MOT Northern Ireland: Infrastructure Minister John O’Dowd temporarily exempts five and seven-year-old cars from test to address backlogs

The temporary exemptions will apply to private cars first registered between 1 June 2019 and 31 May 2020 or between 1 June 2017 and 31 May 2018 and which already have a valid MOT certificate.

The exemption does not apply to six-year-old cars; It is understood the rationale is that relatively new cars should still be safe on the road if they are tested every two years.

The move comes as the minister says he is considering launching a public consultation on biennial MOT testing - testing every two years - for private cars, light goods vehicles under 3,500kg and motorcycles.

Private cars currently need an MOT certificate in Northern Ireland once they reach four years old.

One-year Temporary Exemption Certificates (TECs) will now be issued automatically for vehicles which qualify from 1 June - estimated to be around 1115,000 vehicles.

This allows qualifying motorists to continue to drive their vehicles legally as long as they are roadworthy and are taxed and insured.

Minister O’Dowd said: “DVA staff have been working around the clock to tackle an increasingly high demand for MOT tests due to a growing population, a higher proportion of households with access to a vehicle and more older cars on the road."

He said recruitment process is under way to help fill vacancies across DVA’s network of test centres and efforts have been made to reduce the number of no shows - approximately 100,000 in the past two years.

“Unfortunately, despite these best efforts, waiting times remain high."

New testing centres are being built at Hydebank and Mallusk with two more proposed for Campsie and Enniskillen.

He said road users being exempted are still responsible to keep their cars in roadworthy condition.

SDLP Opposition Infrastructure Spokesperson Mark H Durkan welcomed the news.

“Following our calls for the Minister to consider introducing biennial testing, he has introduced temporary exemptions that effectively do that," he said. "This provision was made during the pandemic and worked well taking pressure off the system."

“Motorists across the North have been left frustrated around significant delays in MOT test appointments, the current waiting time of 72 days simply isn’t good enough."

However, NFDA Chief Executive Sue Robinson said her organisation is “disappointed” with the Infrastructure Minister’s announcement.

"Whilst NFDA-NI acknowledges the intention of the Minister to assist consumers, we strongly believe this does not address the core capacity issue driving the MOT backlog,” she said. “Instead, this move will only delay the implementation of a solution even further.

“NFDA-NI has been vociferous on this issue, highlighting key areas of improvement and holding various meetings with DVA officials. However, unfortunately, the Minister is still yet to meet with us and we are disappointed that today’s decision has been made without consultation from the wider industry."

She added: “This announcement will prove detrimental to the safety of vehicles in Northern Ireland as well as its roads and is not the solution to tackling the backlog."