Yes. A UK garage can text or email MOT reminders to existing customers without asking for fresh consent, as long as the customer bought a similar service from you, you gave them a simple way to opt out when you collected their details, and every reminder includes an opt-out. That is the ICO's soft opt-in. A reminder about an MOT the customer has already booked is a service message and needs no marketing permission at all.
This is general guidance for garages in the UK, not legal advice.
Is an MOT reminder marketing or a service message?
It depends what the message does.
The ICO says data protection law and the rules on electronic marketing do not stop you telling customers information they need as part of their relationship with you. Its examples of service messages include messages that "confirm or remind them about appointments". But a message that "actively promotes or encourages people to make use of a particular service" is direct marketing, even if the tone is neutral (ICO, identify direct marketing).
| Message | Likely treatment |
|---|---|
| "Your MOT is booked for Tuesday at 9am." | Service message |
| "Reminder: please drop your car off by 8.30am tomorrow." | Service message |
| "Your MOT is due next month. Book with us on 01234 567890." | Marketing, so soft opt-in or consent needed |
| "MOT due? Book now and get 20% off a service." | Marketing |
When GDPR came in, the Independent Garage Association treated MOT and service reminders as direct marketing and advised garages to offer an opt-out on every reminder they send (Garage Wire, reporting IGA guidance, 2018). That remains the safest starting point for "MOT due" messages.
What does the soft opt-in require?
The ICO allows you to email or text an existing customer if "they are an existing customer who bought (or negotiated to buy) a similar product or service from you in the past, and you gave them a simple way to opt out both when you first collected their details and in every message you have sent" (ICO, electronic mail marketing).
For a garage, that means:
- Existing customer. They had an MOT, service or repair with you. A car that came through a fleet contract or another business may not count.
- Similar service. MOT and servicing reminders to MOT and service customers fit. Promoting something unrelated stretches it.
- Opt-out at collection. Your job card, booking form or website booking should say you will send MOT and service reminders, with a box or simple way to say no.
- Opt-out in every message. For example, "Reply STOP to opt out".
- Honour it. Remove anyone who opts out and keep a record.
If a customer did not get the chance to opt out when you took their details, the soft opt-in does not apply and you would need their consent before texting MOT due reminders.
What about the DVSA's free MOT reminders?
The DVSA runs a free service that texts or emails drivers who sign up, one month before a car, van or motorcycle MOT is due (GOV.UK, MOT reminder). It is useful for drivers, but it does not point them to any particular garage. Your own reminder is what keeps them coming back to you.
Timing matters. Drivers can have an MOT up to a month, minus a day, before it runs out and keep the same renewal date (GOV.UK, getting an MOT). A reminder about five or six weeks before the due date gives the customer time to book inside that window.
How do you turn MOT reminders into booked MOTs?
Reminders do their job only if booking is easy. A checklist:
- Collect the right data: name, mobile, registration and MOT due date, plus the opt-out choice.
- Send the "due" reminder about five to six weeks before, with your number and a booking link.
- Follow up once a couple of weeks later if they have not booked.
- Confirm the booking in writing.
- Remind them before the appointment, with drop-off time and what to bring.
- Stop when they opt out, or once they are no longer a customer.
Steps 4 and 5 are service messages. Steps 2 and 3 are marketing and need the soft opt-in.
What happens when the reminders go out?
The phone rings. Customers ring back in bursts, often while everyone is under a car, and a call that rings out may become an MOT booked somewhere else.
An AI receptionist for garages and MOT centres such as Remi answers those calls 24/7, books the MOT or service into Google Calendar or Acuity (or texts your booking link for other systems), and sends reminders at 48 hours, 24 hours and 2 hours before the appointment. It sends a WhatsApp text-back if a call is missed. It does not quote for repairs or give safety advice, and urgent calls, such as a breakdown, are put through to your chosen person or taken as a detailed message.
On the Complete plan, Remi can also send win-back messages to customers who have not been back for a while. The same rule applies to those as to MOT due reminders: they are marketing, so they need the soft opt-in or consent, and an opt-out in every message.
The short version
- Reminders about a booked MOT are service messages and need no marketing permission.
- "Your MOT is due, book with us" reminders are safest treated as marketing.
- Under the soft opt-in, you can text or email existing customers about similar services if you offered an opt-out when you collected their details and in every message.
- The DVSA's free reminder does not send drivers to you, so your own reminder still matters.
- Send the reminder five to six weeks before the due date, and make sure the calls it creates are answered and booked.