Driving with no NCT

ScotsDog93

I recently moved to Ireland and imported my car from the UK. I have valid road tax & insurance on the car with my irish plates on and just waiting for my exchange of licence to come through the door. I have a NCT test booked for early this month I was just wondering if legally. Can I drive the car to the local garage for repairs and then drive again to the nct centre on the day of testing?

Getting Different opinions from people in regards to this.

Explosive_Cornflake

You'll be fine. Technically illegal, but there are issues getting NCTs for years now, so unless you are giving the powers that be a reason to find fault with you, it's fine.

User1998

Bit silly really. Legally you can declare a car off the road and drive it to and from the NCT and mechanics, but it needs to have a valid NCT while doing so. So you don’t need tax but you need NCT.

In reality you’ll be fine tho. Just print the booking confirmation or have the text/email handy on your phone. We don’t really use ANPR here and its a lot more relaxed than the UK.

ELM327

You'll be grand, have the booking printout with you but it's very unlikely you'll need it. Just don't act the arse.

antodeco

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122324800#Comment_122324800

I don't think that's fully true though? You can drive a car to and from a garage for the repair of a vehicle, based upon faults found during an NCT, regardless if the NCT is still valid whilst doing so?

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122325000#Comment_122325000

My understanding is that as long as your NCT is in date it doesn’t matter if you have failed a subsequent test, the original NCT is still valid.

But there is no law that says you can drive to and from an NCT centre or mechanics without a valid NCT regardless of you having repairs to carry out. You need to NCT your car before the test expires so that you still have a valid NCT while driving to the NCT and for repairs etc.

But there is definitely a law that says you can drive a car thats been declared off the road. So you can drive without tax for NCT purposes as long as its been declared off the road.

Don’t get me wrong tho I don’t follow this advice as I will probably never be caught or prosecuted and its not really enforced anyway.

extra-ordinary_

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058357926/driving-with-no-nct

You used to be able to swap your MOT for an NCT, enquire if you can still do this.

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122325196#Comment_122325196

You can’t. Brexit

galvo_clare

does your car have a valid MOT? If you’re going to vrt it you can swap an MOT for an NCT as part of the process.

ScotsDog93

Car has a valid MOT from the UK. Car has went through the process of the vrt and I had it exempt from vrt. Wasn't aware and no information that you could swap your MOT for an NCT

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122325303#Comment_122325303

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122325389#Comment_122325389

You can’t swap an MOT for an NCT.

galvo_clare

I did in 2019. They did a like for like swap. Didn’t have to NCT ‘til the following year. This was pre brexit though I’ve just realised. It’s probably changed alright.

AndyBoBandy

Last year my ICE car was due it's NCT in January, and I could only get an appointment in September… no issues..

just carry around with you a print out of the booking confirmation.

Del2005

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122324716#Comment_122324716

The only people who had issues with the NCT where ones who didn't call or go on the waiting lists and that was only during COVID, there where no appointments online but I don't know anyone who didn't get an NCT test before theirs expired when they called or went on the waiting list. Looking recently and there where tests slots available the next day in several test centres around Dublin.

The OP needs to check their insurance policy to see if they can drive semi legally.

antodeco

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122327411#Comment_122327411

I know a good few people who's NCTs are our 3-4 years and when I've said it to them their response is always "I tried getting an appointment and there's none for months". That apparently means 'no appointment for months = no NCT for years".

tphase

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058357924/driving-with-no-nct

Just for completeness, re-posting my response to the OP which was in the Helpdesk forum

legally, no. There's only one instance where you can legally drive
without a valid NCT - if you've failed a test, you can drive the car up
to midnight (this is to allow you to get the car to a garage for
repairs). Open to correction, but that's my understanding

That said, if stopped on the way to a test a Garda would likely let you carry on if you show proof.

BTW this is the wrong forum for your query, better to move it to Motors

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122331794#Comment_122331794

Anything to back up your claim that you can drive to a mechanic after failing your NCT? Never heard of that before.

tphase

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122331913#Comment_122331913

it's in the legislation, section 3

https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2017/si/415/made/en/print

drury..

