Appeal an MOT test result in Great Britain (DVSA)

What an MOT appeal is for

For a vehicle tested in Great Britain, GOV.UK says you can appeal the result of an MOT with the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) if your vehicle failed the MOT, or if it passed the MOT and you think it should have failed. Sources: ^[2]

The DVSA form covers cars, motorcycles and vans; GOV.UK says there are different forms for heavy goods vehicle (HGV) or trailer results and for public service vehicle (PSV) results. Sources: ^[1]

GOV.UK says a vehicle fails when the test result lists ‘dangerous’ or ‘major’ problems, and that you can appeal the result if you think it is wrong. Sources: ^[3]

An appeal disputes the tester’s decision. It is not the route for complaining about how you were treated, how long you waited or what the centre charged; those are separate routes.

Talk to the test centre first

GOV.UK says to discuss the test result with the MOT centre before you appeal, and that the centre can help you understand how they assessed the vehicle against the MOT inspection manual for cars and passenger vehicles or for motorcycles. Sources: ^[1]

GOV.UK says to appeal if you still think the result is wrong after talking to the MOT centre. Sources: ^[1]

The GOV.UK MOT guide says you need to discuss the test results with the test centre before anyone starts repairs. Sources: ^[2]

Discuss the test result with the MOT centre before you appeal.

Appeal if you still think the result is wrong after talking to the MOT centre.

You need to discuss your test results with the test centre before anyone starts repairs.

What to do

• Ask which manual section and which defect category the tester applied, and write the answer down with the date and the name of the person who gave it.
• Keep the refusal document, the defect list and any photographs taken before anything is touched.

The DVSA form and Great Britain deadlines

The official form is DVSA form VT17, ‘Appeal an MOT test result’, published as a downloadable PDF on GOV.UK. Sources: ^[1]

GOV.UK says to download and save the form, fill it in, save it again and email the completed form to [email protected] by the appeal deadline. Sources: ^[1]

If you cannot email the form, GOV.UK gives a postal address: DVSA, The Ellipse, Padley Road, Swansea SA1 8AN. Sources: ^[1]

For the Great Britain DVSA route, GOV.UK gives the appeal deadline for a fail as 14 working days of the test. Sources: ^{[1] [2]}

For an appeal against a pass, GOV.UK gives 3 months of the test for a corrosion-related problem and 28 calendar days of the test for any other type of problem. Sources: ^[1]

GOV.UK says a DVSA vehicle examiner will contact you within 5 working days to discuss your appeal, and will arrange a location, date and time if they decide the vehicle needs to be retested. Sources: ^[1]

14 working days of the test if you’re appealing against a fail

3 months of the test if you’re appealing against a pass and it’s a corrosion-related problem

28 calendar days of the test if you’re appealing against a pass and it’s any other type of problem

A DVSA vehicle examiner will contact you within 5 working days to discuss your appeal. If they decide your vehicle needs to be retested, they’ll arrange a location, date and time with you.

OBDCode UK does not collect, forward or complete any part of the appeal form. Enter your vehicle and contact details only in the official DVSA form.

Appeal an MOT test result in Great Britain (DVSA form VT17)

Repairs and driving while an appeal is pending

The GOV.UK MOT guide says you should not have any repairs made until the appeal process has finished. Sources: ^[2]

The DVSA appeal form page says that if you repair your vehicle before you appeal, it can affect the outcome of the appeal. Sources: ^[1]

Separately, GOV.UK says you can take a failed vehicle away if your current MOT is still valid and no ‘dangerous’ problems were listed, and that otherwise you will need to get it repaired before you can drive. Sources: ^[3]

GOV.UK says that if you can take the vehicle away, it must still meet the minimum standards of roadworthiness at all times. Sources: ^[3]

GOV.UK says you can be fined up to £2,500, be banned from driving and get 3 penalty points for driving a vehicle that has failed its MOT because of a ‘dangerous’ problem. Sources: ^[3]

You should not have any repairs made until the appeal process has finished.

If you repair your vehicle before you appeal, it can affect the outcome of the appeal.

You can take your vehicle away if: your current MOT is still valid; no ‘dangerous’ problems were listed in the MOT

These are two separate official rules and GOV.UK does not join them up. It says not to repair before the appeal finishes, and it also says a vehicle with a dangerous defect, or with no valid MOT left, must not be driven until it is repaired. Where both apply at once, the official pages do not state which gives way.

OBDCode UK will not tell you that an appeal makes it lawful to drive, or that it is safe to wait. Nothing on this page overrides a ‘dangerous’ defect or a stop-driving conclusion.

What to do

• Put the conflict to the DVSA vehicle examiner when they make contact, and ask them to confirm in writing what you may and may not do to the vehicle before the reinspection.
• If the vehicle cannot lawfully or safely be driven, arrange recovery rather than driving it to preserve an appeal.
• Do not let anyone start work on the disputed items while you are waiting, including a ‘quick check’ that changes their condition.

