Don’t get caught out: How to avoid a Disclosure and Barring Service check

MOT rules are changing, and if you haven’t completed your training and assessment by the deadline at the end of March, there’ll be an extra hurdle to getting back to testing.

If you let your annual assessment lapse, you’ll have to submit a recent basic Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check – this includes being suspended for not completing your annual assessment. That makes it even more vital that MOT Testers ensure they have completed their Annual Assessment by the deadline.

What’s in a basic check?

A basic DBS check certificate contains details of convictions and conditional cautions that are considered to be unspent under the terms of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974.

While you may not have to worry about what’s on the certificate, it is an extra layer of administration and it comes at a cost. You need to apply for the DBS check and it costs £18 and it usually takes up to 14 days for you to receive your certificate.

To use this service, you’ll need to prove your identity using GOV.UK One Login (you can create an account if you don’t already have one) and you’ll need to provide addresses for the last five years (including the dates you lived at each address), and if you have them your:

• Passport
• Driving licence (full or provisional)
• National Insurance number

Maybe one thing that could make the process simpler is that the service is available from 8am to 11:30pm.

Any MOT Testers who miss the deadline will have to competently demonstrate to a DVSA representative face-to-face, in their place of work, their ability to carry out an MOT test on a vehicle. Before they can book this demonstration test, Technicians will need to submit their DBS certificate to the DVSA online using the consent check code. If you don’t have the code, it’ll mean sending the certificate by post using recorded deliver. More time, money and hassle.

Getting your assessment done

But why add an additional layer of work if you don’t have to. It could sound like a sales pitch, but the IMI makes completing your MOT training and assessment relatively stress free. It offers everything an MOT Tester needs: all IMI annual assessment purchases include full customer support to aid completion (important considering the pass grade for the assessment is 80%) and 12 months IMI membership providing professional register recognition.

Failing to complete the assessment in time could, therefore, have serious consequences both for garage income, individual career progression and road safety. So, it’s time to get your training and assessment done before the 31st March deadline.

To  find out more about how the IMI can help you, or alternatively, the IMI also has an IMI Approved Network across the UK which offers MOT qualifications, CPD and assessment solutions, giving MOT testers the choice of finding the right fit for them.