Question: My ITV has expired. Can I drive my car to the ITV station if I book an appointment?
The simple answer to this question is NO.
For a vehicle to be driven on the road it must be in a certified roadworthy condition. New cars have already undergone a form of inspection before they are released, which is why there is a period before you must subject a new car to the test.
Once your vehicle qualifies for requiring the test, it must be conducted, and pass in a favourable state, before the required date.
The deadline to drive legally it is the date you can find on the back of your ITV card, just next to the last stamp.
There is a rumour that you have ONE month after the ITV expires to carry out your ITV test, but it is totally false. There is also a rumour that you can drive your vehicle to the test centre, even if you don´t have a valid ITV, so long as you have booked an appointment. This is also not true.
The confusion sometimes comes from rules in the UK, where although you are not permitted to drive your vehicle on the road if the MOT has run out, there is an exception if you are driving to or from somewhere to be repaired, or to a pre-arranged MOT test. In Spain, neither of these exceptions apply.
You can however have your test done up to a month before the expiration date, and, assuming your vehicle passes, the date will be added onto the end of the expiration period. This is now the same as the UK standard.
So, it your ITV expires on the 30th of the month and you take it on the 10th, then, if it passes, the new certificate will be valid until the 30th of the time corresponding to the renewal period of your vehicle.
So, if your ITV has expired, your vehicle is prohibited from being driving on the road. How therefore do you take it to the test centre? The answer to this question is by using a tow truck, a grua, which can transport the vehicle for you and, assuming you pass, you can then drive yourself home. If it fails however, it´s back on the truck to get the faults repaired.
Remember, you must carry the ITV report with you in the vehicle, along with your ITV card, as any faults, defects or failures are detailed on that report.
