Stainless steel bipolar plates are the preferred choice for proton exchange membrane fuel cells. To improve durability and performance of bipolar plates, they should be coated with a corrosion resistance coating. In this study, Ni–Mo and Ni–Mo–P alloy coatings were electroplated on stainless steel 316L at 30, 60 and 100 mA cm -2 for using as bipolar plate in a PEM single cell to improve corrosion resistance and to decrease formation of oxide layers on the bipolar plates, leading to performance improvement of single cell. The main investigations on the applied coatings were morphological and phase characterizations by XRD, SEM/EDX, AFM and contact angle measurements. The electrical properties of bipolar plates was evaluated by conduction tests and by measuring their interfacial contact resistances ex-situ in a PEMFC set-up at varying clamping pressure, applied current and temperature. Moreover, corrosion resistance of the applied coatings was evaluated by Tafel polarization test in simulated PEMFC cathode environment. It was seen that the bipolar plate electroplated with Ni–Mo at 100 mA cm -2 decreased the corrosion resistance and interfacial contact resistance of 316L stainless steel bipolar plate by approximately 23 and 3 times, respectively. Moreover, it showed interfacial contact resistance of lower than 10 m? cm 2 . The excellent properties of the coatings compared to native oxide film of the bare stainless steel are due to their higher hydrophobicity, electrical conductivity and corrosion resistance as well as surface topography properties. Moreover, the performance and durability of 316L stainless steel bipolar plates electroplated with Ni–Mo and Ni–Mo–P coatings were investigated in a PEM single cell during 115 h operating condition. The effect of the coatings on electrochemical performance was evaluated by cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and polarization test together with interfacial contact resistance measurements between the coatings and gas diffusion layer. The Ni–Mo electroplated at 100 mA cm -2 showed the highest operating voltage as well as the lowest and most stable interfacial contact resistance and smallest effects on MEA performance, including catalyst activity/usability, cathode double layer capacitance, and membrane and ionomer resistance build up with time. After electrochemical evaluation, the bipolar plates as well as the water effluents from the cell were examined by Scanning Electron Microscopy, Energy Dispersive and Inductively Coupled Plasma spectroscopies. No significant degradation of the coated surface or enhancement in metal release was observed. However, phosphorus addition to the coating did not show to improve its properties, as it led to deterioration of the MEA and consequently fuel cell performance losses. Hence, the Ni–Mo coating electroplated at 100 mA cm -2 investigated in this study, with higher operating voltage and lower interfacial contact resistance than graphite, has promising properties for stainless steel bipolar plates and is potentially good alternatives for the graphite in PEMFC. Keywords: Proton exchange membrane fuel cell, Bipolar plate, Ni–Mo coating, Ni–Mo–P coating, Electroplating, Stainless steel, Hydrophobicity, Corrosion resistance, Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, Fuel cell polarization cureve, Interfacail contact resistance.