HEALTHPLAN MAGAZINE

Spain’s ITV test is the equivalent of the UK’s MOT and a mandatory test which for the vast majority of vehicles needs to be carried out each year.

However, there are certain vehicles that do not have the requirement to be tested annually. In this article, we will let you know whether your vehicle is on that list.

Whether you drive a car, motorcycle, motorhome, van or truck, sooner or later you will need to make sure you take the test which certifies that your vehicle is roadworthy, safe to drive, meets with the minimum pollution levels and will not put other road users at risk.

Recent data has shown that in the last two years, around 40 percent of motorists in Spain failed to get their ITV taken on time. However, figures suggest that ITV testing helps to avoid at least 15,641 road accidents in 2021 and 148 traffic-related deaths.

If the vehicles that had not been tested on time, had been, another 13, 517 accidents and 146 additional deaths would have been avoided.

In addition, driving a vehicle without an ITV can result in serious sanctions with fines starting at 200 euros.

Spain currently employs hundreds of cameras up and down the country which can detect if a vehicle has a valid ITV and insurance.

According to the Spanish Association of Collaborating Entities of the Administration in the Technical Inspection of Vehicles (AECA-ITV), there are around one million vehicles at any one time on the country’s roads being driven without a valid ITV certificate.

Which vehicles do not need to take an ITV test?

So you may be wondering whether there are certain vehicles that do not require an ITV test.

The answer to that would be yes there are some vehicles that are not obligated to be tested, at least, not for a certain amount of time.

The following are the current exemption periods which apply from when they are first registered:-

• Mopeds: Exempt for the first 3 years
• Motorcycles and quads: Exempt for the first 4 years
• Passenger cars: Exempt for the first 4 years
• Light vehicles (trucks and trailers up to 3,500 kg or derived from passenger cars): Exempt for the first 2 years
• MMA caravans greater than 750 kg: Exempt for the first 6 years
• Agricultural vehicles: Exempt for the first 8 years
• Motorhomes: Exempt for the first 4 years
• Special vehicles for works and services that circulate at less than 25 km/h: Exempt for the first 4 years

As in the UK and other European countries, you may also deregister a vehicle in Spain in the event that it does not need to be on the road.

Vehicles that have been deregistered do not require a valid ITV, however, they will need one immediately if the driver intends to put the vehicle back on the road.

A recent case in Madrid may also set a future precedent with one motorist having a fine annulled as he argued that the vehicle was merely parked on the street without an ITV and not actually being driven.

The law states that owning “a vehicle which circulates without an ITV” is a punishable offence. This is clearly breaking the law, however, having a vehicle parked on the street without an ITV may not necessarily be seen as an infringement.

The Madrid ruling could mean that thousands of drivers in future could have tickets overturned as a result.