Dangerous, major, minor and advisory: MOT defect categories explained
Since 20 May 2018 every MOT defect in England, Scotland and Wales is sorted into one of these categories. Which one appears on your sheet decides whether you've failed and whether the car can move.
Checked against the MOT inspection manual and GOV.UK guidance · Updated November 2026
| Category | What it means | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Dangerous | A direct and immediate risk to road safety or a serious impact on the environment. Do not drive the vehicle until it's repaired. | Fail |
| Major | It may affect the vehicle's safety, put other road users at risk or have an impact on the environment. Repair it immediately. | Fail |
| Minor | No significant effect on the safety of the vehicle or impact on the environment. Repair as soon as possible. | Pass |
| Advisory | It could become more serious in future. Monitor and repair if necessary. | Pass |
| Pass | It meets the minimum legal standard. | Pass |
The categories come from the European roadworthiness directive (2014/45/EU) that the UK implemented in 2018, and they still apply after Brexit. The tester doesn't choose a category on a whim – the MOT inspection manual sets out, for each item, which condition is minor, major or dangerous.
Dangerous defects: real examples
Dangerous is reserved for faults where the car is a hazard the moment it's driven. Common examples:
- Tyre with cords exposed, or tread below 1.6mm across a large area
- Brake hose or pipe leaking fluid, or a brake disc/drum "significantly weakened"
- Service brake efficiency far below the minimum
- Coil spring broken so that it could contact the tyre or other parts
- Steering component insecure or with excessive free play
- Structural corrosion so severe that a mounting point could fail
- Seat insecure, or a driver's door that won't open from inside
- Fuel leak creating a fire risk
Analysis of DVSA data has shown that tyres and brakes account for the large majority of dangerous failures – around nine in ten.
Major defects: real examples
Major is the most common failure category. These are faults that need fixing straight away but don't make the car an immediate hazard:
- A blown headlamp, brake lamp or indicator bulb
- Shock absorber leaking or a suspension bush worn
- Windscreen damage over 10mm in the driver's zone A
- Engine management, airbag or ABS warning light on
- Diesel emitting visible smoke on a car with a DPF, or a DPF that's been removed
- Exhaust leaking or insecure
- Number plate in a non-standard font or incorrectly spaced
- Washer reservoir empty – yes, really
Minor defects
Minor defects let the car pass, but they're recorded on the certificate and the online history. Examples include a slight oil leak, a brake hose slightly damaged or chafed, a reversing lamp not working on some vehicles, or a slightly deteriorated bush. They should be fixed soon: many minors become majors by next year.
Advisories
Advisories are the tester's warning list – "tyre close to legal limit", "brake pads wearing thin", "corrosion to sill but not excessive". They're not failures and you're not legally required to act on them. But they're the best predictor of what will fail next year, and buyers check them. See MOT advisories: should you worry?
Can I get a different category on retest?
The retest checks that the failed items now meet the standard. It doesn't normally re-examine the whole car, but if the tester notices another defect during the retest they'll record it. If you think a category was wrong, don't repair the car – raise it with the test centre and then the DVSA. Once the item is repaired, there's nothing left to re-examine.