MOT fail rate by postcode area, 2025

The share of 33,210,823 first MOT tests in 2025 that ended in an initial fail, by postcode area of the test station.

  1. DundeeDD38.6%
  2. Kirkcaldy (Fife)KY38.6%
  3. AberdeenAB35.9%
  4. Shetland (Lerwick)ZE35.4%
  5. PaisleyPA34.8%
  6. FalkirkFK34.3%
  7. MotherwellML34.3%
  8. PerthPH33.9%
  9. EdinburghEH33.3%
  10. BristolBS33.0%
  11. CroydonCR22.6%
  12. EnfieldEN22.3%
  13. Kingston upon ThamesKT22.1%
  14. TwickenhamTW22.1%
  15. HarrowHA21.7%
  16. RomfordRM21.4%
  17. IlfordIG21.2%
  18. SloughSL21.2%
  19. Southall/UxbridgeUB20.6%
  20. SuttonSM20.3%

Dashed line: all Great Britain, 27.7%

Show all 118 areas

The postcode area is where the car was tested, not where its owner lives. Allowing for the age of the cars, so an area with an older fleet is not marked down for it. A fail that was fixed and passed at the station counts as an initial fail: that is DVSA’s own measure. The MOT checks safety and emissions items, not the engine, clutch or gearbox, so this is one measure of how each car holds up rather than a full reliability verdict.

Source: Autoza analysis of DVSA MOT data 2025 (opens in a new tab)

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.