IAAF calls for MOT test fee increase to support safety and air quality

Federation says current fee is too low to cover the time and investment needed for modern vehicle tests

IAAF calls for MOT test fee increase to support safety and air quality

The Independent Automotive Aftermarket Federation (IAAF) is advocating for an increase in the MOT test fee to support the modernisation of the test and to help independent garages keep pace with technological changes. The current maximum fee a garage can charge for a car MOT is £54.85, a figure that has been frozen since 2010.

According to Mark Field, IAAF Chief Executive, the fee should be around £90 today just to keep up with inflation. He argues that an increase is necessary to ensure that testing stations can continue to deliver high standards and invest in the equipment and training needed for modern, complex vehicles.

The IAAF is also supporting proposals to modernise the MOT test itself. These include testing exhaust particulate levels on both petrol and diesel vehicles, as well as performing functional checks on advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS), which are becoming increasingly common. These changes are seen as crucial for improving road safety and air quality.

With DVSA forecasts predicting a 16% rise in MOT volumes for September 2025 compared to the previous year, the pressure on testing stations is expected to grow.

Field concluded that an increased fee would further support the independent aftermarket’s role in keeping the UK’s vehicles safe and roadworthy. The IAAF plans to continue lobbying the government for a fair reform of the MOT system that reflects technological change and supports the sector’s vital role.

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27 Comments

  1. I agree the fee should rise but while there are cut price mot’s available it won’t work

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    • This is totally wrong. MOT test is easy money money for old rope for garages. It’s how many garages actually survive. It requires very little equipment apart from the initial equipment such as gas tester and lift. It’s relatively clean work unlike standard work e.g engine rebuilds, gearboxes etc I’m totally against this as people are giving up their cars now due to the High cost of Motoring and this will only exacerbate the situation.

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      • It comes no where near a garages hourly rate in 2025.
        Also For the Testers , AEDM it is a highly stressful job. You obviously don’t see all the costs involved behind the scenes !!
        Most of the people who present the cars for an mot test just want a pass and don’t care one bit about advisories , the professional has advised that your brake pads are worn low, your tyres are worn low etc, etc. take advise

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      • If you had any understanding of running a MOT station you would appreciate how disrespectful this comment is. As an honest garage owner I can assure you it is not easy money. The equipment itself is astronomical, especially for any upgrades as they have to be connected to DVSA now. Then taking into account staff wages, DBS checks, initial training, annual CPD, AE training, garage management training, 6 or 12 month calibrations on all equipment involved in any part of the MOT, I wont bore you with listing them all. This does not even include the general overheads of a garage as well.
        Think about where the costs have increased – insurance (faulty claims, idiot drivers, unsafe vehicles don’t help), road tax (no one knows what this is used for) but an MOT station, there for the sole purpose of making sure the vehicles on the road are in a safe condition to drive ….
        What happens when independent garages are strangled financially into closing? Main dealer, enjoy their prices.
        We work hard! If there was a better standard of garages to ensure MOTs are done fairly and not just for profit, then people may start to trust garages again and respect their worth.

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        • Well said.

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        • Well said that man.

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        • SPOT ON WELL SAID

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        • Everything this man said is bang on!

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      • You’re so so wrong! I ran an MOT Station for twenty years and seven years ago when I moved premises I considered installing a station in the new place. There was no sensible financial case for doing so. The MOT requires more equipment, and is more regulated than ANY other part of the trade. £54.85 is a JOKE in 2025!

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        • I’m assuming you havnt had a pay rise in 15 years and your absolutely fine with that? My hourly rate as a vehicle technician is £80 per hour, I’ve just ordered an mot lane at a cost of £50000 and that’s without the groundworks so after that investment I can then earn £54 per hour

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    • I think it will work , anybody discounting this is an ideal business opportunity to rise costs as it will be a massive thing and have lots of publicity.

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  2. For many years (decades!) garages have been requesting an increase in the Statutory maximum MOT fee.
    The problem is manyfold, firstly while many, if not most MOT providers coninue to offer ‘cut price ‘ MOT’s how does that encourage the regulators to increase the Maximum MOT fee?
    Secondly many MOT providers offer service & MOT as a combined offer and they then show MOT at full fee and discount the service. Meanwhile if you just have an MOT from them the MOT is discounted. Putting the MOT maximum fee up would not stop this practice. (This also seems like a dubious VAT practice to me.)
    Thirdly, Ministers and MP’s do want to be seen to be promoting price increases that seem to be pushing inflation up.
    Just my opinions.

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    • Spot on!

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  3. perhaps the powers that be would like to run our mot bay and garage for a month to see how bloody hard we have to work for an average wage !!!!
    we have staff who are frankly a headache 24/7

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  4. Until we stop the race to the bottom, this fee will not rise. Plenty of new MOT stations are opening, and for some bizarre reason, the MOT fee is discounted or undervalued. I’m not sure what these garages are thinking by setting it low; they’re probably the same ones moaning they can’t find techs.

