The deadline for the test depends on when the MOT was originally due. Lorries due for an MOT in March and April have been given two three-month extensions, so must pass their MOTs by 30 September and 31 October, respectively. Lorries due for an MOT in May, June,July and August have or will be given one three-month extension, so they must pass their MOTs by 30 August, 30 September, 31 October and 30 November, respectively. Lorries due for an MOT from September onwards will receive no extension.
The exemptions for tests due in June, July and August will help DVSA manage demand as it resumes testing, it says.
Exemptions will be applied automatically; DVSA is not issuing paper records, it says. It also adds: “We are working with ATFs to resume testing from 4 July and will be increasing the availability of testers over the coming months, in line with social distancing and the latest government guidance.”
ADR inspections will also be available from 4 July. However, operators who have been issued a three-month MOT exemption for their ADR vehicles that are not tested must apply for a waiver from the annual ADR inspection to continue transporting dangerous goods. Otherwise their MOT test date and ADR inspection will fall out of synchronisation.
DVSA adds that it won’t be able to restart testing at some Scottish ATFs ‘immediately’, but did not say why. In Northern Ireland, vehicle MOT tests including for lorries are set to resume today, while buses’ licences due over the past three months have been automatically renewed until next year.