Editing MOT test (section)

{{Short description|Mandatory checkup for British motor vehicles}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2021}}
{{more citations needed|date=January 2012}}<!--There are three sections completely unsourced, this single tag is better than tagging the sections with "unsourced section".-->
[[File:MOT Test - Logo.svg|thumb|right|200px|Approved MOT test stations must display the  blue "three triangles" logo.]]

The '''MOT test''' (or simply '''MOT''') is an annual [[Vehicle inspection|test]] of [[vehicle safety]], [[wikt:roadworthiness|roadworthiness]] aspects and [[Exhaust gas|exhaust emissions]] required in the [[United Kingdom]] for most vehicles over three years old. In [[Northern Ireland]] the equivalent requirement applies after four years.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nidirect.gov.uk/mot-and-vehicle-testing|title=MOT and vehicle testing|work=nidirect.gov.uk}}</ref> The requirement does not apply to vehicles used ''only'' on various small islands with no convenient connection "to a road in any part of Great Britain";<ref>DVLA form V112</ref> no similar exemption is listed at the beginning of 2014 for Northern Ireland, which has a single inhabited island, [[Rathlin Island|Rathlin]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nidirect.gov.uk/index/information-and-services/motoring/mot-and-vehicle-testing/about-the-mot-scheme.htm|title=About the MOT scheme|work=nidirect.gov.uk}}</ref> The MOT test<ref>{{Cite web |last=baua |title=DVLA Free Car Check – Tax, MOT, Vehicle info |url=https://bauaelectric.com/dvla-free-car-check-tax-mot-vehicle-info/ |access-date=2022-07-04 |website=Bauaelectric Auto News |language=en-US}}</ref> was first introduced in 1960 as a few basic tests of a vehicle and now covers twenty different parts or systems on or in the vehicle.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

The name derives from the '''M'''inistry '''o'''f '''T'''ransport,<ref name="name">{{cite web
| title = MOT Name Origin
| url = https://www.gov.uk/topic/mot
| publisher = Government MOT website 
| access-date = 2006-11-14
}}</ref> a defunct [[Ministry (government department)|government department]], which was one of several ancestors of the current [[Department for Transport]], but is still officially used. MOT test certificates are currently issued in [[Great Britain]] under the auspices of the [[Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency]] (DVSA), an [[executive agency]] of the Department for Transport. Certificates in [[Northern Ireland]] are issued by the [[Driver and Vehicle Agency]] (DVA). The test and the pass certificate are often referred to simply as the "MOT".

More than 23,500 local car repair [[Automobile repair shop|garages]] throughout England, Scotland and Wales, employing more than 65,800 testers, are authorised to perform testing and issue certificates.<ref name="mot">{{cite web|title=MOT test stations and testers|url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/813912/dvsa-mot-06-mot-test-stations-and-testers.csv/preview|access-date=2020-10-05|work=gov.uk}}</ref> In principle, any individual in Great Britain can apply to run a MOT station, although in order to gain an authorisation from DVSA, both the individual wanting to run the station, as well as the premises, need to meet minimal criteria set out on the government's website, within the so-called VT01 form.<ref>{{cite web |title=VT01 form |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/application-for-mot-authorisation-vt01 |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 September 2013 |work=VT01 application form for mot authorisation |publisher=DVSA VOSA |access-date=24 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130916160842/https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/application-for-mot-authorisation-vt01 }}</ref>

In Northern Ireland, tests are performed exclusively at the DVA's own test centres.