Deadline approaches for MOT testers

The DVSA has revealed that approximately 50,000 MOT testers have yet to complete their Annual Assessment.

It has said that it will not be extending the deadline for testers to do so, which is 31 March.

Chris Price, head of MOT policy at the DVSA, said: “For the past couple of years, we have extended the annual training year in order to help the industry recover from Covid 19, however this year things are much improved, and we will not be extending the annual training year. Therefore, if you have not completed this year’s annual training by midnight Thursday 31 March 2022 you will be suspended from testing.”

The Institute of the Motor Industry is helping to ease the administrative process of meeting the deadline with its MOT Training and Assessment package, which offers a three-hour e-Learning training module that can be completed in bite-size chunks.

Uniquely, it also gives testers the opportunity to take the assessment twice if they’re not happy with their score after their first attempt. This is particularly important as the DVSA now requires a pass rate of 80%.

Steve Scofield, head of business development at the IMI, said: “The workload of MOT testers remained heavy throughout 2021 as the nation juggled lockdowns, further restrictions and absenteeism as a result of the pandemic. And this has continued into 2022, with many still working full throttle to ensure their customer MOT renewals are met in time.

“The knock-on effect is that prioritising the MOT tester Annual Assessment is falling short; the DVSA reports that nearly 50,000 testers have yet to complete their assessment, despite the deadline being less than nine weeks away. And the reality is that if an MOT tester fails to meet the MOT Annual Assessment deadline of 31 March, they will not be able to legally conduct any MOT work from 1 April onwards, until training and assessment has been carried out.

“Indeed, they will need to be able to competently demonstrate to a DVSA representative their ability to carry out an MOT assessment on a vehicle, which will be conducted face-to-face at the tester’s place of work. In short, failing to complete the assessment in time could have serious consequences both for garage income and road safety.”