What Happens If You Caught Driving without a MOT Certificate?

MOT is an annual test that is a legal requirement for most vehicles over three years old except those vehicles which are MOT-exempt. If you are planning to do your vehicle MOT Coventry then you can visit our garage we have an expert team of certified MOT testers. 

If you are a person who owns a vehicle that fails an MOT test, you will be wondering what happen if you are caught driving your vehicle without a MOT certification. Driving a vehicle without a valid MOT certificate can get a fine of £100 and go up to £1000. In some cases, the authorities will cancel your license if you drive a vehicle without a valid MOT certificate on a public road. 

In this article, we will explain the various penalties you can face if you are driving your vehicle without a valid MOT. We will also share some limited conditions in which you can drive your vehicle without an MOT and the precautions you should take to avoid penalties.

How Many Fines Do You Have to Pay for Driving Without MOT?

If you are caught driving a vehicle with an expired or invalid MOT certificate, you could be fined up to £1,000. However, In most cases, you get a £100 fixed penalty notice.

MOT fines may also be applicable if your vehicle received a major fault on your latest MOT test. But the fine may also increase up to £2,500 if your vehicle is classified as a ‘dangerous’ category. You may also receive three penalty points on your licence for not driving a valid MOT.

If you are fined for this reason twice within three years, you may also receive a six-month driving ban.

How Soon Do You Have to Pay an MOT Fine?

You have twenty-eight days to pay the MOT fine. MOT fines are fixed penalty notices which are issued for road traffic offences and offer an opportunity to settle an offence without the need to go through the court system. You can pay the MOT fines through the official UK government website site.

To pay the fine, you need to give a few important details such as the offence code, notice number and the date of the offence. You also need to provide your own personal details such as your name, age and driving licence information. You can pay through card or cheque but cash is no longer acceptable. 

For some reason, if you fail to pay the MOT fine within twenty-eight days, the fine will be registered with the court and it may also increase by up to 50%. The court can then enforce the fine and have the authority to issue a warrant for your arrest if you don’t respond.

Can Police Stop You for Driving Without an MOT?

Yes, police cars have Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras which can detect vehicle number plates to run an MOT check. The police cameras are connected to the DVSA’s database which takes your vehicle MOT information in real-time. If they found your MOT certificate is expired then the police can stop you. 

When you take your vehicle for an MOT test, the garage updates your vehicle information on the DVSA’s database with details of the test results and your vehicle's next MOT expiry date.

Is There A Grace Period for MOT fines? 

No, are isn’t any grace period on your vehicle’s MOT has expired. From midnight on the date of expiry onwards, it is not legal to drive your car for daily use and if you are caught driving your vehicle without a valid MOT then you will receive an MOT fine.

Exceptions to the MOT laws

There are only two conditions under which you can drive your vehicle without an MOT:

• If you are driving your vehicle to the garage to rectify faults highlighted in the most recent MOT test.

• If you are driving to a scheduled MOT test.

For some reason, if your vehicle fails the MOT test and comes under the ‘dangerous’ category then you can able to drive your vehicle on the roads.

Can I Drive Without Gettings an MOT Penalty?

If you have a valid MOT certificate and in date, you can drive safely without the risk of MOT fines and licence penalties.

However, if you don’t have a valid MOT certificate for your vehicle, you can’t able to drive your vehicle on roads legally. If you decide to scrap your vehicle but can’t able to drive your vehicle to a scrapyard and need to arrange to be transported to the scrapyard instead. 

Can I Drive Without Getting a Fine If I Booked MOT Test? 

If you are pulled over by the police and you can prove that you are driving to a booked MOT test and your vehicle has no dangerous defects, then you won’t get a fine from the police. 

When I Get Fined As My MOT Expires?

After midnight on the expiry date, your vehicle MOT certificate will expire and you are liable to get MOT fines if caught by the police. As your vehicle MOT certificate expires, your vehicle insurance will be also invalid.

How Can You Avoid a MOT Fine?

To avoid getting an MOT fine, you should schedule your vehicle's next MOT test ahead of your current expiry date. Make sure your vehicle is maintained in good condition. If needs some repairs then repair them quickly to help ensure that your vehicle will pass its next MOT test.

Conclusion

If you don’t want to pay expensive fines then renew your MOT certificate annually and maintain your vehicle by doing regular servicing. If you are looking for MOT Coventry, then you come to us, we have certified MOT testers who will perform an MOT test on your car in an hour. If our tester finds any defects then don’t worry we also offer full car service in Coventry at an affordable cost.