Declaring a test station's IP addresses

This page is for garage owners and Authorised Examiners who want to tell MOTLogs which internet connections a test station uses, and to understand what happens when a test is logged from somewhere else.

Why does a station need IP addresses?

An IP address is the public address of your internet connection. A business broadband line usually has a fixed one. When a tester starts or finishes an MOT test, the DVSA test log records the IP address the tester was using.

MOTLogs compares those addresses with the list you declare for the station. If neither the start address nor the end address on a test matches a declared address for that station, the test is flagged Undeclared IP address. The explanation on the flagged test says the test may not have been carried out at the home station, though it could be due to a power failure or backup networking.

The list never blocks anyone from logging in or testing. It only affects how MOTLogs flags tests.

What goes wrong if the list is wrong?

• Empty list: every test from the station is flagged Undeclared IP address, which pushes ordinary tests towards at-risk.
• Wrong or old address: the same, for every test made on the real connection. This happens after you change broadband provider, move premises, or your provider changes a non-fixed address.
• Mobile data or a phone hotspot: the address changes and tests are flagged.
• A separate flag, same cause: Network IP address changed between start and end is raised when the start and end addresses differ. MOTLogs explains this as another device, such as a phone or tablet, being used to log the test off. Declaring addresses does not clear this flag.

If you have a backup connection, declare its address too.

How do I add an IP address?

1. Open Test stations, choose the Organisation, and click the station's row. It must be verified.
2. Open the IP Addresses tab.
3. In the grid toolbar, select Add. A new row opens at the top.
4. Enter the IP Address, for example 203.0.113.25.
5. Enter a Description, such as "Main office broadband".
6. Set the Start Date and End Date. The end date defaults to 31-Dec-9999.
7. Tick Default if this is the station's main address.
8. Select Save in the toolbar.

MOTLogs shows "Your details have now been updated".

Find your public address by searching for "what is my IP" from a computer at the station. Use the address as it appears from the station's own network, not one starting 192.168. or 10., which are private addresses.

How do I change or retire an address?

• To change a row, select it, then Edit, make the change and select Save. Cancel discards it.
• To stop using an address, select Click to remove (a minus in a circle) on its row. This ends it now. Click to reinstate (a plus in a circle) brings it back.
• The button at the right of the toolbar switches between all records, including ended ones, and current ones only. Its label names the view you are looking at: it starts as Show All and changes to Current after you select it.

Finish or cancel any open row before you select Submit on the station dialog. Otherwise MOTLogs refuses with "Please Save or Cancel your IP address edits."

Why does saving fail?

If the address already has a record whose dates overlap the new one, MOTLogs rejects the save with "You cannot set a start and end date which overlaps another record for this IP Address". Change the dates, or retire the old record first.

Only one address is the Default. Ticking Default on one address clears it on another.

Reference