Pass the MOT first time

The first-time pass rate for ordinary cars sits at about 64%, which means 36% fail. That figure has barely moved in years. What makes it frustrating is the shape of it: genuinely dangerous defects appear in under 2% of tests, while the largest single category of failure is lighting — bulbs, in other words.

Between lighting and tyres alone, a quarter of all failures are things anyone can find with a torch and a 20p coin.

The ten-minute checklist

• Every light, one at a time. Sidelights, dipped beam, main beam, front and rear fog, indicators all four corners plus repeaters, hazards, brake lights, high-level brake light, reversing light, number-plate lights. Get someone to stand behind, or reverse up to a window or garage door and watch the reflection.
• Lens condition. Cracked, heavily fogged or badly discoloured lenses can fail. So can a wrong-colour bulb, or a headlight aimed too high.
• Tyre tread, all four plus the spare if it is a full-size one. The legal minimum is 1.6 mm across the central three-quarters. The 20p test: insert a coin into the main groove, and if you can see the outer band the tyre is close to or under the limit. Check the inner edge too — it wears first and hides from view.
• Tyre condition. Bulges, cuts, exposed cords, and mismatched types across an axle are all failures.
• Tyre pressures. Not itself a test item, but low pressure ruins the brake test and skews the readings.
• Wipers and washers. Torn or smearing blades fail. So does an empty washer bottle — genuinely, on the day, people fail for that. Top it up.
• Windscreen damage. Chips larger than 10 mm directly in the driver’s swept view, or 40 mm elsewhere in the swept area, are failures. A chip repair is far cheaper than a screen and is often free on comprehensive insurance.
• Mirrors. All required mirrors present, secure and unbroken.
• Number plates. Clean, legible, correctly spaced and correct font. Novelty spacing fails.
• Seatbelts. Pull each one out fully, check for fraying and cuts, check it retracts, check the buckle latches and releases firmly.
• Horn. One press. It happens.
• Warning lights. Airbag, ABS, engine management, tyre-pressure monitoring, brake system and power steering warning lamps illuminated on the dash are failures in their own right.
• Doors, bonnet and boot. Must open and close and latch securely, and both front doors must open from inside and outside.
• Brake feel. A spongy pedal, a pull to one side, scraping or a handbrake that travels to the top of its stroke all point at a failure — and are worth fixing before the test rather than after.
• Suspension noises. Knocks over speed bumps, a corner that keeps bouncing, or the car sitting visibly lower on one side.
• Fluid leaks. Look under the car after it has been parked overnight. Any active leak of oil, coolant or brake fluid is a problem.
• Exhaust. Blowing, rattling or visibly smoky — especially a diesel that produces dense smoke under load.
• Clear the boot and back seat. The tester needs access to seatbelts and the boot floor, and a car full of stuff slows the test down.

Read last year's advisories first

Advisory notes on your previous MOT are a free prediction of this year’s failures. Brakes, suspension and tyre wear almost always show up as an advisory a year before they become a fail. Ten minutes with the online MOT history for your registration tells you exactly which items are on the clock — and lets you deal with them at a garage of your choosing, at a time of your choosing, rather than under the pressure of an expiring certificate.

Practical MOT rules worth knowing

• The fee is capped. The maximum a garage may charge for a car MOT is £54.85. Many charge less, and some include it with a service.
• Test it early. You can have the test up to a month minus a day before expiry and keep your existing renewal date. That gives you time to fix a failure without the car being off the road.
• A fail is not always the end of the day. If your existing certificate is still valid and the car has no “dangerous” defect, you may still be able to drive it away for repair — but a dangerous defect means it should not be driven at all.
• Retests can be free. Leave the car at the testing station and have the work done there and a partial retest is often free or heavily reduced. Take the car away and bring it back later and you may pay again.
• An MOT is not a service. It is a minimum safety and emissions check on one day. Passing it does not mean the car has been maintained.

Sources: pass rate and failure categories — MOT Checkup analysis of DVSA test data. MOT rules and maximum fee — gov.uk. Last reviewed September 2026.