MoT Testing for cars SUSPENDED from 30 March for six months under Coronavirus cloud

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has announced that MoT testing for cars, motorcycles and light vans is to be suspended from 30 March as Coronavirus restrictions bite.

Now we’re all expected to stay at home and not go out except for essential food and drugs, for a bit of exercise or if we’re essential workers, you might think we have no need for our cars to be serviced and repaired and MoT’d. But we do.

We do, because many those of us working from home will still need their cars working to get to the shops but, far more importantly, those whose jobs are essential to keep us safe and supported will need cars even more as public transport reduces.

Well that’s not many, you might cry. But, oh it really is. In fact it’s millions of us, with the NHS alone employing more than a million. Add in everything from police and fire services, power sector workers, water sector workers and many, many more, and it’s vital they stay safe and mobile.

So many garages offering service and repair will be staying open of they can, and we’ll soon be launching a page to let you know who is open and ready to help – and taking all the necessary sanitisation and distancing precautions necessary.

But to limit the burden on those isolating and those garages still open, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has taken to Twitter to announce that MoT testing for cars, motorcycles and light vans is to be suspended from 30 March.

Given the circumstances I'm granting an MOT temporary exemption so that if your MOT is due from 30th March 2020 you will automatically receive a SIX-month extension. However, you must still keep your car in a roadworthy condition and garages will remain open if you need repairs.

— Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) March 25, 2020

Cars, motorcycles and light vans due an MoT from the 30th will be granted an automatic six months extension so they’ll stay legal. But you will still be responsible for ensuring your car is roadworthy.

Further details on this are available at the Covid-19 Gov.uk page on MoTs.