The MOT test (or simply MOT) is an annual test of vehicle safety, roadworthiness aspects and exhaust emissions required in the United Kingdom for most vehicles over three years old. In Northern Ireland the equivalent requirement applies after four years. The requirement does not apply to vehicles used only on various small islands with no convenient connection "to a road in any part of Great Britain"; no similar exemption is listed at the beginning of 2014 for Northern Ireland, which has a single inhabited island, Rathlin. The MOT test was first introduced in 1960 as a few basic tests of a vehicle and now covers twenty different parts or systems on or in the car. The name derives from the Ministry of Transport, a defunct government department, which was one of several ancestors of the current Department for Transport, but is still officially used. The MOT test certificates are currently issued in Great Britain under the auspices of the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) (formed as a result of the merger between the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) and the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA)), an executive agency of the Department for Transport, and before 1 April 2014 by VOSA. Certificates in Northern Ireland are issued by the Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA). The test and the pass certificate are often referred to simply as the "MOT". More than 23,500 local car repair garages throughout England, Scotland and Wales, employing more than 65,800 testers, are authorised to perform testing and issue certificates. In principle, any individual in Great Britain can apply to run a MOT station, although in order to gain an authorisation from DVSA, both the individual wanting to run the station, as well as the premises, need to meet minimal criteria set out on the government's website, within the so-called VT01 form. In Northern Ireland, tests are performed exclusively at the DVA's own test centres, although currently there is an open project investigating bringing Northern Ireland into line with the rest of the United Kingdom. History The MOT test was first introduced on a voluntary basis on 12 September 1960 under the direction of the-then Minister of Transport, Ernest Marples, under powers in the Road Traffic Act 1956. The test was originally a basic test including brakes, lights and steering check which was to be carried out after the vehicle was ten years old and every year