Public Service Design
DVSA
MOT Reminders — Government Digital Service
Overview
A GDS-compliant MOT reminder service for the DVSA — sign up, manage and update notifications.
An end-to-end journey — GOV.UK start page, vehicle registration, email confirmation and subscription management, with single and multiple vehicles plus error states. Built to GDS and WCAG 2.1 AA.
Role
Lead UX/UI Designer
Platform
GOV.UK Web Service
Client
DVSA / GDS
Tools
Figma, FigJam, User Research, GDS Toolkit, HTML, SASS, JS, Git
Team
PM, 2 Engineers, UX Researcher, Accessibility Specialist
Impact
WCAG 2.1 AA
Accessibility Standard
GDS Compliant
Government Standards
12+
User Journey Screens
2M+
UK Vehicles Targeted
01 — MOT Reminder Journey Map
A complete end-to-end journey — single & multiple vehicles
Single & multiple vehicle flows
Branches at registration — one vehicle or many per subscription.
Error and edge-case coverage
Invalid emails, duplicates and unknown plates each get GDS error screens.
Logged-in subscriber management
Update email, add or remove vehicles, or cancel.
02 — GOV.UK Start Page
Trust-first entry point following GOV.UK content standards
The GOV.UK start page sets expectations in plain English and lists related services in the sidebar.
Plain language — no jargon, written at reading age 9
Welsh (Cymraeg) language provision meets legal requirement
"Start now" button follows GDS primary action pattern
Related content sidebar prevents dead-end journeys
03 — Vehicle Registration Confirmation
Confirm before committing — preventing incorrect subscriptions
Vehicle details — make, colour and the yellow number plate — are confirmed first, preventing wrong-vehicle sign-ups.
Yellow number plate renders exactly as physical plate for instant recognition
"No, search again" always available — no dead end
"Incorrect vehicle details?" disclosure provides DVLA correction pathway
Radio buttons at GDS 44px minimum touch target size
04 — MOT & Tax Status Screen
Clear pass / fail status with full vehicle details
Status banners — colour + text + icon
Green banners pair tick and text — never colour alone (WCAG 1.4.1).
Warning context for new buyers
A callout warns that existing tax or SORN doesn't transfer.
Cross-service signposting
Tax, logbook and MOT links sit in the GDS sidebar.
05 — GDS Prototype Toolkit
Rapid prototyping in code using the GOV.UK Prototype Kit
The journey was prototyped in the GOV.UK Prototype Kit, giving browser-based prototypes indistinguishable from production.
Built with GOV.UK Frontend v4 — real govuk- CSS classes, not mockups
Nunjucks macros for govukTaskList, govukRadios, govukButton components
Multi-journey routing (journey-1 to journey-4) for A/B prototype variants
Session data defaults for realistic pre-populated user flows
Deployed locally for unmoderated testing without engineering resource
06 — Accessibility Audit
WAVE audit — 9.9/10 AIM Score, zero errors
WAVE testing confirmed zero errors and zero contrast errors, with an AIM score of 9.9/10 across the journey.
0
Errors
0
Contrast Errors
9.9
AIM Score
9 accessibility features detected — form labels, skip links, and landmark regions
33 structural elements — correct heading hierarchy throughout
50 ARIA attributes — roles, labels, and controls properly implemented
3 minor alerts (redundant links, noscript) — no blocking issues
Manual testing conducted alongside automated audit per WCAG guidance
Summary
Overview
A GDS-compliant MOT reminder service for UK vehicle owners.
Challenge
Owners missed expiry dates; the journey lacked error handling, management and accessibility.
Solution
A 12-screen GDS service, WCAG 2.1 AA, cutting support contacts by 35%.
Key Results
07 — User Testing
Lookback-recorded sessions, structured questionnaires, and A/B prototype variants
Lookback sessions, scenario questionnaires and A/B prototypes, tested with UK drivers.
Lookback session recording
Replays captured hesitation, shared with the product team.
Structured testing questionnaire
'Just bought a used car — sign up' scenario, scored before and after.
A/B prototype variants
Two journeys compared on completion and error rates.
Key Outcomes
92%
task completion rate across core journey flows
Journey B
vehicle confirmation pattern outperformed A — adopted for production
3 critical
usability issues surfaced and resolved before development
"Start now"
button placement tested — plain language reduced drop-off at entry
Multiple vehicle
flow validated — users instinctively understood adding a second vehicle
Methodology
Design System
Built on the Government Design System
Every component follows GDS Frontend v4 — WCAG 2.1 AA, Transport typeface, consistent accessibility.
Colour Palette
GDS Blue
#1D70B8
Primary brand, navigation header, links, CTAs
GDS Dark Blue
#003078
Header background, focus ring colour, hover states
GDS Green
#00703C
Success banners, 'Start now' button, confirmation states
GDS Yellow
#FFD100
Number plate background, focus indicator outline
GDS Red
#D4351C
Error summaries, validation messages, expired MOT/tax status
GDS Light Grey
#F3F2F1
Page background, alternating table rows, card surfaces
GDS Mid Grey
#505A5F
Secondary body text, hint text, helper copy
White
#FFFFFF
Content panels, form inputs, status card backgrounds
Typography Scale
48px / 700w
Heading XL
Page titles — 'Check the MOT status of a vehicle'
36px / 700w
Heading L
Confirmation headings, section titles
24px / 700w
Heading M
Panel headings — 'Vehicle Details', 'DVLA services'
19px / 700w
Heading S
Table column headers, sub-section labels
19px / 400w
Body (Lead)
Introductory paragraph copy, question text on form screens
16px / 400w
Body
Form labels, hint text, vehicle detail table values
14px / 400w
Caption
Footer links, date metadata, print/secondary actions
Core GDS Components
Error Summary
Top-of-page container with anchors to each invalid field.
Number Plate Display
Yellow panel in Charles Wright, like a real UK plate.
Status Banner
Success banner with tick and expiry date.
Radios & Continue
Large radios with Continue below the last input.
Warning Callout
Bold callout (⚠ icon + dark border) for important context. Announced by screen readers as a live region.
Summary List
Vehicle details with inline Change links.
"Chris brought GDS rigour and accessibility to a complex service — it's made a real difference for millions of drivers."
Sarah Lowe
Project Manager, DVSA Digital Services