Condition of the braking system:

Remember that the prescribed area requirements apply to the fitting areas for major components from the brakes.

Parking brake levers must not have excessive side play which could allow the pawl to disengage the ratchet. There is no requirement to have reserve travel at the handbrake lever and the number of clicks needed to fully apply the brake is irrelevant. However, it must not travel to the end of the ratchet and must not foul parts of the vehicle when fully applied.

Parking brakes which exhibit this amount of travel are likely fail the efficiency test or will have other mechanical defects when examined underneath.

The footbrake must have some reserve travel. This will depend on the original design, the type of servo assistance fitted (high boost servos will show high levels of travel) and the general condition of the system (worn linings or bad adjustment etc).  Some high boost servo systems, usually fitted to Diesel vehicles, may exhibit what appears to be excessive pedal travel.  The pedal travel in these cases is proportional to the amount of effort applied by the driver and providing the pedal does not travel to the floor (indicating an obvious fault) then since this is a feature of their design they should be acceptable.

There must be no air in the system (indicated by a spongy pedal) and no leaks (pedal will drop under pressure).

The brake servo, if fitted, must be secure and free from leaks. It must also operate as intended, ie switch off engine, press pedal several times to destroy residual vacuum, press pedal reasonably hard and start engine. Pedal should be drawn down as servo vacuum builds up. 

Brake pedals must have an anti-slip provision, this is normally a rubber pad. The rubber provides the anti-slip surface and can be smooth providing it is secure. In the case of metal pedal pads, there must be some anti-slip provision in the metal itself. This is usually a pattern moulded into the material.

ABS (anti lock brakes) systems are only checked to see if the warning light is fitted, lights when needed, shows the correct sequence (using a wall chart/data book for the particular manufacturer) and does not indicate a fault at the time of test.

Master cylinders must be securely mounted, free from serious corrosion and damage and must not leak.  The reservoir levels should not be dangerously below the minimum level where this is shown (in practice this means there must be no risk of air entering the reservoir ports). A cap must be fitted but not necessarily the original one.

Brake pipework will be rigid or flexible. Rigid pipes must be adequately clipped and supported, must not foul on moving parts, mustn't be kinked or badly chafed.  Metal pipes must not be corroded to the point where the tester considers the wall thickness has been seriously reduced (up to 1/3rd of the pipe wall - 0.25mm in most cases). Rigid pipes must have correct fittings and connectors. Flexible brake hoses that are swelling under pressure, leaking or chafing or split or cracked down to the canvas, are candidates for failure. Checks for fouling are carried out also during the steering check when the vehicle is on turn plates. The purpose of the turning plates is to allow the steering to be turned fully on each lock while the suspension is in its normal running position. There may be some fouling of components if the steering is rotated when the suspension is hanging and this would not be a reason for rejection if it didn't happen when on turn plates. The fact that a flexible hose may touch a stationary part of the vehicle is not necessarily a problem but if a rotating or moving part were to be in contact this could be a serious matter.

The MOT test procedure will place maximum pressure on the brake system in order to expose weaknesses and any weak points are likely to fail mechanically under these conditions. It's a matter of common sense to replace hoses and pipes at the first sign of trouble, particularly where heavy build up of rust is noted.