How can I check the MOT expiry date of my car?
As a car owner, it is important to know when your car requires MOT inspection. If you drive around in a car whose MOT has expired, there are a number of consequences. You risk a fine from both the RDW and the police. If you have an accident in a car with an expired MOT, your car insurance company may not pay compensation. Therefore, always check carefully when your car requires a new MOT. We explain how to check your car's MOT expiration date.
MOT expiration date in the letter from the RDW?
Six weeks before the MOT on your car expires, the RDW sends you a reminder letter. You will receive this by mail or online via the RDW's message box, depending on what you have set up. This letter contains the exact expiration date of your MOT. In this way, the RDW tries to encourage you to take action on time. Always keep a close eye on the expiration date yourself, because as the owner of the vehicle, you remain responsible for getting it inspected on time. 'I haven't had a letter' is not a valid excuse for letting the MOT expire. You can look up the expiration date yourself, both on the last inspection report and on the RDW website.
| Date of first authorisation | Fuel type | When to inspect? |
|---|---|---|
| After 1 January 2005 | Petrol and/or electric motor | First MOT check after 4 years, then twice after 2 years, thereafter every year |
| After 1 January 2005 | Diesel, gas or other | First MOT check after 3 years, thereafter every year |
| Before 1 January 2005 | All fuel types | First MOT check after 3 years, thereafter every year |
| Vehicle 30 years old or more (but less than 50 years old) | All fuel types | APK inspection once every 2 years |
| Vehicle 50 or more years old | All fuel types | No compulsory MOT |
Can you check MOT expiration date on the inspection report?
When the car has been previously MOT inspected, the expiration date will appear on the inspection report. You get this from the garage where the inspection is performed. The inspection report lists any repair, reject and advisory points. Recommendation points are things that do not lead to rejection at that moment, but which you will have to replace or repair soon. Before the expiration date on the inspection report, the car must be re-inspected. This is allowed as early as two months in advance. The original expiration date is then retained. In this way, your car has been MOT approved for a maximum of 14 months.
When should I have my car MOT?
In the schedule below, you can see when the car needs its first MOT inspection. This schedule is for passenger cars, weighing up to 3500 kg. Different dates apply to heavier cars or special vehicles.
Can you check the MOT expiration date on the RDW website?
Finally, you can also check the MOT expiration date on the RDW website. You do this by doing a license plate check. You enter the license plate number of the car. Then you get insight into the historical data of the car. Because the license plate check is public, it shows only non-privacy-sensitive data about the vehicle. Besides the APK expiration date, you can also see, for example, how many kilos the vehicle can tow, how many seats it has and when the vehicle was first registered in the Netherlands. By doing a license plate check, you can see within one minute what your car's APK expiration date is.
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