THOUSANDS of testing garages could be affected by new MOT rules that have come into effect today today.
The Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) have made new changes to the MOT testing guide.
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Testers are restricted from holding roles at MOT garages while they are in the cessation periodCredit: Getty
Announced in December last year, the DVSA said testers and authorised examiner principals (AEP) are restricted from holding roles at MOT garages while they are in the cessation period.
Cessation periods are mandatory bans imposed on MOT testers or garages in the UK for disciplinary reasons.
Testers can get a cessation if they’re personally involved in something serious enough to trigger a single‑offence shutdown of an examiner’s authorisation.
This includes things like fraud, dishonesty, gross negligence or sending false documents to the DVSA or MOT training providers.
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The MOT testing guide has been updated to reflect all this, while the DVSA has added “offences resulting in incarceration” is what counts against a tester’s good reputation.
Anyone involved in the MOT scheme must adhere to the “good repute” principles” and be free of conviction.
The DVSA consider a “serious offence” to be a prison sentence longer than three months, 60 hours or more of a community service order, and a fine of more than £2,500.
From January 9, 2026, the new rule sees the tightening of who can hold MOT roles and for how long which will affect hundreds of MOT centres.
It means if a tester or authorised examiner gets a two or five-year cessation, they won’t be allowed to do any MOT work for that whole period.
If someone’s been convicted, there are extra paperwork steps – if sentencing hasn’t happened yet, you need a court extract (or extract decree in Scotland).
And after sentencing, you’ll need a DBS certificate dated after the conviction and then another DBS certificate dated after sentencing.
New guidance states: “Where disciplinary action results in a 2 or 5-year cessation of all sites held by the AE (authorised examiner), any individual, partner or officer of a company is not permitted to hold any role within an AE and/or Vehicle Testing Station for the cessation period.”
