You may have heard by now that, from May 2018, vehicles over 40 years of age will become exempt from the requirement to have an MOT test. Previously, this applied to vehicles registered specifically before 1960.
What you may not be aware of is that the new exemption will not automatically apply to every vehicle of that age.
So, what are the rules? Here’s what we know so far. (These details are still subject to change any time up to 20 May.)
Your vehicle must:
- have ‘historic vehicle’ status on the registration document (V5),
- be over 40 years of age,
- not have been substantially changed within the last 30 years,
- have no more than 8 passenger seats,
- weigh under 3.5 tonne DGW.
Fairly straightforward – apart from the requirement for the vehicle not to have been ‘substantially changed’. To explain what that means, the Department for Transport has issued this guide (PDF) (last checked 12/03/2018) detailing the criteria along with further advice.
If you need any further clarification on what that means for you, come in and have a chat with us.