How do you remember when your car MOT is due?

[bigbluebus]

Having realised by chance yesterday that the MOT on DH's car ran out 2 weeks ago, it occurred to us that you get a reminder for car tax and insurance but not for MOT testing, which is also a legal requirement.
We have 3 cars and have never forgotten before - we are obviously getting old and forgetful - It is not something I've ever written on the calendar but somehow just we just seem to have always remembered in the past.

Obviously some of you are lucky enough to own cars that don't need an MOT but if yours does, how do you make sure that you remember to do it in time?

I am normally extremely organised and will in future be writing the dates on my calendar - unless any of you can offer a better solution.
I was also wondering how many cars on the road have no valid MOT because of similar forgetfullness rather than deliberate intent.

There a free text service which reminds you

I get an email reminder from the garage that does the MOT.

I set a reminder 2 weeks before it runs out on my phone's calendar.

There is a paid for text service which you have to sign up for each year. I think it costs £1 plus network charge to receive it.

But my mechanic has very recently introduced his own reminder service due to people regularly missing their MOT.

I admit I don't remember either though since being pulled over for not having one, I have now written the due date at the end of my current diary so I know to transfer it over when I get my new one at the end of the year.

Joopy Where is the free taxt service from?

We get a phone call from the place that does it the month before reminding us to book it in.

I was wrong. It's now a free service clicky link here

There's an app called 'know your car'. It notifies me when my MOT and tax are due and also checks your car is insured, that's how I found out my insurance company had written down my registration wrong and I wasn't insured 🙈 my own fault I didn't check the documents!

The dealership for DH's car still pester ring and remind us that the service and MOT are due but they rang us in October and MOT wasn't due until end of Jan so we ignored it and also because we no longer take it to the dealership as it is not convenient and our nice little garage in the village will do it and drop if back when it's done!

Set a reminder in the calendar on your phone? Your Outlook calendar at work?
My garage send a text which is brilliant.

I check my vehicle on the gov website and write the dates on my calendar.

Roomarmoset will have a look at that app (and the text service) but you reminded me of when DH bought this car from the dealership - it was pre-registered 3 months old - and when looking out of the window one day to see what the reg number was, we realised it didn't tie up with the paperwork. The garage had made the plate with one letter incorrect and one of their salespeople had been driving around in it with the wrong plate on! They were a little embarrassed when we told them!

Negligence not forgetfulness. Surely you only know about insurance as the insurance company wants you to renew with them. Only tax is actually a governmental thing. It’s annoying to forget but count your lucky stars you didn’t have an accident while you were driving without one.

Your phone will have a calendar that will have an option to be reminded every year, like with a birthday.

I get the auto text from gov and one from my garage. But I'm also signed up with onedox which is a really useful app.
Lets me know when insurance is about to go, if there's a better utilities deal, car tax, mot, if my internet contract is coming up etc.
Just really useful so I don't go on the standard tarrifs and be charged more.

I put it in my diary, like I do with all important dates.

I have a list of annual things like this, in a spreadsheet, as part of keeping an eye on our bank accounts.

Every month on pay day, I check the bank accounts, and lists of MOTs, tax, other things that need doing like insurance renewal, utility price comparisons.

Just a different approach - if I get a reminder on my phone, I tend to silence it and promptly forget that it ever existed.

2019Dancerz Thanks for your helpful and supportive comments - there's always one! I wouldn't have had an accident because I don't drive the car in question - the 2 vehicles registered in my name both have valid MOT's, tax and insurance!! It is DH who is at fault!

But thanks to those posters who told me about the .Gov free reminder service which I have now signed up to for both my vehicles and sent a link to DH to do the same for his. Will also set up apps on phones too so that insurance is covered. Tax is already done online by Direct Debit so DVLA already send an email for that - although we had to remember to ring them when we were forced to change our email addresses recently!

reminder in calendar

We missed ours once & now we get a free reminder www.gov.uk/mot-reminder
Mind you, a calendar reminder should work as well!

Like most adults.

I write it in the calendar and set reminders.

Google calendar. Everything goes in it. I'm useless otherwise.

Thank you for this, I've now signed up. DH completely missed his first MOT required, and was driving around for about 6 months before realising, we were both horrified. Did there used to be reminders sent out? I'm not sure how we used to manage to be so organised if not!!

The same way I remember all annual events like birthdays, house insurance, pet check up.
I have a sheet of A4 with the dates printed out and every January I put the dates into my calendar.

I use a place that only does MOTs. They never let me forget... Endless bloody emails, texts and calls for 4 weeks until I go on line and book it in.. Only then do they shut up.