MOTs - The rules on passing & failing?

As I understand the rules...

You can take your vehicle to any test station anytime and have an mot carried out.

If your vehicle fails then you should have your vehicle repaired promply if you are going to continue driving. 

It is an offence to drive without a valid mot certificate except in limited circumstances, which are...

Booked appoinments for...

Taking it for a retest, taking it for vehicle repairs to a repair garage/mot station.

Even in the above circumstances you could still be prosecuted.

Some/many people still get this wrong...

You can have up to and including 13 months duration for an mot certificate. You can take your vehicle for an mot test and if it passes you can have up to 13 months certificate providing you don't take it too soon.

When you have one month left remaining on your old test certificate...

You can go to any test station for a test. If your vehicle fails, you should have it repaired without delay if you are going to continue driving it. The time remaining on your old test certificate, up to one month is still valid, but you should not be thinking you can simply carry on driving when a current test has failed based on the strength of your last test certificate remaining. You are breaking the law by driving a defective vehicle, thinking you still have time on your old certificate, which you have, but the current fail document is now in force legally showing you are driving a defective vehicle.

Once your vehicle is fixed and retested, your time remaining will be added to your new mot certificate, up to and including 13 months. 

Go to any DVSA site  for a retest Not  a council test station

Any dvsa  retest  can be done on Any ramp in the country ours  no Everson I think got confused with that a dvsa  site is the same a town council site who does MOT Test s and taxi s STEALTH might  me wrong

(just out of curiosity) Couldn't you take it else where if you were willing to pay, or say you didn't agree with their findings?

What I mean about a DVSA site is one that tests HGV PSV and everything else a class 4 or 7 station cannot test and dvsa employee s conduct these

To save money and keep standards within the scheme as reasonable as possible...

If you question something about the test, speak to the tester first and if unsure speak to the AE (Authorised examiner) Boss.

If your still unhappy with the decision(s) - get a professional second opinion from another test centre, or post pics on here for advice.

If you are advised so, or don't agree with the test result, then using a VT17 appeal form (from any test station) - appeal. If you are successful then the fee should be paid back to you. Now you have only paid one test and got your money back. If you lose, then you pay out more.

The best advise...

Prevention is better than the cure. Maintain the vehicle in accordance with the manufacturer recommendations and mot tests standards are nothing to concern yourself about.