MOT Advisories Explained: What They Mean and Which Ones Matter (UK)

Quick answer: An advisory means the tester spotted something legal-for-now but worth watching — brake pads wearing, tyres nearing the limit, early corrosion. The car still passes. But advisories are the best forecast of next year’s bills, and when you’re buying, a car’s advisory history tells you how it’s been looked after — unfixed advisories repeating year after year are the signature of neglect.

The categories, decoded

• Pass — meets the standard.
• Advisory — legal now, monitor it. Not part of the pass/fail decision.
• Minor — a defect, recorded, but not fail-worthy; fix soon.
• Major — fail; must be fixed to pass.
• Dangerous — fail; illegal to drive until repaired.

The advisories to take seriously

• Tyres "close to legal limit" — you’ll be replacing them within months; budget now.
• Brake pads/discs wearing — the classic next-MOT failure if ignored.
• Corrosion advisories on structural areas — the one that turns into an expensive weld-or-scrap decision. Repeated corrosion advisories = walk away when buying.
• Oil leaks / play in suspension components — cheap now, expensive later.

Reading advisories when buying

Advisories persist in the public record. Pull the car’s full history and look for the pattern: an advisory that appears, then disappears next year = owner fixed things. The same advisory three years running = nobody’s maintaining the car — and the current owner probably ignored other things too.

FAQs

Do advisories affect the MOT result?
No — a car can pass with a dozen advisories. They’re information, not judgment.

Can I demand a seller fixes advisories?
You can negotiate on them — a tyre advisory is a real ~£100+ cost you can price into your offer.

🔍 Free tool: see any car’s full MOT history — every test, every mileage, clocking flags included — with our MOT history checker.

Related guides

• Free MOT history checker (with mileage timeline)
• The V5C decoded
• Buying a used car: the 7 documents to check

Sources

gov.ukGetting an MOT