What does an MOT certificate show, and how early can you test?

DVSA publishes sample pass certificates (form VT20). Field by field, this is what a pass certificate records.

Vehicle identification number

The VIN, also known as the chassis number. It ties the result to one physical vehicle.

Registration number and country of registration

The number plate the test was recorded against, with the country in which the vehicle is registered.

Make and model

The manufacturer and model as held on the record.

Vehicle category

The category of vehicle that was tested, shown as a short code (M1 on the DVSA sample).

Mileage and mileage history

The odometer reading at this test, with readings from earlier tests listed alongside. Comparing them is a quick way to spot a reading that goes backwards.

Test result and listed items

Whether the vehicle passed, or passed with defects. Any minor defects to repair as soon as possible and any advisories to monitor are listed with their location on the vehicle.

Date of the test and expiry date

When the test took place and the date the MOT runs out. The sample certificate also prints the earliest date you can present the vehicle for test while preserving that anniversary.

Location of the test

The address of the test centre where the inspection was done.

Testing organisation and inspector

The test centre's reference and name, and the name of the inspector who carried out the test.

MOT test number

A unique number for this test. You will need it if you later report a mistake on the record, so it is worth keeping.

A vehicle that fails does not receive a pass certificate. The test centre can instead give a refusal of an MOT test certificate, and the failure is recorded in the MOT database in the same way. The MOT failure guide explains how dangerous, major, minor and advisory items differ.

If something on the record is wrong, such as the mileage or vehicle details, GOV.UK has a separate process to fix mistakes on your MOT record. For a mileage error on a test within the last 28 days, ask the MOT centre that did the test to update it; it will need to see the vehicle again.

GOV.UK runs a free online service for a replacement MOT certificate if the original has been lost or damaged. You need the vehicle registration and the 11-digit number from the vehicle log book (V5C). Other routes exist if you cannot use the online service.

The MOT centre you visit does not have to be the one that did the original test. The GOV.UK MOT history service also lets you download copies of the current and previous certificates for tests done in England, Scotland or Wales, and shows results for cars, motorcycles and vans tested since 2005.

Vehicles tested in Northern Ireland use a different replacement service. GOV.UK notes that a duplicate certificate there is available only while the MOT is still valid.

An MOT lasts for a year. You can get an MOT up to a month (minus a day) before it runs out and keep the same renewal date. GOV.UK illustrates the rule with an MOT that runs out on 15 May.

1. 14 April

   Too early to keep the date

   A pass on this day is before the window opens on 16 April. The expiry date changes to 13 April the following year.

2. 16 April

   The earliest date that keeps 15 May

   A pass from this day onwards keeps the renewal date at 15 May next year.

3. 15 May

   The current MOT runs out

   This is the expiry date on the record. A pass from 16 April onwards carries it forward by a year.

Put simply, any pass from 16 April to 15 May keeps 15 May as next year's expiry date. Testing earlier is allowed, but the renewal date for the following year changes to one year (minus a day) from the date the vehicle last passed its MOT.

The same logic answers whether you can MOT a car three months early. You can, but the expiry date resets from the pass date, so roughly three months of the current MOT are given up. The keep-the-date rule does not apply if the last MOT was in Northern Ireland and the next test is in Great Britain: the renewal date is then based on the date of the GB test.

To find the date for a specific vehicle, use the MOT expiry check or the date printed on the current certificate. There is no general grace period once that date passes; the MOT grace period guidecovers what that means. A vehicle's very first test follows a different rule, usually due by the third anniversary of registration, which the first MOT guide explains.