A vehicle can be presented for MOT test up-to thirty days in advance of its current MOT certificate expiry date.
If the vehicle is tested within the calendar month prior to when the MOT is due, the test certificate will run from the date of the test to one year after the expiry date of the current certificate. For example, if the current certificate was due to expire on 1st November 2012, and the vehicle was presented on or after 2nd October 2012, the certificate would run from the test date until 1st November 2013.
The same rule would also apply when the vehicle is presented for test within a calendar month of its first MOT. In this case, the vehicle owner would need to present their registration document.
If the vehicle is tested earlier than one month before its due date, the MOT will only run for twelve months.