Vehicle recalls added to MOT digital services

From the 19^th July 2023, real-time vehicle recalls information will be added to the MOT Testing Service (MTS), the vehicle’s MOT history, MOT reminders and the MOT certificate.

Manufacturers, including Toyota and Ford, have agreed to share data that will cover nearly half of the vehicle on UK roads. The vehicles not yet covered by an existing agreement will be supported by monthly data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), although this information won’t appear on the MOT certificate. This means that testers and the public will have access to 47% of the most up to date vehicle recall data.

Chris Price, DVSA’s Head of MOT Policy, said: “I’m really pleased that we can announce this latest improvement to our MOT digital services. We want to improve safety recall rectification rates. Providing ‘live’ recall data, and marking it more available to motorists, will further help everyone to keep vehicles safe to drive on Britain’s roads.”

The changes to MTS will mean from August that if a customer has an outstanding safety recall when they bring their vehicle to test, testers will be prompted via an ‘interrupt’ screen. This will give the tester an opportunity to encourage the customer to address the recall as soon as possible to make sure that their vehicle is safe to drive.

When an outstanding safety recall has been identified on a vehicle produced by a participating manufacturer, the customer’s MOT certificate will automatically have an additional section on it stating the vehicle is currently subject to a safety recall.

Improvements to the MOT history and MOT reminder services will come into effect 16th August. For the MOT history service, motorists will receive a prompt when they enter the registration of a vehicle that has an outstanding recall. The improvement to the MOT reminders service will enable motorists to receive a prompt if their vehicle has an outstanding recall alongside their reminder of MOT.