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  5. Has the government stated why they think it’s ok to keep the max test fee the same for 15 years when everything else is rising in cost especially labour rates & insurance etc?

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    • Yes I agree it’s not easy running an mot station you have to deal with customers who want to chalange you if your car fails then the equipment needs to be connected to dvsa and calibration costs we need to set a minimum price so it’s a level playing field And the price needs to go up

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  6. 100% agree with what you say Nikki. I don’t think Eddie has got a clue what he is talking about. it costs a fortune to run a mot centre.

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  7. I agree with all of the comments above but one. The comments by Eddie Pasco clearly come from someone who has no idea of the costs and responsibilities involved in running an honest workshop and carry highly important work such as MOT tests. The price of absolutely everything has increased massively in the last 15 years and the price of an MOT test should also be increased by the same amount. Politicians (who possibly all ride bicycles and have no idea either of what is involved) keep pushing the insane idea of changing the MOT Test frequency to 24 months so they can be seen to be doing something to save people money (just over £1.00 a week!) so will not want to be seen to allow an increase, increasing to a more realistic £90.00 would cost less than 70p per week!
    I accept that discounting the charge for an MOT Test is a problem and can only assume that those who do heavily discount their charges somehow ‘win back’ what they’ve lost either by overcharging for un-necessary repair they say are required for the customers car to pass.
    Instead of making the MOT price a maximum charge they should make it a stipulated charge. It is a similar situation with medical prescriptions, no matter what pharmacy you get them from, they all charge the same price.

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  8. It needs to be raised without doubt.
    The proper mot stations don’t stand a chance surviving at this rate with increasing costs.
    The discount mot station is “likely ” to charge the customer for work not needed to get their money another way.

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  9. As mentioned above, until the fee is made mandatory nothing will change

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  10. If you think about it, most garages charge a 1 hour labour fee to examine your vehicle for a fault. That can be around £100 for example (a main Dealer will be more). They may not even need to use their expensive diagnostic equipment to find your fault. Now consider an M.O.T test. The garage will need over £50,000 worth of equipment to carry out your test and will charge you less than their hourly or half hourly labour rate. It makes you wonder why a garage would go to the expense of installing an M.O.T bay, with all the behind the scenes costs of training, service contracts for the equipment and general associated headaches when they can stick to more lucrative general work at less outlay. Of course, there are spin offs to having an M.O.T bay with the remedial work needed to pass the test. Although I’m a qualified mechanic and former tester myself, as Joe Public the motorist, I baulk at any price increases the same as anyone else. In my opinion, an M.O.T price should be fixed by the DVSA with no discounting allowed. I would raise it initially to £60 with further increases under constant review.

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  11. dvsa could fix this problem over night by makeing a fixed price mots part of your authorsation to run a mot station but there not interested all they care about is there index linked pension i have tried to talk to them but i am only one person we need the big boys to rattle there cages to make them do the right thing

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  12. I run two MOT only stations with no repairs. We have a valued long standing customer base who use us as they trust us to be unbiased as all test stations should be. We charge full price and we are busy 99% of the time yet it is increasingly difficult to make a profit not alone get a tester as they all want £40k + ( some may deserve this but others don’t deserve buttons ) and then you find a chain of garages doing MOT’s for £9.99 with a ‘Woucher code”!!!! We all know this is a ploy to get a customer in the door so the vehicle can fail on items that they can fix even if it shouldn’t have failed. The DVSA can’t get staff to police the scheme. It’s time for a shake up. Put the price of an MOT slot up so that the DVSA receives more revenue per test, they can offer an increase in wage and get staff to sort out the poor testers / stations. Put the test fee up to allow stations to make a decent profit. The stations can then offer a higher wage to entice and retain testers. Yes the public will in turn have to pay more for a test but it is only once per year just like road tax and insurance. The price should then be fixed – this would stop people being ripped off by unscrupulous garages as there would not be any reason to choose a cheaper test. The whole scheme is laughed at at the moment by people thinking it’s a service or customers only having a test as they can’t get their car tax without it.

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  13. MOT prices should’ve been doubled years ago. We’re paying £40k+ just to get decent MOT testers, inflation’s gone through the roof since 2010, and we’ve had to fork out for all the new kit – wireless systems, upgraded test lanes, the lot. Yet nobody’s giving garages a hand with the cost of these upgrades. Everyone moans about the price of an MOT, but they forget the overheads we’re carrying just to keep the service running properly.

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  14. Utter Buffoon.

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  15. You hit the nail right on the head!
    Everything this man said….

    Reply

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