If your insurance states you must have a valid nct you won't be covered to do that

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122333548#Comment_122333548

I think I’ve read section 3 a few times now and still can’t see it. Can you copy & paste the sentence? Would be interesting to see

tphase

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122333577#Comment_122333577

assume you mean driving after you've failed a test? If the law allows it then you should be covered by insurance

tphase

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122333731#Comment_122333731

(9) Subject to paragraphs (4) and (7), section 18 and these Regulations do not apply to a vehicle—

.

.

.

(d) on the day on which a test certificate in respect of the vehicle had been refused,

Seems pretty clear cut to me

drury..

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122335023#Comment_122335023

Doesnt matter about the law

It's in the policy conditions if they specify a valid nct

Not all insurers do

tphase

I put it to you the law does matter….

The law doesn't require an NCT for the first 4 years of a cars life - does that mean it's not covered if the insurance policy specifies it needs a valid NCT?

drury..

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122335086#Comment_122335086

The policy conditions are a separate matter to the law

I don't know on your point about new cars

Presumably they have a wording in the policy to cover newer and older cars

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122335049#Comment_122335049

Strange, because paragraphs 4 and 7 seems to only be referring to taxis and limousines

Marcusm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122333731#Comment_122333731

it’s reg 3(9)(d).

Marcusm

Subpara 9 is subject to (4) and (7) meaning that for vehicles in those categories, the rest of sub para 9 only applies to the extent not contradicted in (4) or (7), otherwise it applies to all vehicles.

drury..

Im sure this debate was resolved previously about driving to mechanics and driving to NCT centres without a valid NCT

tphase

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122335212#Comment_122335212

I took it that paragraphs 4 and 7 refer to section 18 of the road traffic act 1961…but I could be wrong

tphase

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122335274#Comment_122335274

it certainly has come up before, more than once.

drury..

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122335349#Comment_122335349

Yet the debate continues

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122335414#Comment_122335414

Wouldn’t call it a debate. Would you not try find a definitive answer?

drury..

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122335444#Comment_122335444

I'm curious myself but I can't remember the outcome of the old discussions

extra-ordinary_

Not to go completely OT but…

the test due date for a vehicle mentioned in paragraph (1) is—
		(a) for a vehicle referred to in subparagraph (a) or (c) of paragraph (1), the anniversary date mentioned in the relevant subparagraph and—
		(i) until the tenth anniversary of first registration of the vehicle, each subsequent biennial of that date,
		(ii) from the tenth anniversary of first registration of the vehicle until the thirtieth anniversary of first registration of the vehicle, each subsequent anniversary of that date,
		(iii) from the thirtieth anniversary of first registration of the vehicle, each subsequent biennial of that date,

From the statute it would seem that any car over thirteen years of age only needs testing every two years?

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122335535#Comment_122335535

It says 30th year

extra-ordinary_

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122335565#Comment_122335565

ah crap…lol

Also the legislation is from 2017, was early NCT testing in effect then?

tphase

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122335414#Comment_122335414

the debate continues because a) the search function in Boards 2.0 is pants b) even when it wasn't, people rarely used it 😕

tphase

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122335184#Comment_122335184

I take your point that policy conditions are a separate matter to the law (eg consider the difference between requirements regarding registration and insurance of a camper van) but surely it makes sense that if the law exempts your vehicle from requiring a valid NCT, then your insurance should not require it. The example of a new car is simply one where a valid NCT is not required by law and is certainly not required by insurance companies. Presumably they have a wording in their policies to the effect that a valid NCT is necessary for cover if required by law.

Note this does not exclude any requirement for the vehicle to be in a roadworthy condition - a valid NCT does not mean a vehicle is roadworthy and the converse is also true

drury..

Some policies state NCT and some state "roadworthy condition "

Yes obviously there will be a wording to cover the case of new cars

Afaik anyway this is waived ATM for genuine cases