MOT retest rules: when it's free, half price or a full test
Get the timing right after a fail and the retest costs nothing. Get it wrong and you'll pay the full test fee again. Here's how it works in England, Scotland and Wales.
Checked against the MOT inspection manual and GOV.UK guidance · Updated November 2026
| What you do after the fail | Retest cost |
|---|---|
| Leave the car at the test centre for repair; retested within 10 working days | Free partial retest |
| Take it away; bring it back to the same centre before the end of the next working day, for items on the free-retest list only | Free partial retest |
| Take it away; bring it back to the same centre within 10 working days | Partial retest – up to half the maximum fee (max £27.43 for a car) |
| Bring it back after 10 working days, or go to a different test centre | Full test – up to £54.85 |
"Working days" exclude Sundays and bank holidays at most centres; check what the centre counts. Test centres can choose to charge less than the maximum, and plenty offer free retests as standard – ask before booking.
Items that qualify for a free next-working-day retest
If you take the car away and bring it back to the same test centre before the end of the next working day, the retest is free if the car only failed on one or more of these:
| Access panels | Battery | Bonnet |
| Bootlid | Brake pedal anti-slip | Break glass hammer (class 5 vehicles) |
| Doors (including hinges, catches and pillars) | Door open warning device (class 5) | Dropsides |
| Electrical connections | Emergency exits and signs (class 5) | Entrance door remote control (class 5) |
| Entrance and exit steps (class 5) | Fuel filler cap | Headlamp cleaning or levelling devices (that do not need a headlamp aim check) |
| Horn | Lamps (excluding headlamp aim) | Loading door |
| Main beam warning lamp | Mirrors | Rear reflectors |
| Registration plates | Seatbelts (but not anchorages), seatbelt load limiters and seatbelt pretensioners | Seats |
| Sharp edges or projections | Stairs (class 5) | Steering wheel |
| Tailboard | Tailgate | Trailer electrical sockets |
| Towbars (excluding body around anchorage points) | Tyres | Wheels |
| Windscreen glass, wipers and washers | Wings |
Anything not on that list – brakes, suspension, steering, emissions, corrosion – needs the 10-working-day partial retest or leaving the car with the centre.
What does a partial retest check?
Only the items that failed. The tester confirms they now meet the standard and issues a pass certificate. They won't do a full inspection again, but if they spot something else that's obviously defective while checking the repaired items, they must record it.
Your MOT expiry date after a retest
If you tested early (up to a month minus a day before expiry) and pass on retest, the new certificate still runs from your original expiry date, so you don't lose time. If the old certificate expired while the car was waiting for repairs, the new certificate runs 12 months from the date of the pass, minus a day.
Can I drive to the retest?
If the old MOT has expired, you can drive to a pre-booked test (including a retest), or to a garage for repairs needed to pass, provided the car has no dangerous defects. Keep proof of the booking. You must still be insured. See Can I drive after failing?