Car inspection due date
Enter the first registration date: calculate when the next inspection is due.
How it works
For cars the first inspection is done 4 years after registration, then every 2 years. The tool calculates the next due date from today.
Note
The inspection must be done by the last day of the due month. Driving with an expired inspection means fines and the vehicle being stopped if checked.
Why the first one is after four years
The calendar is 4 years from first registration, then every 2: a car registered in March 2022 has its first inspection by March 2026, then March 2028, March 2030. Buying it second-hand changes nothing: the date that counts is the first registration, not the change of owner.
The expiry month is the one of the last inspection actually done, not the registration month. Bringing the test forward by two months moves the deadline forward by two months for every future round too: a legitimate way of not ending up at the garage in August.
What happens if you are late
With an expired inspection the fine is €173 (reduced if paid within five days) and a ban on driving until the test is passed is recorded on the vehicle document. A second time the figures rise and the car can be impounded.
The serious problem is not the fine, it is insurance: after a crash with an expired inspection many insurers exercise recourse, meaning they pay the other party and then come to you for the money. On a bad rear-end collision that is the difference between a nuisance and a disaster.
The exact day it runs out
The inspection is valid until the last day of the month shown, not until the precise day it was carried out. If the last one was 3 May 2024, you can drive through the whole of May 2026.
You can turn up early without losing anything only within the expiry month: doing it sooner shifts the whole calendar back. And the windscreen sticker has been gone for years: the only proof is the note on the vehicle document and in the registry database.
Nearby tools
The car's other deadlines are worked out with Car tax calculator, and to add up every cost item for the year there is Yearly car cost. If you are choosing tyres at the same time, Tyre sizes says which ones fit.