A permanent magnet brushless (PMBL) servo motor test apparatus and method allow testing of a motor in place. A set of static and dynamic tests is performed to determine proper motor operation of armature windings and rotor feedback devices. The test system of the present invention displaces the motor drive system. The test system comprises an armature driver, a feedback device input, and a system controller. The armature windings of the motor-under-test are driven in a polarity sequence according to a test sequence, whereby the rotor is driven in a series of rotations. Angle feedback is tested at a plurality of said rotations. Rotor velocity outputs are tested during said rotations. Armature current and voltage are determined at a plurality of said rotations and winding balance is tested. Said power switch is also operative to apply a voltage between the armature windings and the motor case to test for fault current flow.In another embodiment of the invention, motor identification is decoded by the system into motor configuration and motor operation parameters, necessary to test the motor. Motor identification may be entered by an operator or captured from machine readable tags such as a barcode tag or an RFID tag.