Illegal ‘Ghost MOT’ cases double across the UK in a single year

New DVSA figures show a worrying surge in fraudulent MOT certificates being issued for untested or failed vehicles

Illegal ‘Ghost MOT’ cases double across the UK in a single year

Greatest Hits Radio have recently revealed the number of people getting illegal MOTs, also known as a “ghost MOT,” has doubled in one year.

A ‘ghost MOT’ is a legal certificate issued for a vehicle that has not actually been tested or has failed. Figures from a Freedom of Information request to the DVSA show the number of UK vehicles found with a fraudulent MOT rose from 976 in 2023 to 1,809 in 2024.

Jack Cousens, Head of road policy at the AA, noted the motivation: “people are paying more for these to avoid the more expensive costs of repairs.” He added that in eight out of ten cases, “people don’t even get their car seen by a garage.” Fraudsters commonly advertise these tests online, inviting customers to a private chat on platforms like Telegram or WhatsApp to arrange payment and issue a certificate via email.

Mr Cousens warned that this practice is “clearly incredibly dangerous. Vehicles need to undergo their annual MOT test to ensure we’ve got the safest vehicles on our roads. This is putting other people at risk of danger.” He suggested that, in the majority of cases, it involves people with highly modified cars who seek to avoid official testing.

A DVSA spokesperson said the agency has “taken action to reassure drivers their vehicle’s MOT will be conducted to the correct standard.” This includes the Photos of Vehicles at MOT trial, which requires testers to photograph the vehicle to prove it is in the garage. The DVSA is also using AI and ANPR to detect fraud.

Mr Cousens called the DVSA’s efforts “good” but insisted more action is required against online advertising: “We need DVSA to keep putting pressure on those social media sites. We also need the social media sites themselves to realise that this is an illegal practice and uphold their own guidelines.”

Source: Hello Rayo

6 Comments

  1. had range rover in last week fail it for cat being tampered with guess what i seen on mot history the next day my station is in scotland i bet you the mot was done in birmingham our barnsly over the phone by 1 of his relatives / fiends we need live cameras in all stations when carrying out a mot

    Reply
  2. What if Birmingham could have fixed it, mechanic and parts available so many great and reliable mechanics with good experience.

    Reply
  3. Have you informed DVSA of the vehicle details, they can then follow up, and confirm the circumstances surrounding the issue of the pass certificate to this vehicle ?
    If you haven’t please use the link below to do so anonymously.
    If ANY, VTS has concerns of this nature they can report it to DVSA anonymously, for them to investigate the VTS who issued the VT20, using the following link https://www.gov.uk/guidance/report-an-mot-tester .
    If this practice is to be stamped out, then every legitimate garage has a responsibility, it is not just up to DVSA, like a lot of businesses, agencies and service providers, their resources are limited.
    It is in everyone in the trades interests for the providers of these fraudulent practices to be caught and removed from the scheme, one by one each time a report is filed it will become more and more difficult for these negligent and criminal practices to be able to continue.
    The genuine, conscientious and professional members of the trade are being undermined at an extremely challenging time, the VTS and testers who provide these services are not only recklessly risking the road safety of millions of people they are undermining the integrity and viability of each and every professional mechanic and MOT tester.
    Please support DVSA to support road safety, and ensure the safety of yours, and everyone’s loved ones while using the UK’s roads

    Reply
  4. I think many of us have experienced situations where the validity of the certificate is in question.

    we are on the trial for taking a photograph for MOT’s and Retests, I believe this will go some way to reducing the occurrence of “Ghost MOT’s” as MTS will ultimately raise flags against vehicles that don’t have photographic evidence of the vehicle being in the test bay.

    The photographs (Or lack of) can be used in conjunction with other evidence such as ANPR to build a picture of the offence, and hopefully work to reduce this behaviour.

    The taking of photographs requires minimum effort and once you are used to it, you barely notice any inconvenience or any time difference in carrying out the test.

    When used in conjunction with connected equipment such as brake and emissions testers it helps to build a comprehensive picture of the validity of the test.

    Reply
  5. I would imagine the figure is 100x more than that at least, no sane person is actually going to admit they have a ghost mot, we regularly see cars we have failed on loads of work back driving around 2 days later, and when you check it magically got a test the next day, you report it to DVSA and they do absolutely nothing about it, yet continue to try punish the good mot stations while letting the dodgy ones carry on freely

    Reply
    • do you report the information to DVSA through the channels shown above?

      It is defiantly worth doing.

      Reply

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