Last month, we confirmed that most vehicles and trailers will have to be appropriately laden for their annual test from 1 January 2023 onwards.

Any vehicles and trailers which are not laden (unless exempt, such as tri-axle semi-trailers or refuse collection vehicles) will be refused a test by our Vehicle Standards Assessors (VSAs).

Over the last few months, we’ve explained why laden brake testing is so important.

Prepare for upcoming tests

You can find more information on how to prepare for a brake test in our best practice guide.

We want to ensure that vehicle operators and Authorised Testing Facilities (ATFs) have enough time to prepare for the change, especially those who have vehicles and trailers with a test coming up.

To help, we will send regular reminder messages to vehicle operators over the next few months.

We’ll also be encouraging ATFs to share the message with those who prepare vehicles and trailers for test.