It only feels like yesterday we were reporting on ghost MOTs – fraudulent, spoofed MOT certificates issued for cars that have never actually been tested. But now, the solution is here; testers can now take photos during the MOT test to prove it happened, and it’s on us to get it right.
It’s still not fully rolled out, and it’s still not mandatory, but that’s all set to change. As of August 2026, the changes rolled out to 2,500 garages across Great Britain, where the new step in the test has been introduced. Photos can be taken on any device and uploaded to a secure DVSA portal, where they’ll be verified and stored to help combat ghost MOTs and fraud.
It’s likely that this will become a mandatory step in the MOT test, and we reckon that’ll happen soon – because ghost MOTs are still absolutely rife. That means that every garage in the UK will eventually have another essential step to add to their testing, upping the time spent on the test and adding yet more training burdens on their teams.
Which brings us back to another conversation we had about MOT test pricing history.
Will the MOT test go up in price?
The real question is when will the MOT go up in price – because the price simply cannot remain where it is. And that’s still up in the air – but with new pressure piling onto the government to do something, it might be sooner rather than later. Industry bodies are scheduled to meet with the Department for Transport on 21 October 2026 – where raising the MOT price cap will be discussed.
Momentum is really building behind this, and the coming months will see a decision. The government has already responded, saying that there are “no current plans to increase the MOT test fee” – but things change fast. Especially when the pressure’s on.
More and more garages are seriously considering packing in MOT testing altogether. The cost of doing business has made MOTs a loss leader for most, and while £95 is being touted as a fair price, many would settle for a cap at £80 or even £65, just to ease the burden.
Why should motorists (and the government) support this?
We’re sure this feels like shooting yourself in the foot – nobody wants to be paying more for mandatory testing – but think of the alternative.
If MOTs cost more to do than they make for garages, they’ll simply stop doing them. And when there aren’t enough garages to do MOTs, booking tests becomes harder and harder. And what happens when the last MOT testing centre goes out of business? How will the government be able to maintain mandatory testing?
We absolutely get the optics on this… It’s all very rich coming from an MOT test centre! “Pay us more or we won’t do the essential safety checks!” – but it’s not like that.
The MOT test price cap has been set at £54.85 since April 2010. And just look how much the world has changed since. There wasn’t even such a thing as Instagram back then.
Garages can’t survive unless something changes. And without MOT test centres, nobody is safe on the road. The MOT is, and always has been, about safety – brakes, lights and signals, tyres, steering, suspension, seatbelts – it’s all critical stuff and it needs to be verified as safe on every car.
Of course, it’s also illegal to drive without one, and nobody will insure you either. But that’s just the bureaucratic cost of a safety net designed to save lives. In 2023, more than 9.9 million MOT tests were failed by examiners. If just 1% of those cars were involved in a collision due to being unfit for the road, and 1% of those accidents was fatal – that’s 1,000 extra unnecessary deaths on the UK’s roads.
We need MOT testing, and we need competent, professional garages to do them. It’s in all our interests to keep our testing centres thriving, so we can all keep safely driving!
Book your next MOT
Need to book a MOT test? Book yours with We Only Do MOTs. We promise to provide an impartial, independent MOT to everyone – and will carry out most minor repairs for free.
Send your message to enquiries@onlydomots.co.uk or call us on 023 8064 7180
