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Unlike almost everything else at a garage, the price of the MOT test itself is capped by law. Here's what a station can charge, when a retest is free, and the one date rule that stops you ever losing MOT time by testing early.
A test station cannot charge more than the statutory maximum for your vehicle class. It can charge less — the cap is a ceiling, not a price — so it always pays to compare stations.
| MOT class | Vehicles | Maximum fee (by law) |
|---|---|---|
| Class 4 | Cars (up to 8 passenger seats), small vans and motor caravans — the standard car MOT | £54.85 |
| Class 1 and 2 | Motorcycles (Class 1 up to 200cc; Class 2 all engine sizes) | £29.65 |
| Class 7 | Goods vehicles between 3,000 and 3,500kg design gross weight | £58.60 |
The definitive retest rules and the partial-retest item list are on GOV.UK's "Getting an MOT" pages.
You can have the MOT done up to a month (minus a day) before it expires and keep your existing renewal date: the new certificate runs 12 months from the old expiry date, not from the test date. So testing early inside that window costs you nothing — and gives you time to fix a failure before your current certificate runs out. Test earlier than that window and the new certificate runs from the test date instead, so you'd lose the difference.
Repairs, diagnostics and extras are separate commercial services — agree those prices before any work starts, and remember you can take a failed vehicle elsewhere for repair (mind the retest windows above).
MOT fees are capped by law. The statutory maximum a station can charge is £54.85 for a car (Class 4), £29.65 for a motorcycle (Class 1 or 2) and £58.60 for a Class 7 van (3,000–3,500kg). Stations can charge less than the maximum — and many do — but never more for the test itself. The full fee table for every class is published by DVSA on GOV.UK.
No. The MOT test fee is not subject to VAT, so nothing can be added on top of the advertised test price for the test itself. The fee also includes the MOT certificate issued at the test — a station cannot charge separately for issuing it. A replacement (duplicate) certificate later is different: GOV.UK allows a charge of up to £10, or half the test fee, whichever is less. Repairs the station carries out are a normal commercial service and are priced (and VAT-charged) separately from the test.
Often not. If you leave the vehicle at the test centre for repair and it is retested there within 10 working days, the retest is free. If you take the vehicle away and bring it back before the end of the next working day for a partial retest on a defined list of simpler items (things like lamps, mirrors, wipers, number plates and wheels/tyres), that partial retest is also free. Bring it back later — but within 10 working days — and the station may charge a reduced partial-retest fee. After 10 working days you need a full MOT at the full fee. The exact rules and item list are on GOV.UK.
Up to a month, minus a day, before your current MOT expires. Test within that window and the new certificate keeps your existing renewal date — it runs for 12 months from the old expiry date, not from the test date, so you lose nothing by testing early. Test earlier than that window and the new certificate runs 12 months from the test date instead.
For the test itself, a station cannot charge more than the statutory maximum for your vehicle class, cannot add VAT to the test fee, and cannot charge extra for issuing the certificate at the test or recording the result. If you later need a duplicate certificate, GOV.UK does allow a charge for that — up to £10 or half the test fee, whichever is less. Fees for repairs, diagnostics or while-you-wait convenience are commercial extras you agree to separately — a station should always tell you its test price up front, and you are free to compare stations, because the cap is a maximum, not a fixed price.
Every DVSA-authorised MOT test station in Great Britain — addresses, phone numbers and testing classes, by town. Or check any vehicle's MOT history and status free.
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