DVA will review Northern Ireland driver and vehicle testing fees in 2026/27 — but no price rise has been announced

Northern Ireland's Driver & Vehicle Agency has confirmed that it will review driver and vehicle testing fees during the 2026/27 business year.

The commitment appears in the DVA Business Plan 2026-27, published on 23 September, where one of the agency's formal targets is to take forward a review of driver and vehicle testing fees.

The wording matters. A review is not an announcement that MOT fees or driving-test fees are definitely increasing, and DVA has not set out a new price table in the business plan.

What are the current NI MOT fees?

PureCar's current Northern Ireland MOT fee guide, checked against DVA's published fee table, lists a standard Class IV car test at £38 and the current Class III/IV retest fee at £29.50.

Different vehicle classes have different charges, so motorcycle, minibus, PSV, HGV and specialist-test fees should not be assumed to match the ordinary private-car rate.

Could the review lead to higher fees?

Possibly, but the business plan does not say that. A fee review can examine whether existing charges still reflect the cost of providing services, whether the structure is appropriate and whether changes should be proposed.

Until DVA or the Department for Infrastructure publishes an actual proposal or revised statutory fee table, any claim that a specific MOT or driving-test increase is coming would be speculation.

Why is DVA reviewing fees now?

The business plan describes a financially challenging year shaped by rising costs and inflationary pressure while DVA continues to invest in test-centre infrastructure, digital services and new testing equipment.

It also sets a financial target to break even over time and generate a return on capital employed greater than 3.5%.

Those financial targets provide context for the fee review, but they do not tell us what outcome the review will reach.

DVA is also investing in the test-centre network

The same plan says DVA will work on new vehicle-testing facilities at Hydebank and Mallusk, progress enabling work for proposed new centres at Campsie and Enniskillen and roll out new test equipment across the network.

That investment matters because testing fees are only one side of the service. Drivers also care about appointment availability, travel distance, test-centre capacity and how quickly the network can absorb demand.

What should motorists do?

Nothing changes today. If you are booking an MOT or driving test, use the price shown by the official booking service at the time you pay.

Do not change plans because of social-media posts claiming a fee increase unless those claims are backed by a published DVA or Department for Infrastructure notice.

If fees are changed later, PureCar will update the current fee table rather than leaving an older price in place.

The important distinction

This is a useful example of why motoring announcements need careful wording. “DVA will review testing fees” is supported by the published business plan. “MOT fees are going up” is not currently supported by that document.

For motorists budgeting for a test now, the current published fee remains the number that matters until government says otherwise.

Source

DVA Business Plan 2026-27, published by the Department for Infrastructure on 23 September 2026, Annex A, target 16.