What DVSA does and what it costs

GOV.UK says that if you are appealing against a fail, a DVSA vehicle examiner will carry out a full MOT test on the vehicle. Sources: ^[1]

GOV.UK says you have to pay the vehicle examiner the appeal fee before they start the test, by cash or cheque, and that the fee is the maximum MOT cost for your vehicle type. Sources: ^[1]

At the accessed date, GOV.UK gave the maximum MOT fee for a car as £54.85 and for a standard motorcycle as £29.65; the GOV.UK fee table lists every vehicle class. Sources: ^{[4] [1]}

GOV.UK says the vehicle examiner will refund the appeal fee if your vehicle passes. Sources: ^[1]

The GOV.UK MOT guide describes the same step as paying the full test fee again and being refunded the test fee if the appeal is successful. Sources: ^[2]

GOV.UK says the examiner will tell you whether the vehicle has passed or failed the re-test in its current condition and give you a report showing any defects and advisory items. Sources: ^[1]

For an appeal against a fail, GOV.UK says DVSA adds the re-test result to the vehicle’s MOT history. A successful appeal adds that new result; it does not erase the original result, which stays on the history. Sources: ^[1]

For an appeal against a pass, GOV.UK says a DVSA vehicle examiner will reinspect the vehicle at no charge, will give you a report of defects and advisory items, but will not give a new MOT test result or update the vehicle’s MOT history. Sources: ^[1]

You have to pay the maximum MOT cost for your vehicle type.

The vehicle examiner will refund this fee if your vehicle passes.

add the result of the retest to the MOT history of your vehicle – the test result you appealed against will stay on the vehicle’s MOT history

What to do

• Budget for paying the appeal fee up front and read it as refundable only on a pass, not as a deposit returned either way.
• Check the live GOV.UK fee table for your vehicle class before the appointment; the figures above are the values published at the accessed date.

What DVSA will not do for you

GOV.UK says DVSA cannot tell you about any action it takes against the MOT centre, cannot give you engineers’ reports, and cannot help you get a refund or compensation from the MOT centre or vehicle seller. Sources: ^[1]

GOV.UK says that if your appeal is successful and you want to take further action against the MOT centre, you can report them to Trading Standards through Citizens Advice, take personal legal proceedings, or report them to the police if you have proof that the MOT tester knowingly gave the wrong result. Sources: ^[1]

For the separate consumer-help and Trading Standards referral step after a successful Great Britain appeal, GOV.UK routes people in England and Wales to Citizens Advice and people in Scotland to Advice Direct Scotland; it says those helplines can refer a complaint to local Trading Standards officers. Sources: ^[6]

GOV.UK says to complain to DVSA if you are unhappy with the service you received from them when you appealed. Sources: ^[1]

DVSA cannot: tell you about any action it takes against the MOT centre; give you engineers’ reports; help you get a refund or compensation from the MOT centre or vehicle seller

The DVSA appeal rules above remain one Great Britain process for England, Scotland and Wales. The nation split here applies only to the separate consumer-help and enforcement-referral step after the appeal: use Citizens Advice in England or Wales, and Advice Direct Scotland in Scotland.

The words ‘through Citizens Advice’ above reproduce the DVSA appeal page. They are not a direction to send a Scottish consumer complaint through the England and Wales service.

GOV.UK — Consumer rights: choose the helpline for your nation

An appeal is not an ordinary MOT retest

For a vehicle tested in Great Britain, GOV.UK treats an ordinary retest after a repair as a separate process from an appeal: a retest is the vehicle being tested again at a test centre once the failed items have been fixed. Sources: ^[5]

In the Great Britain appeal process, an appeal is decided by a DVSA vehicle examiner rather than by the test centre, and GOV.UK says repairs should not be made until the appeal process has finished. Sources: ^{[1] [2]}

If you accept the failed result and want the vehicle repaired and tested again instead, use the related guide ‘MOT retests and the official safety-recall check’ for the ordinary Great Britain retest route. It explains partial-retest conditions, return deadlines and fee rules.

If the vehicle was tested in Northern Ireland

GOV.UK publishes the DVSA appeal form as applying to England, Scotland and Wales, and links to a separate publication for Northern Ireland. Sources: ^[1]

nidirect says that if you disagree with a Northern Ireland test result you can ask a manager to look at the decision again while you are still at the test centre, and that if the manager upholds the original decision there is no further appeal open to you. Sources: ^[7]

nidirect says an appeal made after you have left the test centre must be made within 14 days of the initial test, by telephone or by email to Driver and Vehicle Agency customer services. Sources: ^[7]

nidirect says DVA will contact you to offer an appointment within five working days to re-check the vehicle, and that you should not have the vehicle repaired or any work carried out on it before the appeal is considered. Sources: ^[7]

For a separate consumer complaint about a Northern Ireland trader, GOV.UK routes Northern Ireland consumers to Consumerline, and nidirect says Consumerline is for Northern Ireland consumers only and can forward suitable complaint details to the Trading Standards Service for investigation. Sources: ^{[6] [8]}

If you decide to appeal the decision after you have left the test centre, you can do so in one of two ways, but any appeal must be made within 14 days of the initial test being carried out.

Do not have your vehicle repaired or any work carried out on it before your appeal is considered, as any change to your vehicle may affect the outcome of the appeal.

The Northern Ireland deadline, contact route and refund position differ from the Great Britain DVSA process described above. Do not use the DVSA form or the DVSA deadlines for a vehicle tested by DVA.

Keep the two Northern Ireland routes separate: DVA handles the vehicle-test appeal, while Consumerline provides consumer help and the route into the Northern Ireland Trading Standards Service for a complaint about a trader.

nidirect — After the MOT/vehicle test (Northern Ireland appeal route)

nidirect — Contact Consumerline for Northern Ireland consumer help

Important

Deadlines, fees and contact details change. Check GOV.UK or nidirect according to where the vehicle was tested before you send anything.