Vehicle will fail MOT but.....

[Notshortnottall]

......do I have to pay for it to fail an MOT before I can get it to a repair shop?

I know there is some welding to be done, but do I have to have a fail sheet before I can drive it to see my welder friend? It is currently insured but without MOT and therefore tax.

[RemyMartin]

I'd say no, although I'd phone said friend and get it put down in writing as a genuine appointment, so if you are stopped the story corroborates.

[Toaster Pilot]

If it has no MOT you can't drive it anywhere apart from to a pre-booked MOT test - you can't drive it to your friend unless he runs an MOT garage and you have a test booked there!

[TheInternet]

Toaster Pilot said:

If it has no MOT you can't drive it anywhere apart from to a pre-booked MOT test...

...or to get it repaired following an MOT failure, which is presumably why the OP is asking.

[Toaster Pilot]

Apologies, looks like I'm wrong - GOV.UK backs this up too:

If your vehicle fails the test
You’ll get a ‘notification of failure’ from the test centre if your vehicle fails the test. The failure will be recorded in the secure central MOT database.

Until it passes a retest, you can only drive your vehicle:

to a pre-arranged appointment at a garage to have the repairs done
to a pre-arranged MOT test appointment
Your vehicle should be retested at the same test centre which did the original test.