A pass with advisories is the most common MOT outcome and the most commonly ignored. The advisory is the tester writing down what they saw that is not yet a failure, and because the notes are published free against the registration for every test, a car's advisories read in sequence amount to an independent, dated maintenance record that nobody can edit after the fact.
Where to check my MOT advisories
The free MOT history against the registration lists each test with its result and any advisory notes. For tests carried out in England, Scotland and Wales the service can also show the specific items that failed and any minor defects, using the eleven digit number from the log book. You do not need the log book to see advisories on a recent test, which means a buyer can read them from the advert before making any contact with the seller.
Advisory, minor and major
The test distinguishes between a dangerous defect, a major defect that fails the test, a minor defect that does not, and an advisory note about something that will need attention. A minor defect is recorded on the certificate and the car still passes. An advisory is the tester's judgement about wear that has not yet reached a threshold. Neither stops you driving away, and both are the tester telling you what the car will need money spent on.
Read them as a series
One advisory is a data point. The same advisory repeated across three tests is a seller who has been putting something off. An advisory that appears and then disappears is a repair that was done. A test with no advisories on a ten year old car is either a well maintained example or a test that was not looked at very hard, and the way to tell is whether the rest of the series looks similarly clean. Corrosion advisories in particular tend to escalate rather than resolve.
What an MOT advisory checker will not tell you
They describe what a tester could see on the day within the scope of the test, so engine internals, gearbox condition, electrical faults that were not showing and accident repairs that passed inspection are all outside them. An advisory free history is not a clean bill of health, and a car with a long list is not necessarily a bad buy if the list is the sort of wear that any car of that age accumulates. Read them for the pattern and use them to decide what to inspect.
Questions people ask about mot advisory check
Where can I see MOT advisories for free?
In the GOV.UK MOT history service, against the registration. Each test shows its result and the advisory notes, with no log book number needed for the basic view.
Does an advisory mean the car will fail next time?
Not necessarily. It means the tester saw wear approaching a threshold. Whether it crosses that threshold depends on how far and how hard the car is driven in the meantime.
What is the difference between an advisory and a minor defect?
A minor defect is a recorded fault that does not fail the test. An advisory is a note about something not yet defective. Both are warnings and neither stops the certificate being issued.
Can a garage remove an advisory from the record?
No. The test record is the DVSA's and it is published as recorded. That permanence is exactly what makes the series worth reading before you buy.