Justifying a test with a comment, image and Mark as complete

This page is for AEs, quality control managers, garage owners and testers who need to explain an MOT test that MOTLogs has flagged, attach evidence, and mark it complete, or to undo that later.

What does "justified" mean?

MOTLogs uses three words for the same thing:

• In the Mark as complete tick box, the test is marked complete.
• In the list, the Flag column shows Justified.
• In the review panel, the pill reads Reviewed.

When a test is marked complete it is "attested": MOTLogs keeps your comment and stops counting the test as at risk. Marking complete does not change the MOT result, and nothing is sent to the DVSA.

Who can justify a test?

The test pages do not check for a particular role. Anyone who can see a test in the MOT test log can open it, comment on it and mark it complete. This is different from the monthly sign-off, which is limited to Authorised Examiner roles; see Signing off a site for the month.

How do I open the full record?

The full record is the Comment on your MOT Log window, headed with three values in brackets: the MOT test number, the tester's DVSA user ID and the month, in the form (test number / DVSA user ID / month).

Open it from the review panel: click a row, then click Open the full record (or View comment on a justified test). It also opens when you follow a ?test= link. See Reviewing a flagged test.

The window has three tabs: Details, Comment and Test History, and the buttons Submit and Close.

How do I justify a test in the full record?

1. Open the full record.
2. Select the Comment tab.
3. Type your explanation in Comments (up to 2,000 characters).
4. Tick Mark as complete.
5. Optionally add an image (see below).
6. Click Submit.

A success message "Your Mot Test log comment has been saved" appears, the window closes and the list reloads. The test now shows as Justified.

If you click Submit with Mark as complete ticked and no comment, the test is still marked complete with an empty comment. Always write why; an auditor reading the log will want it.

How do I save a note without marking the test complete?

Type your comment on the Comment tab, leave Mark as complete unticked and click Submit. The comment is saved against the test and shows in the Comment column, but the test stays flagged and stays in the At-risk view.

How do I attach an image?

On the Comment tab, under Upload Image, click Browse (or drop a file on the area). Only .png, .jpg and .jpeg files are accepted, and one image per test. MOTLogs shrinks the picture to fit within 640 by 480 pixels before saving, so photos stay small. A preview appears; click the bin icon (Remove) to take it off before you submit.

When you reopen a test, the saved image is shown under Upload Image with the bin icon beside it. Removing it and clicking Submit removes the image from the test.

If the image cannot be stored, you see "Sorry the attestation image could not be saved" and nothing else is saved. Try a smaller file or try again later.

How do I undo a justification?

1. Open the full record for the test (View comment in the review panel).
2. On the Comment tab, untick Mark as complete.
3. Click Submit.

The test returns to Flagged if its risk score is still above 25. Your comment stays unless you delete it. The review panel has no undo; you must use the full record.

What is recorded when I justify a test?

• The comment text.
• Whether the test is marked complete.
• The image, if any.
• A version number, which goes up by one each time the test's comment is saved.

MOTLogs records who justified each test. The review panel shows "Reviewed by" followed by the name on that person's profile, or their email address if the profile has no name. Tests justified before 21 October 2026 may show a system name instead, because the person was not recorded then.

Reference