UK MOT changes: what is confirmed?
This page separates decisions that have been made from ideas that have not. It was written from GOV.UK pages checked on 7 October 2026. It is not a forecast.
Vehicle photos during MOT tests
In rollout. From 3 August 2026, DVSA started a phased rollout that lets testers upload a photo of the vehicle at the time of the test. About 2,500 garages in Great Britain are in this first phase, and taking a photo is optional: a tester can still record a result without one. The special notice does not say the photo is added to the public MOT history. MOT special notice 04-26: national rollout of photos at test.
Proposed emissions rules for vehicles already on the road
Proposed. The Department for Transport consulted on stronger rules for emissions-control systems on vehicles already in use in Great Britain. The consultation closed at 11:59pm on 6 September 2026. It envisages legislation in summer 2027, with a proposed six-month lead-in, and it is not a confirmed change to the MOT test. Regulating environmental impact of in-use emissions of road vehicles.
The first MOT stays at three years
Confirmed. On 25 January 2024 the government confirmed the first MOT stays three years after registration, then once a year. It did not take forward a proposal to move the first test to four years. A new car’s first due date is still the third anniversary of registration. Government committed to MOT modernisation as consultation concludes.
Some heavier zero-emission vans are class 7
Confirmed. From 1 June 2026, the MOT testing guide classes zero-emission goods vehicles between 3,501kg and 4,250kg design gross weight as class 7. That changes which test those vans use. It does not change the test for a normal car. MOT testing guide: updates.
Other testing-guide edits are for garages
Confirmed. Through 2026 DVSA also amended the testing guide for test stations, including the withdrawal of security cards, tighter disciplinary cessation rules and equipment notes. The latest listed amendment, on 22 September 2026, is about measuring a roller brake tester floor plate. These do not change the defects that fail a car. MOT testing guide: updates.
The MOT history check shows the tests stored for one registration. It does not apply these rule notes to that vehicle, and it does not book a test.