How to check when your MOT is due
The date you need is the expiry printed on the current certificate, and it is public: anyone can look it up from the number plate alone, with no documents and no account.
Updated 14 October 2026
What the due date actually is
An MOT certificate expires exactly one year after the previous certificate expired, not one year after the test. Those are different dates whenever a car is tested early, and confusing them is how people lose weeks.
If a car has never been tested, the first MOT falls three years after first registration for most cars and light vans.
The one-month rule, which is free time
You can have the test done up to one calendar month minus a day before the certificate expires and keep the same renewal date. Test on 15 March for a certificate expiring 14 April and the new one still runs to 14 April.
This is the single most useful thing to know about MOT timing. It gives you a month of slack to book around, get repairs done and retest if it fails, without losing a day of validity or driving illegally.
Test earlier than that window and you lose the remaining days: the new certificate runs a year from the test instead.
Where the data comes from
MOT records are held by the DVSA and published for every registered vehicle since 2005. That includes the result of each test, the mileage recorded at it, and the reasons for any failure.
Because it is public, you can check a car you do not own, which is what makes it the first thing to look at before buying one.
What happens if it fails
A failed test does not end your existing certificate early. If the old one is still valid, you may keep driving on it, unless the failure was a dangerous defect, in which case the car should not be driven at all until it is fixed.
If the old certificate has already expired, the car can only go to a place of repair or to a retest.
Retests are often free or reduced if the car is left at the same garage, or brought back within ten working days. Ask before you take it away, because taking it home is usually what makes the retest chargeable.
Checking it, and not having to check again
Type the registration into Odomint and the expiry date, the days remaining and the full history appear. Nothing to sign up for.
It then tells you before the date arrives (at sixty days, thirty, a week and the day before), which is the part a website you visit once cannot do.
Common questions
Can I check my MOT with just the registration?
Yes. MOT records are public, so the registration alone is enough to see the expiry date, the full test history and any advisories.
How early can I get an MOT without losing time?
Up to one calendar month minus a day before it expires. Do that and the new certificate keeps the same renewal date.
Is the MOT due a year after the last test?
Not necessarily. It is a year after the last certificate expired. If the car was tested early, the test date and the expiry date are different.
Check any car before you buy it
MOT history, every advisory and the full mileage record are free for any UK registration. An Odomint Check adds outstanding finance, insurance write-offs, stolen markers and salvage history, with a £10,000 data guarantee.