substitute for the MOT and which could be shown to a doubting Officer. Things though quickly moved on and now you don't need to have the form, as it will come up on the DVLA and DVSA systems as Taxed and MOT Not Found. It is then assumed that the car is exempt from the MOT.

You don't have to register the MOT Exemption with the DVLA or DVSA. If you Tax (VED) the car on line you just declare that the car meets the 'Not Substantially Modified' criteria, which if the MGB in question is completely standard this is not a problem. If you go to a Post Office to Tax it then a V112 might be useful to have with you.

'Substantially Modified' is to ensure the car meets the criteria for being a Vehicle of Historic Interest, which was created to foster the idea of a living museum for road vehicles of any type. As far as the MGB goes, you can change the engine, providing the change is to an engine that was fitted to the MGB when in production. So you can swap to a Rover V8 and keep the MOT Exemption but not to a K-Series, as that engine was not fitted to the MGB. You can carry any modifications you like to the B-Series Engine or Rover V8. As far as the chassis goes providing you keep the same system (I.e. independent front suspension and solid axle and leaf spring at the rear) you can do pretty much what you like. Fitting an independent rear system might mean an MOT is required and you should check with the provider as to the situation.

If you take your MGB abroad, (and driving one in France is a delight!) in theory you don't need an MOT but carrying a V112 would be a good idea, as would an MOT before you go. Remember that in most European countries motoring fines are 'On the Spot' and language is often a problem if trying to explain away the lack of an annual test certificate.
I hope this helps,
Pete

[Peter Cresswell]

I should have added to my post that exempting your car from an MOT does not mean exempting your car from being safe and roadworthy! If anything it puts even greater emphasis on the owner/driver to ensure the car is maintained to the highest standards. I have long worried about the competence of a home mechanic, irrespective of their knowledge and experience, being considered in law to be inferior to the competence of a garage mechanic, who despite the vast array of certificates displayed on the wall, have no knowledge of distributors, points or adjusting tappets!

[Statler]

I've just taxed the GT, but had to go to the Post Office with the V112 to do it.
The lady I spoke to at the DVLA was perplexed that I couldn't do it online, as I was able to last year.

Perhaps now that a V112 has been presented, this won't be an issue next year and i can tax it online. Time will tell.
We have a very different MOT system here in Northern Ireland, which does hook back into the DLVA MOT/TAX checker but can sometimes throw an unexpected wobbly.

As per Peter, the car has to be roadworthy.
We've seen an increase in VOSA/DVSA mobile testing vehicles here in NI due to the massive MOT backlog, so they are out checking cars.

[DickBrowne]

Perfect, thank you everyone. My plan is to run it a couple of weeks “self certified” and then get it properly tested again once I have some time to spare!