My father suffered a stroke last year, and we decided to make one of his very elderly, least-used cars SORN as it was unclear as to whether he would be able to drive again.

Happily, he has made a pretty good recovery and he would now like to use the car again, but the MOT has since lapsed and I’m therefore unsure as to what to do about the correct way to obtain a new one. Can I legally drive a SORN vehicle on the road, as long as it’s booked into an MOT test centre? Am I right in thinking that I can’t tax a vehicle that doesn’t have an MOT?

All help gratefully appreciated.

You're correct - the vehicle needs to be insured before going onto public roads but it can then be driven to/from a pre-arranged MoT test - the VED can be paid once the MoT has been issued.

Consider how you'll deal with any repairs if necessary to get through the MoT - easy if the testing garage does the repairs and a retest but would need trailering if taken elsewhere.

The MOT test from last time should give you a reasonable guide regarding its likely success this time. A list of advisories last time might be fails by now especially corrosion.

In the past when I've ridden motorbikes to a pre-booked MOT I've always made sure the garage had noted down the reg against my booking. Probably a bit OTT but might help if you get pulled on the day.