Will Your Car Need to Retake it’s ITV Test?

The Spanish ITV test is the Spanish equivalent of the UK’s MOT: This is a test that demonstrates a vehicle is safe and roadworthy, and plays a key role in improving national road safety. If you live and drive in Spain then this month you may find that you receive a letter regarding your ITV rest from the DGT (Dirección General de Tráfico) which is Spain’s traffic authority.

This letter won’t be to issue you a fine or a speeding ticket, but to let you know that your vehicle might need to retake its ITV test. Here’s why:

A Modification to A Royal Decree

This is an update that will affect thousands of Spanish drivers, and the reason for this is because the national government have made a modification to Royal Decree 265/2021. This modification was approved on 13^th April and came into force on 1^st June, when it was published in the Official State Gazette (BOE).

Your vehicle will be affected if you have been in an accident and then chosen to have your vehicle repaired after it was declared a ‘total loss’ by your insurance company. In these circumstances, if you did decide to have your ‘total loss’ vehicle repaired then you are now legally required to put your vehicle through another repeat of your ITV test (at your own expense) in order to be completely sure that the vehicle in question is roadworthy.

When Would Your Vehicle Be Considered a Total Loss?

Your insurer would consider your vehicle to be a ‘total loss’ if the costs involved in repairing it after a serious car accident would be greater than the current value of the vehicle itself. In the UK, this is known as a vehicle being a ‘write off’. For some insurance companies the threshold for what constitutes a total loss is lower, with vehicles being written off and replaced if your repairs cost 75% or more of the current purchase price/valuation of the car.

If your insurer declares your car a total loss then you can still make the decision to repair it, but you do need to be aware that, even when the repairs are completed, your vehicle still might not be considered to be roadworthy; and this is where these new DGT requirements come in. They are designed to ensure that all cars on the road are as safe as possible, and aren’t a danger to the driver themselves, or to other road users.

What Happens if my Vehicle Fails the ITV Test?

If you receive a letter and your vehicle has been recalled to repeat its ITV test, then you’ll be hoping that your car will breeze through its ITV test, but it’s important to know what will happen if the test is failed. According to the terms of the new decree, if your vehicle fails the ITV at this point then the required repairs must be made, and the vehicle retested again, within a two-month period. This process should be repeated until the car does pass the test and is considered fit to be driven on the road in Spain.

If your vehicle is recalled to repeat its ITV test and you don’t choose to do so, then you could be subjected to a fine of between 200 and 500 euros; you will also be breaking the law if you use your vehicle for any other purpose than to travel to and from the ITV testing station: driving your vehicle outside of these parameters could result in receiving another 200 euro fine.

If the ITV inspectors determine that your vehicle has serious defects then they will inform you that it is unroadworthy, and that you may not drive it away from the testing centre: you will need to pay for a tow truck to remove your vehicle in these circumstances. Finally, any driver found driving their vehicle on the roads even if it is directly to the workshop risks being fined €500.

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