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Garage group presses for MOT fee cap of at least £95
The Independent Garage Association is seeking a ministerial meeting and says rising costs are putting pressure on independent garages. The current maximum charge for a car MOT is £54.85.
MS·
AI-generated editorial illustration
Key points
The IGA is calling for the MOT fee cap to rise to at least £95.
GOV.UK lists the maximum charge for a car MOT as £54.85.
The IMI says it launched a survey to inform an industry roundtable with the DVSA planned for 21 October 2026.
What the IGA is asking for
The Independent Garage Association says it has asked to meet the Transport Minister to discuss increasing the MOT fee cap. Its stated proposal is a cap of at least £95.
The IGA says independent garages face rising costs and may favour repair and servicing work over MOT testing. It warns that, if this continues, fewer appointments could be available. That is the association’s forecast, not confirmation that appointments have already fallen.
The current car-test limit
GOV.UK lists £54.85 as the maximum charge for a car MOT, and says the fee is not subject to VAT. The £95 figure is therefore the IGA’s requested cap, not the current car-test maximum.
Evidence gathering is under way
Separately, the Institute of the Motor Industry says it has launched a survey about recruitment, retention, operating costs, investment and workforce challenges at organisations offering MOT tests. The IMI says the findings are intended to inform an industry roundtable with the DVSA planned for 21 October 2026, including discussion of whether and how the fee should be reassessed.
What this means
The IGA’s £95 figure is a campaign proposal, not the current permitted maximum: GOV.UK lists a £54.85 cap for a car test. Drivers can use that official figure to distinguish the existing limit from the increase being requested. The IGA warns that garage choices could reduce appointment availability, but the supplied sources do not establish that capacity has already fallen.
Frequently asked questions
What is the maximum fee for a car MOT?
GOV.UK lists the maximum as £54.85. The £95 amount is the IGA’s proposal for a higher cap.
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MOTSTATUS is an independent UK vehicle information and MOT centre directory. We bring official records, carefully calculated statistics and local comparisons together to make MOT information easier to understand and use.
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MOTSTATUS research
Statistical methodology
Definitions, calculations and limitations.
We process anonymised DVSA annual MOT extracts, retain the published outcomes and derive aggregated results. The make and model catalogue uses DfT/DVLA reference mappings, with additional normalisation limited to unambiguous, verified formatting matches. Ambiguous labels are not assigned automatically.
01 / Denominator
Initial normal MOT tests
N = P + F + PRS
P is an initial pass, F a fail and PRS a repaired-and-passed result. Other test types are excluded from this denominator.
02 / Success
First-time pass rate
Rpass = 100 × P / N
This is the share that passed without an initial failure or repair-at-test outcome.
03 / Initial failure
Initial failure rate
Rfail = 100 × (F + PRS) / N
Repaired-and-passed tests count as initial failures, not first-time passes.
04 / Test mileage
Average odometer reading
x̄ = Σ mi / nvalid
We exclude missing and zero readings. This is the average reading at an MOT test, not distance travelled during the year.
05 / Aggregation
Manufacturer and model totals
Rmake = 100 × Σ Pm / Σ Nm
Rates are weighted by included test counts. We never average model percentages without their denominators.
06 / Failure items
Recorded faults
Cfault = Σ occurrences
One test can contain several faults. Fault occurrences are not a count of unique vehicles, and their sum must not be treated as a failure rate.
Station locations, classes and prices
Nearest listed centres
We calculate approximate straight-line distance from mapped British National Grid coordinates: d (miles) = √[(E₂−E₁)² + (N₂−N₁)²] / 1,609.344. Road distances, where separately calculated and cached, are different. Coordinates may represent postcode reference points, not garage entrances.
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We group the nearest centres already retrieved for a profile by their imported place identifier. The count and combined vehicle classes refer to that sample, not every centre in the locality. Distance is to the nearest included station for each place.
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Class labels come from the station record and are translated into broad vehicle categories for readability. Eligibility still depends on vehicle weight, seating, construction and the station’s current approval.
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Age groups are estimated from the available registration information. Mileage ranges aggregate source readings; unknown or invalid readings are not imputed as zero. Changes to MOT regulations and fault classification, particularly around 2018, can reduce comparability with older years.
These are descriptive statistics, not adjusted causal measures of reliability. Vehicle age, usage, maintenance and the tested fleet composition all affect results. See for the official sources.
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