Child seats are a grey area for many parents when it comes to an MOT test. Can I leave it in whilst my MOT is done, or will it fail because of that?
What is an MOT?
An MOT is a mandatory vehicle inspection to determine whether your vehicle meets certain safety and environmental standards for it to be considered roadworthy. It is mandatory for all vehicles over 3 years old and takes place annually.
The MOT certificate confirms at the time of testing your vehicle was deemed roadworthy; however, this does not guarantee that your vehicle will remain roadworthy until the certificate expires. Therefore, we encourage all vehicle owners to perform regular vehicle checks to ensure your safety and that of other road users.
MOT tester checking car
Child car seats and your MOT
When you bring your vehicle in for its annual MOT test, if there is a child seat strapped in place using either the seat belt or ISOFIX, an MOT tester is not allowed to remove the child seat.
This will not cause your car to fail its MOT, but you will be given an advisory note because the seat belt cannot be tested legally.
Although this is standard practice and is not something to worry about. It is recommended that you remove your child seat before an MOT test to avoid having an advisory note on your MOT pass certificate and a clean bill of health.
Toy Bear in Child Seat
Do I need to prepare my car for it’s MOT test?
At Lindleys Autocentres, we see many vehicles fail their MOT test every day due to minor issues such as bulbs, wipers and tyres that could have easily been addressed beforehand if the right checks had been done.
Nobody wants the hassle and expense of getting your car repaired and retested following a failed MOT, it pays dividends to be prepared! Read more here in our earlier blog that you should focus on when getting your vehicle ready for its annual check.
