Crackdown on MOT fraud comes under fire

MOT testers must now take photographs of cars as evidence they have actually been inspected DVSA's new test verification process is fallible, claims former MOT inspector The government’s plan to tackle the most common form of MOT test fraud has been criticised by a former inspector who claims reduced levels of enforcement are undermining standards. Around 80% of fraudulent pass certificates issued each year are for cars that haven’t been inspected – known as ‘ghost MOTs’. Since 2023, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), which administers MOT tests, has been trialling ways of stamping out this practice. Last month, it told the UK’s 60,000 MOT testers that one solution requires them to take a photograph of the car they are testing in their garage’s test bay. Taken using the tester’s own phone or tablet, the image should show the front or rear of the car, including the numberplate. It can be taken only after the tester has entered the vehicle’s VIN and registration into the agency’s online MOT Testing System (MTS). It must then be immediately uploaded to the same system before the test can continue. “Whilst it’s only a small number of testers who bring disrepute to the industry by committing fraudulent MOTs, it does happen, and this undermines the important work the rest of you do every day to keep vehicles safe,” said the DVSA’s head of MOT policy, Chris Price. “Knowing if a vehicle is where it should be at the time of test should reduce the number of MOTs carried out when the vehicle isn’t present or isn’t the same vehicle as the details being entered into [the system]. This will help all of us to crack down on fraud.” However, Autocar has spoken to a former MOT test enforcement inspector who believes the DVSA’s solution is flawed. The inspector, who asked not to be identified, said that using a tester’s own camera risked the image of the car and test bay being altered by digital tools such as Photoshop. “I don’t think the DVSA realises quite how far this stuff has come on,” he said. “Using a DVSA device rather than the tester’s phone would give the agency better control. When I was an inspector, to try to improve security I would always ask myself ‘how can I fiddle the process?’, and I believe the camera solution can be fiddled.” The former inspector, who served for around a decade, believes cuts in the number of MOT inspectors employed by the DVSA have contributed to an increase in ghost MOTs and other fraud. He said: “There were around seven inspectors in my region [in the late 2010s]. Now there’s just one, who I calculate must be responsible for hundreds of garages. I know of some garages that haven’t had an inspection visit for seven years. I believe testing standards are suffering as a result.” Meanwhile, a serving MOT tester told Autocar he believed the DVSA is increasingly shifting enforcement from inspectors to testers. “I spend more time completing forms than testing cars,” he said. “It does increasingly feel like we’re doing the DVSA’s work.” Responding to the criticisms, Price said: “DVSA enforcement examiners will continue to play a key role in tackling fraud. Taking a photo of the vehicle present at test will help provide us with information to target our enforcement efforts and we do not view it as an alternative to our enforcement work. It will also act as a deterrent to those looking to exploit the system.” Regarding current enforcement staffing levels, Price said: “The DVSA has 102 full-time-equivalent examiners who solely do MOT work, a specialist MOT Investigation team and a dedicated MOT Intelligence Hub. The DVSA’s overall effort on MOT enforcement has been consistent in recent years and its performance in catching offenders has improved year on year.” The DVSA’s camera trial is part of a long-running campaign to root out fraud in the system. Between 2020 and 2022, 687 MOT testers were disqualified by the DVSA and a further 228 in the 2022-23 period. The DVSA’s director of enforcement, Marian Kitson, said: “The DVSA is fully committed to taking action against anyone who undermines the integrity of the MOT service and compromises road safety.” One in 10 passed cars should have failed A Freedom of Information request has revealed that more than 10% of cars that passed their MOT tests in 2023 should have failed. That’s some 2.9 million cars with potentially dangerous defects. This information was contained in a report by a team of DVSA compliance examiners who retested a random selection of 1487 cars at the sites they were originally assessed. The DVSA launched disciplinary actions against 14 garages and wrote 67 advisory warning letters to others. The most common areas in which the DVSA disagreed with the MOT testing station Tyres 731 defects disagreed Brakes 678 Suspension 629 Lights, reflectors, electrics 392 Non-component advisories 157 Visibility 147 Noise, emissions and leaks 135 Body, chassis and structure 127 Steering 59 Vehicle identification 50 Seatbelts 40 Whee

Mar 20, 2025 - 10:22

MOT testers must now take photographs of cars as evidence they have actually been inspected

DVSA's new test verification process is fallible, claims former MOT inspector

The government’s plan to tackle the most common form of MOT test fraud has been criticised by a former inspector who claims reduced levels of enforcement are undermining standards.

