Can you drive with a cracked windscreen?
A small chip that's out of your line of sight is usually legal to drive on, and it may pass the MOT too.
Damage that blocks your view of the road is an offence to drive with. At the MOT, damage over 10mm across in front of the driver can fail the car, and so can damage over 40mm across elsewhere in the area the wipers sweep.
Thinking of claiming on your insurance? Aviva, Direct Line and 1st Central all say a glass-only claim won't touch your no-claims discount, the money off your premium for claim-free years. Check your own policy before you claim.
Everything here is for England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland has different MOT rules.
Part of our guide to MOT, road tax and staying legal.
When is driving with a cracked windscreen illegal?
The law doesn't measure the damage. It says all the glass on your car has to be kept so that it doesn't block your view while you're driving on a road.
So a chip that doesn't get in the way of your view doesn't break this rule. Damage that does get in the way breaks it, however small it is.
If the damage blocks your view, don't drive it to the garage. Ask a repairer to come to you and fix it where it's parked. The law has no exception for that trip.
If you're stopped with damage that blocks your view, it's a £50 fixed penalty with no penalty points on your licence. If it goes to court, the fine for a car can be up to £1,000.
The three points you may have heard about belong to a more serious offence, which is using a car in a dangerous condition. If the police decide the damage makes the car dangerous, it's a £100 fixed penalty and 3 penalty points. In court it's a fine of up to £2,500 and a possible driving ban.
Will a cracked windscreen fail its MOT?
The tester sits in the driver's seat and checks the glass in the part of the windscreen the wipers sweep. They're looking for:
- damage more than 10mm across in zone A, the part directly in front of the driver: a strip 290mm wide, centred on the steering wheel, as far up as the wipers reach
- damage more than 40mm across in the rest of the swept area, which includes the passenger side
Over those sizes, the tester fails the car if they judge the damage significantly affects your view of the road. If it doesn't, it can be listed as a minor defect, which is a pass.
There's no size limit for damage outside the swept area.
A repair that's barely detectable and sits flush with the glass doesn't count as damage. The tester judges a repaired windscreen only on whether the repair gets in the way of your view.
The windows either side of the driver's seat are checked too. There's no size limit for them. Damage there can fail if it affects your view of the road or of your door mirrors.
For the rest of the test, see what's tested in an MOT and the most common MOT failures.
If it fails on the windscreen
You can drive the car away if your current MOT is still valid and no dangerous problems were listed. The rule about your view still applies on the way home.
Windscreen damage can be listed as dangerous if it seriously affects the view through the swept area. Then the car has to be repaired before it's driven, so ask a repairer to come out to it.
Get the glass fixed and take the car back to the same test centre before the end of the next working day. The partial retest on the windscreen is then free.
Our free MOT check shows a car's MOT history, including any windscreen failures or minor defects and what the tester wrote.
Should you repair or replace it?
Get a chip looked at early. Bumps in the road, frost, heat and the pressure of your wipers can all make a chip spread, and a crack can run across the windscreen.
Until it's fixed, try not to push on the damage, and keep dirt and water off it if you can.
Small chips, and some short cracks, can often be repaired. Whether a short crack can be repaired depends on its size, where it is and how deep it goes. A fully cracked windscreen will usually need replacing.
The repairer will tell you whether yours can be repaired or needs a new windscreen.
A repair is usually the quicker and cheaper job, and it's often done in under an hour. A new windscreen typically takes a few hours, plus time for the sealant to cure.
Does your car have a camera behind the windscreen, for lane-keeping or automatic braking? Windscreen repairers work to a British Standard that rules out a repair where the camera looks through the glass, so damage there means a new windscreen.
After a new windscreen, the cameras need recalibrating so that the braking and lane-keeping systems work as the car's maker intended. Without that, they may not work correctly. Ask the fitter about it as part of the job.
Hot water on a frozen windscreen can crack it, and a chipped one is most at risk. See how to defrost your car quickly and legally.
Does a windscreen claim affect your no-claims?
It depends on your policy, so check the glass or windscreen section of yours. Look for a line saying a glass-only claim won't affect your no-claims discount. If you can't find one, call your insurer and ask.
As of November 2026, Aviva's and Direct Line's policy booklets both say a claim that's only for glass won't cost you your no-claims discount, and 1st Central says the same.
Before you book a repair, check these in your own policy:
- Glass cover. It tends to come with comprehensive policies, though not every one. Direct Line's third party, fire and theft policy doesn't include it.
- The excess. There's usually a separate glass excess, and it can be lower for a repair than for a replacement. Your schedule has the figure.
- Who does the work. Call your insurer or its glass line before you book. Aviva and Direct Line both pay only a limited amount if you use a repairer they haven't approved.
- Roof glass. Aviva charges its full vehicle excess for a sunroof or panoramic roof, and 1st Central's glass cover leaves them out.
Your price can still move with the discount intact. Which? says it's "possible but unlikely" that a single windscreen claim would affect your premium at the next renewal. It adds that several glass claims in a short time may lead your insurer to see you as a higher risk.
If your renewal does jump, see why has my car insurance gone up.
When you switch insurer, a question about past claims can include glass claims.
Buying a used car with a chipped windscreen?
Look at the glass on the viewing, from the driver's seat as well as from outside. Then check the car's MOT history for anything about the windscreen.
A chip listed as a minor defect at the last test passed on the day. Find it on the car and raise it when you talk price.
For the other notes in a car's history, see MOT advisories explained.
Cracked windscreen questions
Can I drive to the windscreen fitter with a cracked windscreen?
Yes, if the damage doesn't block your view of the road. If it does, don't drive it. Ask a repairer to come to you.
If your MOT has run out, you can still drive to have the car repaired or to a pre-arranged MOT test. That only holds if the damage doesn't block your view.
Is a chip on the passenger side an MOT fail?
It can be, but the limit is higher there than in front of the driver. On the passenger side of the swept area the tester looks for damage over 40mm across. Even then it only fails if it significantly affects the driver's view.
Will I get points for a cracked windscreen?
Not for a blocked view alone. That's a £50 fixed penalty with no points. You only get 3 points if the police decide the damage makes the car dangerous, which is a £100 fixed penalty.
Does claiming for a windscreen affect my insurance?
It depends on your policy. Aviva, Direct Line and 1st Central all say a glass-only claim leaves your no-claims discount alone. Which? says a single claim is unlikely to change your renewal price, though it's possible.
Does a repaired chip pass the MOT?
A good repair does. If it's barely detectable and flush with the glass, it doesn't count as damage. The tester only asks whether the repair gets in the way of your view.