Declare SORN for one day?

mattpj

mattpj

mattpj

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My MOT will lapse as I got the date wrong and I can only get it to a garage a day later than the expiry.

I know my tax won't count now as I dont have a valid MOT and there's the insurance issue.

Do I need to declare SORN for one day if that's at all possible and then retax once the MOT is sorted?

Thanks for your help
 
You can SORN it for a day but you'll need to visit a Post office to tax it as it needs to be SORN for 7 days (IIRC) before you can tax it again online.

Personally for a day I'd probably risk it, knowing the amount of people who unknowingly drive around for months on lapsed MOTs and hear nothing.
 
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your tax is still valid as far as i know, you would be driving without MOT and you are allowed to drive to an MOT centre without MOT as long as you go straight there and dont deviate anywhere on the way.

Its your insurance i would be worried about.

that is how i see it anyway.
 
mattpj said:
My MOT will lapse as I got the date wrong and I can only get it to a garage a day later than the expiry.

I know my tax won't count now as I dont have a valid MOT and there's the insurance issue.

Do I need to declare SORN for one day if that's at all possible and then retax once the MOT is sorted?

Thanks for your help
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Be a real devil and risk it, I know medication may be needed for some, but for others the all enveloping excitement over the risk taking is as good as sex. Find out where you lie on such a challenge ;)
 
dave28 said:
your tax is still valid as far as i know, you would be driving without MOT and you are allowed to drive to an MOT centre without MOT as long as you go straight there and dont deviate anywhere on the way.

Its your insurance i would be worried about.

that is how i see it anyway.
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Agree with this.

Regarding insurance, as I understand it, if the vehicle is roadworthy (other than the lack of MOT), then the insurance will still be valid when driving straight to the MOT test as advised above.

If the vehicle isn't roadworthy (regardless of whether you have an MOT or not), then your insurance will take a very dim view of it (will likely still pay out to a 3rd party in an accident, by they may try to then claim the money from you).

However, I am not a motoring lawyer, so take all the above with 17kg of salt.
 
I wouldn't risk it, if you go through an ANPR camera you will definitely get done.

Edit: you can drive a SORNed car to an MOT test apparently. But it will have to be taxed to get it home again.
 
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Also, if you SORN it, you don't get the remainder of the month's tax back, and when you tax it, it goes back to the start of the current month, so unless it coincides with the end/start of the month, you'll end up double paying for that month
 
Chris Wilson said:
Be a real devil and risk it, I know medication may be needed for some, but for others the all enveloping excitement over the risk taking is as good as sex. Find out where you lie on such a challenge ;)
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100%

Not sure why everyone is such a boot licker in this sub tbh.
 
EDIT: You might as well SORN it though it doesn't take long to do and will automatically cancel when you renew the tax to drive it home, but worth talking to your insurer which might be a bit more hassle.
 
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If you're thinking about SORNING it, then I presume you're not going to drive it that day anyway?

In which case, you're going to be incredibly unlucky for anything untoward to happen. Someone would have to crash into it, or steal it. Or for some reason the cops or a parking attendant check the MOT and/or tax status.

What will massively increase the chances of you coming unstuck is driving it and APNR'd. But as people have said, it's perfectly legal to drive it to an MOT so long as you've no reason to think it's not roadworthy. Make sure you've got fuel so you don't have to go in a garage en route.

Can you park it anywhere off-road for 24 hours?

And yes, you can renew your tax over the phone, automatically. It takes <2mins. The MOT centre will update your MOT status with the DVLA so you're good to go.

1) don't drive it the day the MOT lapses
2) drive it directly to the MOT centre
3) TAX over the phone once MOT is passed. Remember to take the tax form they post to you. It has their phone number and other details on it.

Simple and all above board.


EDIT - why can't you renew your tax before the MOT runs out?
 
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Thanks a lot for the thorough replies.

I was concerned about my legal obligations and I never intended to drive anywhere but the MOT centre.

I've decided to just park it off road and then just get the MOT, it seems a real pain to do SORN for one day though it may well be the technically the correct thing to do.

I know you hear of people driving for months without an MOT but I didn't fancy risking it when it will be corrected within a day.

Of course, it would have been better to have the date correct AND to been able to get an appointment on the day or before for the MOT but it wasn't possible for me.
 
My sister did that but no tax. Only got caught after going through a fixed ANPR camera :/

It's odd how insurers don't just check this stuff online automatically when you try to buy a policy.
 
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You know you can renew your tax before it runs out don't you? It'll just run consecutively after the current tax period elapses, you won't lose any days. Or gain any by renewing after you've got your new MOT.

You could renew your tax automatically over the phone right up to the day your MOT runs out.
 
Nasher said:
I wouldn't risk it, if you go through an ANPR camera you will definitely get done.

Edit: you can drive a SORNed car to an MOT test apparently. But it will have to be taxed to get it home again.
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You can drive an untaxed/sorned car to AND from a booked MOT. You don't need to tax it to drive home if it passes.

Personally for 1 day I wouldn't worry about it nothing will happen. My sister drove around for 2 weeks with expired tax once and there was no come back.
 
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