Overdue MOT in Germany: what an expired sticker costs
Miss your Hauptuntersuchung and you have two months of grace; after that the fine rises in three steps.
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MOT overdue: what you risk
Warning or regular fine
€25
| Points | 0 |
| BKat number | 186.2.2 |
If your car's roadworthiness test, the Hauptuntersuchung (HU, often called TÜV after one of the test organisations), is overdue, the German fine catalogue charges nothing for up to 2 months after the month on the sticker. Beyond that, a car owner pays 15 euros for more than two and up to four months and 25 euros for more than four and up to eight, both as warning fines without fees. After more than 8 months the fine is 60 euros plus one Flensburg point, €88.50 with the fine-notice fees. The penalty is aimed at the registered keeper, not whoever happens to be driving. Vehicles that also need interim safety checks, such as heavy lorries and buses, face a stricter scale: 15 euros even within two months and a point after four. Under annex VIII of the vehicle regulations (StVZO), a car's HU is due 36 months after first registration and every 24 months after that, by the end of the month shown on the round sticker on the rear plate.
The fine scale
The catalogue splits vehicles into two groups. Number 186.2 covers vehicles that need no interim safety check under annex VIII of the StVZO: cars, motorbikes, light vans, motorhomes up to 3.5 tonnes and small trailers. Number 186.1 covers vehicles that need a safety check between main tests, such as buses, lorries over 7.5 tonnes and heavy trailers, and is one step stricter.
| Overdue by | No safety check (186.2) | Points | With safety check (186.1) | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| up to 2 months | €0 | 0 | €15 | 0 |
| more than 2 to 4 months | €15 | 0 | €25 | 0 |
| more than 4 to 8 months | €25 | 0 | €60 | 1 |
| more than 8 months | €60 | 1 | €75 | 1 |
Anything up to €55 is a warning fine without fees, which for a car means every step up to eight months. Only the top step of €60 leads to a formal fine notice, €88.50 with the fee and delivery charge. For vehicles with safety checks the totals are €88.50 after four months and €103.50 after eight. The amounts come from the annex to the fine catalogue ordinance.
Reading the sticker on your plate
German cars carry a round sticker (Prüfplakette) on the rear number plate that shows the month and year of the next test. Annex VIII no. 2.3 says the period ends when that month runs out, so a sticker for December 2026 means the test is due by 31 December 2026. It is a different thing from the green emissions sticker inside the windscreen, which decides access to a low-emission zone. If you buy a used car in Germany, check the plate sticker before you sign: the fine is aimed at the keeper, and once the car is registered to you, presenting it for the test is your job.
How often the test is due
Intervals are set in StVZO annex VIII, no. 2.1. The main cases:
| Vehicle | First test | Then every |
|---|---|---|
| Car | 36 months | 24 months |
| Car used as a taxi or for paid passenger transport | 12 months | 12 months |
| Motorbike | 24 months | 24 months |
| Van up to 3.5 t | 24 months | 24 months |
| Motorhome up to 3.5 t | 36 months | 24 months |
| Motorhome over 3.5 t to 7.5 t | 24 months during the first 72 months | 12 months |
| Trailer up to 0.75 t or without its own brakes | 36 months | 24 months |
| Trailer over 0.75 t to 3.5 t | 24 months | 24 months |
For a new car, the clock starts in the month the number plate was issued, not with a temporary plate. After that it starts from the month of the last test. The MOT date and cost calculator works out the month for you.
Long-term rentals and leasing
Annex VIII no. 2.2 has a rule that surprises people on long rentals. Vehicles rented out commercially without a driver, and not registered to the renter, must be tested every 12 months. If the rental runs for at least a year, a car goes back to the normal 36-month first interval. If the contract is later shortened to under a year, the 12-month period applies again.
When the test finds defects
Annex VIII no. 3.1.4 sets out the outcomes. No defects: a new sticker. Minor defects: recorded in the report, a sticker can still be issued, and the keeper must have them fixed within a month at the latest. Significant defects: no sticker, and the car must be presented again within one month of the test day with the report; arrive later or without the report and you pay for a complete new test. Dangerous defects: no sticker, an explicit warning in the report and the same one-month window. Unroadworthy: the existing sticker is removed, the registration office is informed and the car may no longer be used on public roads. The emissions part can be done separately, for example at an approved garage, but no more than one month before the main test (no. 3.1.1.1).
What counts as a safety check
The stricter scale under number 186.1 depends on a term defined in annex VIII no. 1.3.1. A safety check (Sicherheitsprüfung) is a visual, performance and function check of the chassis, suspension, coupling, steering, tyres, wheels and brakes. It takes place between main tests, for example every six months for lorries over 7.5 tonnes after their first years, and has its own date marker on the vehicle. Private car drivers never deal with it; for cars, number 186.2 always applies.
Buying an ex-rental car
Young used cars sold in Germany are often former rental vehicles. While rented out, they were on the 12-month cycle, so the first HU may already have taken place after a year. If the keeper changes within the first seven months after first registration and after that test, annex VIII no. 2.1.2.1.1 gives the second test the normal 36-month interval again. In every case the sticker on the plate is what counts, and the duty to present the car on time passes to you with the registration.
What the inspection report records
Under annex VIII no. 3.1.5.1, the report records among other things the number plate, the month of the last test, the odometer reading, the date and place of the test, any defects and how serious they are, whether a sticker was issued, whether the car must come back, the charges and the month the next test is due. If the odometer shows less than at the previous test and no replacement is documented, the examiner reports it to the registration office through the Federal Motor Transport Authority (no. 3.1.4.8). Keep the report with the car's papers: without it, a re-check after significant defects turns into a full new test. If your German is limited, the defect codes and the line on the next due month are the parts worth translating first.
A worked example
Your sticker shows March 2026, so the test was due by the end of that month. You take the car in during October 2026. Counting in whole months as our calculator does, that is 7 months overdue: step 186.2.2, €25 and 0 points, as a warning fine. One more month past the eight-month mark and it would have been €60 and a point. Your next test is then due in October 2028, because the new period starts from the month of the late test.
Laid-up cars, seasonal plates and imports
A car that is officially taken off the road (außer Betrieb gesetzt, with the plate's seal removed) has no testing duty for that time; any test that fell due is done when it goes back on the road (no. 2.7). With seasonal plates (Saisonkennzeichen), a test that would fall outside the season is done in the first month of the next season (no. 2.6). For a car previously registered in another country, the period starts from the month of the German inspection carried out for registration (no. 2.3).
Points, probation and who is liable
The point after more than 8 months comes from annex 13 of the Driving Licence Ordinance and is recorded when the notice becomes final; it becomes eligible for deletion after two and a half years, as the guide to Flensburg points explains. For drivers in their Probezeit it is a B offence under annex 12, described on the probationary licence page. Because the offence is the keeper's, a company or a partner in whose name the car is registered receives the notice, not necessarily the person who drives it every day. Other offences can be checked with the fine calculator.