can you tax a car without mot 2018

[OAlexis]

No, you cannot legally tax a car in the UK without a valid MOT certificate, and this was the case in 2018 as well. The only exception is if you are declaring the car as off the road with a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN). The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) systems are linked, and the tax application will be automatically rejected if no current MOT is on record.

The process is designed this way for safety and compliance reasons. An MOT test confirms that your vehicle meets the minimum environmental and road safety standards at the time of the test. Allowing an untaxed vehicle without this certification on public roads poses a risk. The system effectively ensures that any vehicle being used is both legal to drive (taxed) and safe to drive (MOT'd).

There is a specific window for renewal. You can tax your vehicle up to two months before your current tax expires, using the reminder letter (V11) or your vehicle's log book (V5C). However, the MOT requirement is absolute. If your MOT has expired, you must get the vehicle tested and pass before you can complete the tax renewal online, by phone, or at a Post Office.

Scenario	Can You Tax the Car?	Key Requirement
MOT is current and valid	Yes	Tax can be renewed normally.
MOT has expired	No	A new MOT pass is required first.
Vehicle is brand new	Yes	New vehicles get a temporary exemption from the MOT test for 3 years.
Vehicle is declared SORN	N/A	Tax is not required for a vehicle that is off the road.

The immediate consequence of driving without tax is a fine, and driving without an MOT invalidates your insurance. If you're caught, the penalties are severe. The only legal way to drive a car without an MOT to a pre-booked test appointment is if you are going directly to the testing center. For taxing purposes in 2018 or any year, the rule is clear: no MOT, no tax.

[MacRiley]

Absolutely not. The system is set up to stop that from happening. I learned this the hard way a few years back when my MOT had lapsed by just a week. I went online to tax my car, and the GOV.UK website just wouldn't let me proceed. It flagged it right away. You have to get the MOT sorted first. It's a safety check, so they're not going to let you pay to drive an unsafe car legally. Get the test done, then tax it immediately after.

[LaJessica]

Think of it as a two-step process where the MOT is the first, mandatory step. The government's databases talk to each other. When you try to tax your car, the system instantly checks for a valid MOT. If it doesn't find one, the transaction is blocked. This was definitely the rule in 2018 and hasn't changed. The only time this doesn't apply is for a brand-new vehicle, which doesn't need its first MOT until it's three years old. Otherwise, pass the MOT, then pay the tax.