Retail & Consumer Goods UK-wide

Run a vehicle repair garage or MOT station

Repairing and servicing vehicles is not licensed in itself, but MOT testing is: only DVSA-approved stations with authorised testers may carry it out. Garages also have specific duties around air-conditioning refrigerant (F-gas) and the hazardous waste they generate. MOT testing works differently in Northern Ireland, where it is run by the state.

Guide summary

You do not need a licence to repair vehicles, but you must follow strict rules for MOT testing, air-conditioning gas (F-gas), and waste disposal. Get DVSA approval to run MOT tests. Ensure your technicians hold an F-gas qualification. Use a registered carrier for hazardous waste and keep records for 3 years.

  • Repair and service vehicles without a specific licence
  • Apply for DVSA approval to run MOT tests at your garage
  • Certify your technicians with the correct F-gas qualification
  • Recover refrigerant instead of venting it into the air
  • Keep records of all F-gas handling and leak checks
  • Store hazardous waste (oils, batteries, airbags) separately
  • Use a registered carrier to move hazardous waste
  • Keep hazardous waste consignment notes at your garage for 3 years
  • Register with NRW in Wales if you produce over 500kg of hazardous waste a year (free since 2025)
  • Follow the different MOT rules if you are in Northern Ireland
On this page

Related guides in Health & Safety

Run an MOT Testing Station

Maintain DVSA compliance, manage testers, handle inspections, and avoid disciplinary action as an MOT Authorised Examiner.

You can repair and service vehicles without a specific licence, but the moment you want to MOT-test them, recover air-conditioning refrigerant, or dispose of the waste a garage generates, specific duties apply. Workshop health and safety — lifts, fumes, fuel, batteries — is covered in Run a compliant motor trade business; this guide covers the duties specific to a repair and test business.

Become an MOT test station (if you want to test)

Not every garage tests vehicles — MOT testing is an opt-in. To do it, your premises must be approved by the DVSA as a Vehicle Testing Station, with an Authorised Examiner and individually authorised Nominated Testers, and you must keep to the DVSA's standards once authorised. Two dedicated guides cover the regime in full:

To test motorcycles you need approval as a class 1/2 (Group I/II) station with testers trained for those classes.

F-gas certification for air-conditioning work

Technicians who recover or recharge refrigerant in vehicle air-conditioning systems must hold the relevant F-gas qualification, and recovered refrigerant must be handled by certified personnel. The Environment Agency enforces the GB F-gas regime; Northern Ireland applies the Fluorinated Greenhouse Gases Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015. If you also handle electrical components and waste electricals, see meet your F-gas and WEEE repair duties.

Handle and consign your hazardous waste

Garages generate hazardous waste — waste oils, oil and fuel filters, brake fluid, antifreeze, lead-acid batteries, oily rags and airbags. It must be stored separately, moved by a registered carrier to a permitted site, and consigned on a hazardous waste consignment note. This is devolved: the Hazardous Waste (England and Wales) Regulations 2005 in England and Wales, the Special Waste Regulations and SEPA in Scotland, and the Hazardous Waste Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 in Northern Ireland.

Next steps

Make sure the cross-cutting duties for your business are in place — see Run a compliant motor trade business — then confirm everything with the motor trade compliance checklist.