Drivers in Northern Ireland whose MOTs are due to expire in the Covid-19 shutdown have been granted a one-year extension. The announcement was made by Stormont Minister Nichola Mallon, who indicated that it would not be possible for test centres to clear the testing backlog a well as carry out normal tests once centres reopen.  

The Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA) will continue to issue temporary exemption certificates (TECs) to those vehicles, private cars, goods vehicles, trailers or motorcycles until their normal MOT date. The DVA suspended all vehicle testing for three months, on March 24th and were already struggling to cope with previous closures through technical issues prior to this.

It has been stressed that it remains the responsibility of the vehicle owner to make sure their car is in a roadworthy condition. The announcement applies to Northern Ireland only with a six-month MOT extension in place for the rest of the UK.

The move will mean that anyone who is considering bringing in a vehicle from the North may need to carry out their own additional roadworthiness checks.  

As yet there is no update on when the NCT will recommence in Republic of Ireland.