Becoming an MOT Testing Station
Any person, company or partnership can become an Authorised Examiner provided they can show themselves to be a ‘legal entity’ to which VOSA (the Vehicle Operator and Services Agency) can allocate the formal responsibility of being in charge. They must also show that they are of ‘good repute’ and ‘adequate financial standing’, and of course over the age of 18.
Premises and Equipment
To become an MOT Testing Station you must have the proper premises and equipment. This is because VOSA will only allow properly approved equipment to be used. The equipment needed is:
-
A vehicle lifting table or an inspection pit and associated equipment as approved
-
Approved roller brake Test equipment
-
Approved headlamp beam setting equipment
-
Approved emission Test equipment
-
Other small hand tools as specified by VOSA
-
An inspection lamp.
As far as premises are concerned, VOSA are only concerned with two things. Firstly there must be minimum distances between the main Test equipment, and secondly there will be the need for some specialised security provisions to store official MOT related documents.
Regarding the spacing of equipment, there is a degree of flexibility because the regulations allow for different layouts.
Fill in a form
As with any Government agency, there is a form – VT1, which needs to be filled in when applying to become an MOT Testing Station. This can be obtained from your VOSA local office (See the VOSA Website or your local telephone book).
©Punters Publishing Ltd 2009