TÜV / DEKRA official procedures

TÜV, DEKRA, GTÜ and KÜS are not authorities. Annex VIII StVZO transfers the periodic roadworthiness test (Hauptuntersuchung, HU — commonly called ‘TÜV’) to two private, state-recognised figures: the officially recognised experts or examiners of the technical testing centres (Technische Prüfstelle, e.g. TÜV or DEKRA) and the test engineers of the officially recognised supervisory organisations. They certify — they cannot impose sanctions.

The roles are cleanly separated, and that explains almost every misunderstanding on this subject: the testing centre tests. Only “the authority competent under state law” may prohibit the operation of a vehicle, under § 29 StVZO. The Bußgeldstelle (fines office) imposes the regulatory fine. Three roles, three addressees.

For passenger cars, the first Hauptuntersuchung is due 36 months after first registration, each subsequent one every 24 months. The exhaust emission inspection (Abgasuntersuchung, AU) is not a separate appointment here: Annex VIIIa treats it as part of the HU.

Two claims that circulate everywhere on this subject do not hold up against the law: there are no points in Flensburg for an overdue Hauptuntersuchung — § 29 StVZO does not appear in Annex 13 of the Driving Licence Ordinance (Fahrerlaubnis-Verordnung, FeV) — and there is no extended inspection for being overdue; Annex VIII does not provide for one. What does exist is a tiered regulatory fine of €15 to €75 and a permanent loss: the next deadline begins with the month in which the HU was carried out, and the overdue months are gone.

The inspection sticker (HU-Plakette) shows the year of the next due date, and its colour follows the sequence in Annex IX StVZO: 2026 blue, 2027 yellow, 2028 brown. For 2026, the H licence plate (H-Kennzeichen) applies to vehicles built in 1996 or earlier — the requirements are set out in § 2 Nr. 22 FZV, the procedure in § 23 StVZO.