MOT rules and SORN laws

Associate
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14 Jan 2010
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Essex
Quick question, can I keep my car on the driveway without an MOT whilst being insured without having to sorn it for a couple of weeks. Got some repairs that I can only get our mechanic to sort out and I left it a little late this year. Mechanic isn't free until next week to sort it out.

Can i leave it un Sorn'd or will I get a fine?
 
Soldato
Joined
4 Feb 2018
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13,162
Im no expert but isnt it just about tax and insurance. If its still taxed it should be fine?

https://www.gov.uk/sorn-statutory-off-road-notification
You must make a SORN in any of the following situations:
  • your vehicle isn’t taxed
  • your vehicle isn’t insured (even for a short time, for example because there’s a delay renewing your policy)
  • you want to break a vehicle down for parts before you scrap it
  • you buy or receive a vehicle and want to keep it off the road (you can’t transfer a SORN from the previous keeper)
 
Man of Honour
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13 Oct 2006
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90,807
AFAIK aslong as it is insured and taxed you are fine but you can only drive it on the road, once the MOT has expired, if you are going to or from a pre-booked MOT (same applies for taxing it if the MOT is expired).
 
Soldato
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13,452
AFAIK aslong as it is insured and taxed you are fine but you can only drive it on the road, once the MOT has expired, if you are going to or from a pre-booked MOT (same applies for taxing it if the MOT is expired).
Pretty sure you can drive it to and from a garage to have repair work done as well.
 
Soldato
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9 Apr 2007
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AFAIK, without an MOT you can only drive to a booked MOT. If it fails that MOT you can't drive it away.

"You may take your vehicle to get it repaired after is has failed its MOT test but you cannot use a vehicle with dangerous faults, or you can be fined £2,500, be banned from driving and get three penalty points. If it has major faults you can drive it to get repairs, but if the police stop and deem it unroadworthy you could be prosecuted."
 
Soldato
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I believe, but haven't heavily researched, that that only applies if the previous MOT hasn't expired. In fact the section you've quoted is titled 'If your vehicle fails the MOT on the same day as your MOT certificate expires'.
 
Soldato
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"You may take your vehicle to get it repaired after is has failed its MOT test but you cannot use a vehicle with dangerous faults, or you can be fined £2,500, be banned from driving and get three penalty points. If it has major faults you can drive it to get repairs, but if the police stop and deem it unroadworthy you could be prosecuted."


IE If you get a fail that is deemed "Dangerous" on the fail certificate you are committing an offense if you drive it away. (Not sure if Garage can effectively confiscate vehicle or if they are under any obligation to grass you up)

Under any other circumstances you can legally do so, but you are not immune to prosecution if the Police want to give you a hard time.

(Just thought this was slightly clearer :p)

Now, Just a thought, Can you lawfully "Tow" a car with dangerous faults?

IE if you fail on a "Dangerous" are you committing an offense if somebody recovers you using an A frame or tow-bar?
 
Soldato
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20 Oct 2008
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12,096
AFAIK if the car has tyres on the road it needs an MOT.

If it hasn't got an MOT the only exemption is driving TO a booked MOT. For anything else, it needs to be transported.
 
Soldato
Joined
22 Nov 2006
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23,304
Doesn't have to be insured always. If a car is not used on the road it doesn't require insurance.

I think they changed the rules so that it always has to be insured, even off-road. But how many people actually care about that who knows. There are definitely a lot of old cars out there without paperwork which are never taken on the road. Just used on farms etc.
 
Caporegime
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Leafy Cheshire
I think they changed the rules so that it always has to be insured, even off-road. But how many people actually care about that who knows. There are definitely a lot of old cars out there without paperwork which are never taken on the road. Just used on farms etc.

"They" changed the "rules" a while back so that any taxed car had to be insured, nothing else. A car marked as SORN can be happily parked off the public road (or public place, such as a public car park) and left there indefinitely without insurance. My MX5 was uninsured for almost 10 months last year as it was sat SORN.
 
Man of Honour
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17 Oct 2002
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Ottakring, Vienna.
I think they changed the rules so that it always has to be insured, even off-road. But how many people actually care about that who knows. There are definitely a lot of old cars out there without paperwork which are never taken on the road. Just used on farms etc.
No, there's been no change, other than the one detailed above.
 
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