Around 80% of fraudulent pass certificates issued each year are for cars that haven’t been inspected – known as ‘ghost MOTs’.

Since 2023, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), which administers MOT tests, has been trialling ways of stamping out this practice.

Last month, it told the UK’s 60,000 MOT testers that one solution requires them to take a photograph of the car they are testing in their garage’s test bay. Taken using the tester’s own phone or tablet, the image should show the front or rear of the car, including the numberplate. It can be taken only after the tester has entered the vehicle’s VIN and registration into the agency’s online MOT Testing System (MTS). It must then be immediately uploaded to the same system before the test can continue.

“Whilst it’s only a small number of testers who bring disrepute to the industry by committing fraudulent MOTs, it does happen, and this undermines the important work the rest of you do every day to keep vehicles safe,” said the DVSA’s head of MOT policy, Chris Price.

“Knowing if a vehicle is where it should be at the time of test should reduce the number of MOTs carried out when the vehicle isn’t present or isn’t the same vehicle as the details being entered into [the system]. This will help all of us to crack down on fraud.”

However, Autocar has spoken to a former MOT test enforcement inspector who believes the DVSA’s solution is flawed. The inspector, who asked not to be identified, said that using a tester’s own camera risked the image of the car and test bay being altered by digital tools such as Photoshop.

“I don’t think the DVSA realises quite how far this stuff has come on,” he said. “Using a DVSA device rather than the tester’s phone would give the agency better control. When I was an inspector, to try to improve security I would always ask myself ‘how can I fiddle the process?’, and I believe the camera solution can be fiddled.”

The former inspector, who served for around a decade, believes cuts in the number of MOT inspectors employed by the DVSA have contributed to an increase in ghost MOTs and other fraud. He said: “There were around seven inspectors in my region [in the late 2010s]. Now there’s just one, who I calculate must be responsible for hundreds of garages. I know of some garages that haven’t had an inspection visit for seven years. I believe testing standards are suffering as a result.”

Meanwhile, a serving MOT tester told Autocar he believed the DVSA is increasingly shifting enforcement from inspectors to testers.

“I spend more time completing forms than testing cars,” he said. “It does increasingly feel like we’re doing the DVSA’s work.”

Responding to the criticisms, Price said: “DVSA enforcement examiners will continue to play a key role in tackling fraud. Taking a photo of the vehicle present at test will help provide us with information to target our enforcement efforts and we do not view it as an alternative to our enforcement work. It will also act as a deterrent to those looking to exploit the system.”

Regarding current enforcement staffing levels, Price said: “The DVSA has 102 full-time-equivalent examiners who solely do MOT work, a specialist MOT Investigation team and a dedicated MOT Intelligence Hub. The DVSA’s overall effort on MOT enforcement has been consistent in recent years and its performance in catching offenders has improved year on year.”

The DVSA’s camera trial is part of a long-running campaign to root out fraud in the system. Between 2020 and 2022, 687 MOT testers were disqualified by the DVSA and a further 228 in the 2022-23 period.

The DVSA’s director of enforcement, Marian Kitson, said: “The DVSA is fully committed to taking action against anyone who undermines the integrity of the MOT service and compromises road safety.”

One in 10 passed cars should have failed

Cracked tyre – Image, Getty Images

A Freedom of Information request has revealed that more than 10% of cars that passed their MOT tests in 2023 should have failed. That’s some 2.9 million cars with potentially dangerous defects.

This information was contained in a report by a team of DVSA compliance examiners who retested a random selection of 1487 cars at the sites they were originally assessed.

The DVSA launched disciplinary actions against 14 garages and wrote 67 advisory warning letters to others.

The most common areas in which the DVSA disagreed with the MOT testing station

Tyres 731 defects disagreed

Brakes 678

Suspension 629

Lights, reflectors, electrics 392

Non-component advisories 157

Visibility 147

Noise, emissions and leaks 135

Body, chassis and structure 127

Steering 59

Vehicle identification 50