Mandatory vehicle inspections

Ve­hi­cle in­spec­tions ac­cord­ing to StV­ZO

Inspections for private customers – is the inspection sticker due?

We carry out the mandatory inspection which includes the exhaust emission test for your vehicle in accordance with Section 29 of the German Road Traffic Licensing Regulations (StVZO). This mandatory inspection can be referred as PTI (periodic technical inspection). The inspection sticker can then be obtained direct from GTÜ.

PTI explained in 50 seconds

(only available in German)

Deadlines for PTI

The interval between inspections for passenger cars is normally 24 months. For passenger cars that have been registered for the first time, periodic technical inspection (PTI) is due after 36 months.


Inspection sticker expired?

What happens if your inspection sticker has expired? If the deadline for PTI has exceeded by more than two months, an in-depth PTI must be carried out. This involves additional costs.


We remind you of the date of your next general inspection

To make sure you don’t miss the deadline, we recommend our free GTÜ reminder service. Sign up and we will remind you of your next periodic technical inspection (PTI). You can then make an appointment with a GTÜ partner near you for your vehicle.

Go to PTI reminder
(only available in German)


How do I read the inspection sticker?

Kennzeichnung der Zahlen auf der HU-Plakette mit Pfeilen für Monat und Jahr

So that you don’t find a “ticket” under your windscreen wipers at some point, pay attention to the information shown on the inspection sticker on your rear number plate. It shows the month and year when your next inspection falls due: the month is at the top and the year of the next inspection is in the middle.

What colours are there?

The colour of the badge changes every year and also indicates the year when the inspection falls due. There are six different colours in total: brown, pink, green, orange, blue and yellow. This sequence repeats after six years.

2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029

Costs for PTI

The prices for PTI in accordance with Section 29 StVZO depend on several factors:

  • The federal state where you want to have your vehicle inspected
  • The type of inspection you want – PTI with or without the inspection of the engine and exhaust management, modification inspections, etc.? Is a combination of tests perhaps also desired or required (PTI and modification approval)?
  • The vehicle you want to have inspected – car, truck, motorbike, trailer with or without brakes, etc.
  • The maximum total weight of your vehicle.

Due to these parameters, the costs for the periodic technical inspection (PTI) vary. All officially recognised inspection organisations such as GTÜ must report their PTI fees to the responsible supervisory authority of the federal states and may not deviate from these fees.


Information on the PTI report

To save you any unnecessary costs, we inform you here about the applicable rules and regulations.

The security of your data is important to us

You can find our data protection information on how we process your personal data within the scope of the vehicle inspection here: data protection information for vehicle owners (only available in German)

We also process vehicle data collected in the course of the business relationship in an anonymised and aggregated form for statistical purposes, in particular for defect statistics.

The investigation report

Document-quality paper is used exclusively for documenting the PTI. It has features that make it difficult to counterfeit.

You will receive a PTI report from your GTÜ inspection engineer after each vehicle inspection. When you buy a used vehicle, make sure that the seller gives you the latest PTI report.

If you suspect that your PTI report has been falsified, please contact our quality service immediately on +49 711 97676-571.