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How Often Do You Need to Get Your Car's ITV?

Organize your paperwork and find out how often you need to get your vehicle's technical inspection. We'll tell you about the official deadlines, fines, and the documents you need.

How Often Do You Need to Get Your Car's ITV?

Royal Decree 920/2017 establishes the exact deadlines you must meet for your car's inspection. The age is always calculated from the date of its first registration.

Check your calendar carefully to avoid missing the dates printed on your card and the windshield sticker.

• Up to 4 years: The car is completely exempt from the technical inspection.
• From 4 to 10 years: You are required to pass the inspection every 2 years.
• From 10 years onwards: The inspection becomes annual without exception.

ITV for Motorcycles and Mopeds

Two-wheeled vehicles have their own regulations within the same legal framework. It's important not to confuse their deadlines with those for cars.

Motorcycles maintain a fixed periodicity after a certain age, which differs from cars.

• Up to 4 years: Motorcycles are exempt from their first registration.
• From 4 years onwards: They must pass it every 2 years continuously, maintaining this biennial periodicity for life without it becoming annual.
• Mopeds: They are exempt up to 3 years and then pass it every 2 years.

What Happens if Your ITV Expires?

According to the Directorate-General for Traffic (DGT), there is no grace period or courtesy margin after the expiration date printed on your card and sticker. Driving with an expired inspection has direct financial consequences.

Keep in mind that having a pre-booked appointment at a station does not exempt you from a penalty if you are caught driving with an expired inspection. The only legally tolerated journey is the justified trip to your assigned inspection center.

• General financial penalty: It is punishable by a fine of 200 euros, with the option of a 50 percent reduction for prompt payment, bringing it down to 100 euros.
• Serious cases: In more serious cases or repeat offenses, the amount can reach up to 500 euros.
• Loss of points: It does not involve the deduction of points from your driving license, as it is a serious offense solely for financial purposes.

Required Documentation for the Inspection

To pass the inspection smoothly at the station, you must present a series of mandatory documents that prove the vehicle's ownership and legal status.

In addition to the traditional physical format, nowadays there are valid digital alternatives for some of these documents.

• Registration certificate (Permiso de circulación): Document issued by the DGT that identifies the vehicle's ownership. You can carry it with legal validity throughout the national territory through the official miDGT app.
• Vehicle Technical Inspection Card (Tarjeta de Inspección Técnica del Vehículo): This is the technical sheet, either in physical or electronic format, which certifies the approved characteristics and the inspection history.
• Mandatory insurance: You must carry the receipt of the last payment or proof of current coverage, although stations and officers can verify it telematically through DGT records.

How to Book an Appointment

It is highly recommended, and practically required at all centers, to book your appointment in advance.

Complete this process through the official websites of the authorized stations in each autonomous community to avoid unnecessary waiting and crowds.

«Oh dear, check the dates in the glove compartment carefully and don't leave it until the last day, as scares and fines will follow.»

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