The change applies to private vehicles constructed or first registered more than 40 years ago and aligns Northern Ireland legislation with that in Great Britain.

The Goods Vehicles (Testing) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020 and The Motor Vehicle Testing (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020 came into effect from Monday.

Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon said: “I announced in July that after carefully considering the results of a public consultation and listening to the views of elected representatives in our community with a keen interest in vehicles of historic interest, my plans to bring forward legislation to exempt private vehicles of historic interest from annual MOT testing.

“I am delighted to announce that the necessary legislative process has now been completed and the new legislation comes into effect from today. This will be welcome news for all owners of classic cars and other eligible vehicles qualifying for this exemption. I commend my officials for working at pace to enable this change to take place.

“It is also important that owners and drivers of all vehicles are reminded that they are responsible under the law for the roadworthiness of their vehicle at all times.”