Vehicle maintenance directly affects road safety. Over 2 million drivers miss their MOT deadline each year, which means thousands of cars are on the road that haven’t been properly checked for safety.
An MOT isn’t just a legal requirement. It’s a safety check that confirms your car is roadworthy – ensuring your brakes work, your lights function, and your tyres are safe. These checks matter for everyone on the road.
Why Your MOT Matters
When you miss your MOT deadline, you’re risking:
Driving an unroadworthy vehicle that could fail unexpectedly
Fines of up to £1,000 if caught by police
Invalid insurance if you have an accident
Putting yourself and other road users at risk
An MOT catch problems early, before they become serious safety issues.
Thousands of Drivers Miss Their MOT Each Year
Life gets busy. MOT reminder letters go missing. Emails land in spam. Before you know it, your MOT has expired and you didn’t notice.
Motorly’s free MOT reminder service takes care of this for you. Register your vehicle in 30 seconds and we’ll send you an email or SMS reminder before your MOT is due. It’s completely free, requires no account, and uses official DVSA data.
Every year, thousands of UK drivers accidentally let their MOT expire. It’s easy to do when reminder letters get lost in the post or you’ve recently moved house. But driving without a valid MOT can result in fines of up to £1,000, invalidate your insurance, and cause serious problems if you’re stopped by police.
Here’s how to make sure you never miss your MOT renewal date.
Why People Miss Their MOT
The MOT renewal system relies on you remembering when your test is due. You might get a reminder letter from the DVSA, but these don’t always arrive. Email reminders can end up in spam folders. If you’ve changed address or bought a used car, it’s even easier to lose track of the date.
The DVSA keeps accurate MOT records, but you need to actively check your MOT status to know when your test is due.
What Happens If You Miss Your MOT
Driving without a valid MOT has serious consequences:
Fines of up to £1,000 if caught by police
Your insurance may be invalid if you have an accident
Your car could be seized during a roadside check
You might miss important advisories that lead to expensive repairs later
Even being a few days late means your car is technically illegal to drive (except when driving directly to a pre-arranged MOT test).
Check When Your MOT Is Due
The quickest way to find out your MOT expiry date is to use our free MOT check tool. The tools use official DVSA MOT History data to show your vehicle’s current MOT status, when it expires, and previous test results.
You only need your vehicle registration number (vehicle s number plate), no logbook, previous mot certificates or mobile phone number required. Within seconds, you’ll see whether you have a valid MOT and when you need to book your next test.
Set Up a Free MOT Reminder
Checking your MOT status today is useful, but you still need to remember next year’s date. The easiest solution is to set up a free MOT reminder service.
Motorly’s MOT reminder sends you an email or text message before your MOT expires, using official DVSA data. It takes less than a minute to set up and could save you from fines or the hassle of an expired MOT.
Never miss your MOT again
Check your MOT status and get free reminders by email. Quick, official, and totally free through Motorly.
Your current MOT expiry date and status – find out if you have a valid mot certificate
Free email reminders before your test is due
Notification when it’s time to book your next test
The service is completely free and works for multiple vehicles, making it useful if you manage family cars or company vehicles.
Tips for Managing Your MOT
Book early: You can take your MOT up to a month minus one day before it expires and keep the same renewal date for next year.
Check advisories: Your MOT certificate lists issues that aren’t serious enough to cause failure yet. Fixing these early often saves money at your next test.
Keep records: Save your MOT certificate in your glovebox or take a photo for your phone. You may need it if you’re stopped by police.
Set reminders: Even if your car passes every year without problems, it’s surprisingly easy to forget the renewal date. Get reminders sent to your email address and never miss the expiry dates again.
Stay Road-Legal
Missing your MOT causes unnecessary stress and can be expensive. Take a minute to check your MOT status and signup for free reliable MOT reminders to ensure you’ll never forget your renewal date again. No mobile number required.
Motorly’s MOT reminder service uses official DVSA MOT History data and is completely free to use. It’s a simple way to stay on top of your car maintenance without adding another task to your to-do list.
The UK government has extended car, van and motorcycle MOTs by 6 months. This means if your MOT expiry date is due between 30th March 2020 and 31st July 2020, the vehicle will have an additional 6 months added. The extension has been put in place to help prevent the spread of covid-19.
Your MOT will automatically be extended if your renewal falls between these dates. This will be put into place 7 days before the intended expiry date. You won’t receive a paper certificate, the vehicle record will show the extension.
Gov.uk advise to check your MOT extension 3 days before it is due to expire here
example
Your MOT was due on 3rd May 2020
Your new MOT date will be extended to 3rd November 2020
It is very important to keep your vehicle safe to drive. If there are any issues please do contact local garages to help fix any urgent or dangerous problems.
Check the rules of how to keep your vehicle roadworthy here
If your MOT is due on or after the 1st August 2020, you should book an MOT as normal. MOT centres are now open so drivers are able to do this. We are aware they may be a backlog of bookings, so try to organise your appointment in advance.
Although MOTs are being extended, please do remember to tax your vehicle. The department of transport has confirmed it is working together with insurers and police to ensure that individuals are not unfairly penalised if they are unable to get an MOT in place. Alternatively, you can register your car as off the road (SORN) if you are unable to have an MOT test carried out and your tax is due to expire.
However, you should not take your vehicle for its MOT if either of the following points are relevant to you:
You are self-isolating, or someone in your home has suspected symptoms of coronavirus
You are shielding and considered to be at high risk or vulnerable
It is possible that some MOT providers are able to collect vehicles, complete an MOT and return the vehicle to you if you are shielding. You will need to contact your local centre to see if this can be arranged. We recommend calling several centres in the hope that one may be available to provide this service for you.
