Selling a van with no MOT: what you can and can't do

Every week we get the same question, usually phrased nervously: “My van’s MOT ran out three months ago, can I even sell it?”

Yes. Comfortably yes. Here’s the actual rule book.

What the law says

You can sell a van with no MOT. There is no UK law against it. The DVLA doesn’t care whether your van has a current MOT when you transfer ownership.

What you can’t legally do is drive a van with no MOT on a public road. There are two narrow exceptions: driving to a pre-booked MOT test, and driving to/from somewhere repairs are being carried out. Both have to be insured journeys. That’s it.

So selling: legal. Driving an MOT-less van to a buyer’s address: not legal unless you’re going to/from a test or repair.

What this means for the seller

Two practical implications:

1. You can’t deliver the van to a buyer yourself. Either the buyer collects (and they need to recover-load it onto a trailer or transporter, driving away with no MOT, on the buyer’s side, is also illegal) or you organise transport.

2. Most sensible buyers know all this. They’ll either offer free collection (Vansold does, recovery truck, no driving on the road) or they’ll knock the cost of recovery off the offer and tell you to bring it. The first option is better.

Does no-MOT slash the value?

Not as much as people think. A van with three months out of MOT, otherwise in fine shape, gets the same offer from us as one with a current MOT. The reason: we collect from your address, recovery-loaded, no driving needed. We’re not assuming you’ll drive it to us.

What does affect the price is why the MOT lapsed:

• Just forgot to book it / didn’t get round to it. No price impact.
• Failed on emissions or brakes, fixable. Small impact, maybe £50.
• Failed on chassis rot or structural welding. Significant impact, because that’s a salvage classification, not just a paperwork issue.
• Failed and you suspect the engine. Now we’re in the “non-runner” valuation zone, which on a 2014+ van still pays well, the engine and gearbox have value separately.

What you need to sell

Same as any other van sale:

• V5 logbook in your name (or you as registered keeper).
• ID at collection (driver checks).
• Bank account details to be paid into.
• Honest description of why the MOT lapsed (we cross-check the MOT history database).

That’s it. No MOT certificate. No tax (we’ll handle the SORN / “sold for scrap” notification automatically).

The shortcut

Try the form. Reg, postcode, contact details. Two minutes. The offer reflects the no-MOT status if the system flags it. No deductions on the doorstep.

If the offer doesn’t suit, list it free on Trader.co.uk, no-MOT vans sell privately every day, and the listing is free either way.