Test vehicle requirements for a car test and car and trailer test

Cars or vans presented for test must be:
A four wheeled vehicle of no more than 3500 kilograms (kg) maximum authorised mass (MAM)
Capable of a speed of at least 100 kilometres per hour (km/h) or 62.5 miles per hour (mph)
The car or van must also be fitted with:
A seatbelt for the examiner
A passenger head restraint, this need not be adjustable but must be fitted as an integral part of the seat - ’slip on’ type head
restraints are not permitted
An interior mirror for the examiner’s use
L-plates displayed on the front and rear of the vehicle but not interfering with the driver’s or examiner’s view

A speedometer that measures speed in miles per hour and kilometres per hour
The vehicle must be legal and roadworthy and have no warning lights showing i.e. the airbag warning light.

Category B1
A motor powered tricycle or quadricycle must have an unladen weight of not more than 550 kg and be capable of at least 60 km/h (37.25 mph).

Category B + E - car and trailer
Cars or vans presented for test must be a category B vehicle towing a suitably braked, unladen trailer of at least one tonne MAM. The examiner may ask for evidence of the trailer MAM, for example the manufacturer’s plate. All vehicle combinations must operate on appropriate brakes and utilise a coupling arrangement suitable for the weight.

Please note:
Irrespective of the date vehicles were first registered, from 1 April 2006 externally mounted, nearside and offside mirrors for use by the examiner or any person supervising the test must be fitted. In the case of a category B+E vehicle first used on or after the 1 October 2003 the following additional standards will apply:

The cargo compartment of the trailer must consist of a closed box body which is at least as wide and as high as the towing vehicle; the closed box body may also be slightly less wide than the towing vehicle provided that the view to the rear is only possible by use of the external rear-view