What makes a test at-risk
This page is for garage owners, AEs and quality control managers who want to know exactly why MOTLogs flags a test, how High and Medium are decided, and what each reason means.
What is the rule for an at-risk test?
A test is at risk when both of these are true:
- It has not been justified (marked complete).
- It has the highlight flag set, or its risk score is above 25.
Everything else is not at risk. A test with a score of 1 to 25 is shown without a flag. A justified test is shown as Justified and is never counted as at risk, whatever its score.
The same rule drives the At-risk view, the Flagged chip, the flagged count on the Overview, and the count shown after an upload.
How are High and Medium decided?
| Severity | Condition |
|---|---|
| High | The highlight flag is set, or the risk score is 90 or more. |
| Medium | The risk score is 26 to 89 and the highlight flag is not set. |
| Not shown | The risk score is 25 or less. |
The risk score and the highlight flag are calculated by MOTLogs from the checks in the table below, using the metric settings for your organisation and station. To see or change those settings, open the ... (More actions) menu on the page and choose Metrics. You need to choose an organisation first; the item is greyed out otherwise.
What reasons can a test be flagged for?
When a test is flagged, MOTLogs lists every check that fired, strongest first. The first one is the reason shown in the Flag column.
| Reason | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Outside declared hours | Started or finished outside the opening hours you declared to DVSA. |
| Outside working hours | Started or finished outside your own working hours. |
| Lunchtime test | Carried out in the lunch window. |
| Ramp overlap | Two tests logged on one ramp at the same time. |
| Undeclared IP address | Logged on or off from an IP address that is not one of the station's declared addresses. |
| Start and end IP differ | The IP address changed between starting and finishing the test. |
| Abort reason set | The test was aborted or abandoned. |
| Recorded by another user | A different tester recorded the result. |
| Tester recorded test | A contingency test recorded by the tester who carried it out. |
| Contingency test | Any contingency-test (CT) marker, such as a recording date, reason or code. |
| Login not 2FA | The tester logged in with a less secure method than the DVSA's two-factor login. |
| Browser or cookie changed | The browser or cookie differed between start and end. |
| Brake test entry | Unknown brake entry type, or decelerometer results typed in by hand. |
| Emissions entry | Emissions results were not connected. |
| Test duration short | The test was quicker than expected for its type. |
| Test duration long | The test took longer than expected for its type. |
In the Flag column the labels are shortened: either hours reason becomes Out of hours, and duration reasons become Too short, Too long or Lunchtime. Other reasons keep the names above, so a Medium flag might read Medium · Ramp overlap.
Why does a test show High with no obvious reason?
The Flag column shows only the strongest reason. A test can reach High because several smaller checks add up, or because the highlight flag is set by a single serious check. Click the row and read the Reasons list in the review panel to see everything that fired. See Reviewing a flagged test.
Does a flag mean the test was wrong?
No. A flag is a prompt to look at the test and add context. MOTLogs does not judge MOT results. A late test because of a power cut, or a short test on a nearly new car, is normal once you explain it. See Justifying a test.
Reference
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| At-risk rule | Not justified AND (highlight flag OR score above 25) |
| High | Highlight flag, or score 90 or more |
| Medium | Score 26 to 89 |
| No flag | Score 25 or less, or the test is justified |
| Flag column text | Severity, then reason, for example High · Out of hours |
| Settings | ... menu, Metrics |