If anyone can help me with this, I’d be very grateful.
My bike’s coming up to 3 yrs old. The tax runs out on 30 June, but it doesn’t need an MOT until 16 July.
Does anyone know whether I have to get an MOT BEFORE renewing the tax, or can I renew the tax when there’s only two or three weeks left before it needs an MOT.
i.e. do I need to get an MOT within the next two weeks so that I can renew the tax? Or can I wait and get an MOT at the beginning of July (when I’ve got more time and it’d be more convenient to take the time out to get an MOT/do without the bike for a day)?
(Of course, it’s never had an MOT before because it’s always been < 3yrs old)
Nah I’m pretty sure you’re fine to just renew your tax when it expires - as long as at the time you have a valid MOT certificate, or in your case is currently exempt from tax
Try applying for your tax online, it will check everything electronically and you don’t have to run around finding documents or go running around to the post office
There is a limit on how much mot you need to have left for an on-line tax disk, not too sure what that limit is tho;
But there is some time allowed after tax expiry for renewal[ of tax]
sounds like you should bring your mot forward a bit and do both together.
No problem. My MOT was due on 13 June - I got it MOT’d today. The tax was due on 1 June and I got Tax through the DVLA online renewal system on 18 May.
The law requires that you have an MOT and insurance valid for that vehicle on the day the tax falls due.
You can do it through the DVLA by phone if you don’t fancy doing it online. It is very quick and you don’t have to speak to anyone - just press buttons in answer to their questions & it’s not tricky.
If you absolutely have to go to a Post Office chose a little one (if you can find one after the spate of clousures) as main Post Office staff can be nit-picky about this - to the extreme.
The first time I had to get a tax disc for my car I’d lost the MOT certificate (turned up at my dads house 260 miles away :P) but the lady there was real nice and did it for me anyway
My local Post office has (an apparently arbitery) rule thet your MoT has to have a bit of un-expired time left after the tax renewal date. Depending who I get, that’s a week or a fortnight.
The legal situation is that you can renew the tax as long as the MoT is valid, i.e. the same day it expires at midnight.
I’d not push that so close. You can renew up to 14 days before the tax is due. I’d do that just to be super safe.
I’ve had the same taxing problem with my bike and car. To get around it I bought 6 months tax and once up, bought 12 months tax. I now always have 5 or six months of MOT when buying road tax.
Good idea Dr Tea (but I think you can only buy 12 months’ tax for little 250s like mine. The 6 month option is only available for bigger engines, when the price goes up.)
Of course, I would have gone onto the tax website to check whether I could buy it now, except that the earliest date I can do that is 15th June!!! What’s the point of having all these fancy systems when you can’t prepay?
It happens every year: they send a reminder about a month before expiry. I know I’m likely to file it somewhere “safe” (never to be seen again), so I come over all organised for 5 minutes and think: “I’ll do this straight away”. Go on the computer…only to find out that it’s too early and I can’t renew for a fortnight.
A fortnight. Just about the perfect length of time for me to forget that I need to renew my tax, and for me to lose all the paperwork. Result: I end up turning the house upside down about two days before the tax runs out, eventually finding the paperwork and just managing to renew in a fit of panic, just before it runs out.
Why can’t you renew as soon as the reminder lands on your doormat? It’s not exactly rocket science (well, my scooter is fairly nippy, but you couldn’t really call it a rocket )
There is no problem with doing the MOT early. Providing it is within a month of expiry, the test centre can issue a certificate that expires 12 months after the original date - so you do not loose out.
Easiest way to do it nowadays… no wonder the poor old post offices are having to close down!www.direct.gov.uk/taxdisc
or 0870 850 4444 to pay by phone
Did my tax for another 12 months on line last night and after the checks on insurance and MOT it cleared OK. This in spite of the fact the MOT and insurance are due at the same time (End of the month) meaning only around two or three weeks left to run before renewal required, so I would suggest do it on line or phone up and do it. They will send to you within 5 days as well.
Now I just got to get to a MOT test centre before the end of the 1st week in July ish… and not seen my insurance renewal reminder yet come to think of it?
