The MOT and Insurance Rules For Taxing Your Car

In order to tax your car you must have suitable car insurance in place and, if applicable, an MOT test certificate.  If you don’t have these items you may not be able to tax your car.

Our guide looks at exactly what insurance cover and MOT you must have to tax your car.

The right insurance

In order to tax your car, your car insurance must:

• Be valid on the day the tax disc comes into force
• Cover you against third party claims for damage to property, death or injury caused by using the car
• Cover your use of the vehicle for taxing purposes

You will have to provide an insurance certificate or cover note.  These are ordinarily a printed document or a plastic card.  You can also provide an insurance certificate downloaded directly from the internet.

You can’t use a renewal notice, a photocopy, a policy schedule or a receipt for your insurance payment.

The right MOT

To tax your car you may also need a valid MOT test.  You’ll need an MOT test if:

• Your car is more than three years old
• Your car has more than eight seats or is a taxi (not including a private hire vehicle) that is over one year old

You must produce the original of an MOT test certificate that is valid on the day the tax disc comes into force.  You can’t use a photocopy or an MOT test that expires before the tax disc begins.

If your vehicle is exempt from MOT testing, you have to complete a form V112 ‘Claim for exemption from MOT testing’ and you should produce this instead of the MOT certificate.

Taxing your car

If you have to wait for your car insurance or MOT test certificate and your tax disc expires, you will have to remove your car from a public road otherwise you will be committing an offence.

You are allowed to drive your vehicle to and from a pre-arranged MOT test at a test station as long as you have adequate insurance cover in place for the use of that vehicle.