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MOT results explained

Since 2018 the UK MOT grades every defect into one of four categories. Two of them fail you.

Dangerous

Fail

A direct and immediate risk to road safety, or a serious impact on the environment. Examples are a brake pipe about to fail, a badly worn tyre below the legal limit, or a cut in a tyre wall.

Can you drive it? Do not drive it. Driving a vehicle with a dangerous defect is an offence even if your old MOT certificate has not expired yet.

Major

Fail

A defect that may affect the vehicle's safety, put other road users at risk or harm the environment. Examples are worn suspension components, a badly corroded exhaust or an ABS warning light on.

Can you drive it? The vehicle has failed and must be repaired. You may only drive it if your existing MOT is still valid and the vehicle is roadworthy, or to a pre-booked test or repair appointment.

Minor

Pass

No significant effect on safety and no environmental impact, but it should be repaired as soon as possible. Examples are a slightly weeping shock absorber or a small exhaust leak.

Can you drive it? You pass and can drive away. Get it sorted before it grows into a major.

Advisory

Pass

Something the tester wants you to monitor because it is likely to become a defect later — brake pads or tyres getting low, or the beginnings of corrosion.

Can you drive it? You pass. Advisories are the single most useful part of the certificate for planning your next spend.

Reading a failure sheet

  • Fix dangerous and major items in that order — anything braking, steering, tyres or structural comes first.
  • You are never obliged to have the repairs done at the testing station. Getting a second price is normal and often cheaper.
  • A retest is usually free or reduced if you return within the allowed window and only the failed items were worked on.
  • Advisories from last year are a useful prediction of this year's bill — pads at 3mm will not survive another 12,000 miles.

Turn your failure sheet into plain English

Enter your registration and AutoAid pulls your official DVSA MOT record, then explains each failure and advisory with an indicative repair cost range.

Open the MOT helper

MOT data is provided by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency under the Open Government Licence. Your testing station's notes and the official rules take precedence over this guide.