New rules and fines for your cars ITV are now in force

The new regulations for the Technical Inspection of Vehicles (ITV), which is Spain’s equivalent to the MOT in the UK, now has some new stricter rules that make the test more stringent, and some that are incorporated due to Brexit for the importation of cars from the UK, and take effect from today, Tuesday June 1st.

According to the Spanish Association of Collaborating Entities of the Administration in the Technical Inspection of Vehicles (AECA-ITV), one of the main changes is the modification in the severity of the defect of non-functioning of the ABS when it is mandatory to have it operating 100%.

From now on, if your ABS has some kind of fault it goes from being considered a minor defect to a serious defect. This also applies to the removal of rear view mirrors which are a legal safety requirement.

In addition, the possibility of verifying the data of the driving license of the driver of the vehicle is now necessary through the General Registry of Vehicles of the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT), if it is not presented at the ITV station.

Serious defects mean that the vehicle fails the test and is not allowed to circulate on public roads, except to go to a workshop to be made road worthy, which makes the test more stringent than it is now.

The part of the new ITV regulations that have been adapted for Brexit relates to vehicles brought in to the country from the UK that owners want to register in Spain, as they now will be considered models from third countries and not the EU. Thus, the necessary import procedures must be carried out in a different way than before.

In addition, the new revision of the ITV Procedure Manual incorporates those regulatory changes necessary to adapt technical inspection to new technologies, and some revision processes for operators are specified more clearly and precisely.

Fines for driving without an ITV:
The new regulation also specifies the fines that can result from having defects on your vehicle, or driving with an out of date, or no, ITV. Driving with an ITV that has expired, caries a fine of 200 euros, regardless of whether the vehicle is being used, is parked in a garage, or parked on the street.

In addition, being caught driving having failed the ITV also entails a fine of 200 euros. In this case, the owner of the vehicle is obliged to repair serious defects and return to the ITV station within a maximum period of two months, and can only use the car to take it to the workshop.

Finally, driving with a negative ITV, that is, when the damage is so serious that it is not allowed to leave the station by its own means, entails a fine of 500 euros.