Motorists may now receive free duplicate MOT certificates for their car or van through a new online service.
The service has the potential to save drivers £6 million each year.
If the original document was lost or destroyed and you required a replacement, say when selling a car, you had to go to a test centre and pay £10 for a new one.
In England, Scotland, and Wales, almost 636,000 duplicate MOT certifications were issued in 2018. That amounts to around 2% of all MOT tests performed each year.
This answers the question 'are MOTs online now?' as the new service allows car owners to read and download their MOT certificate in PDF format, as well as print a copy if necessary.
http://www.gov.uk/replace-mot-certificate provides access to the service. You'll need your vehicle's registration number as well as the 11-digit reference number from its V5C logbook to utilise it.
The 11-digit reference is not required if you only want to view and print the MOT history of a vehicle. Please note, this will not be in a certificate version as for that you do require the 11-digit reference number from the V5C logbook.
"We realised there was a need to make acquiring copies simpler based on feedback from motorists — having to physically go to garages was considered as a big hassle," said Grant Thunder, MOT testing service product expert at the DVSA (Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency).
"Longer term, we aim to assist drivers realise that they don't always need the formal certificate. However, we were hearing that there needs to be a better way to obtain a duplicate in the meanwhile."
The move, according to Roads Minister Jesse Norman, is "part of a government aim to keep costs down for motorists and eliminate needless obstacles to getting out and about safely."
The service will have all current and past MOT status certifications issued from 20th May 2018, including both passes and failures.
MOT centres can still provide duplicate certificates
Despite the fact that motorists may now obtain a free duplicate of their MOT certificate online, MOT centres will continue to provide this service to those who want it. Search online for MOT Reading and schedule an appointment to have this request completed.
For a duplicate certificate, you can still be charged up to £10.
Duplicates can still be provided to any customer who has a right to one. They can provide you with one of the following as proof:
1. The most recent vehicle logbook’s registration and 11-digit reference number (V5C)
2. The original certificate's test number (although it's unlikely they'll have this if they've misplaced it!)
Motorists are being protected against illegitimate websites.
Several internet firms have been known to charge consumers for bogus MOT certifications.
The DVSA have not granted any of these firms a licence or any other type of approval to issue these phoney certifications.
People will be able to get duplicates for free from the official government website thanks to our new service.
The government will be able to take action against such unauthorised sites after that, and the online availability of correct certificates should lower the demand for unofficial certificates.
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