Haven't had your car inspected in time? New regulations will hit your wallet hard

After signing the budget act, in which the deficit amounts to PLN 289 billion, increases are inevitable. They will affect almost every sphere of life - from entrepreneurs to drivers, who will face much higher penalties for lack of third party liability insurance and delays in performing technical inspections. The Ministry of Infrastructure has presented a draft of changes to the regulations on technical inspections of vehicles.

The proposals included in the bill do not include actions to improve safety, but focus on price increases for technical inspections and penalties for drivers who are late in carrying them out.

The project assumes linking the amount of fees to the average gross salary , which is provided by the Central Statistical Office. It is worth noting that this average does not include companies employing fewer than 10 people, which may lead to inflated values.

In Poland, the technical condition of a vehicle can be checked by the police and the Road Transport Inspectorate. Currently, the lack of a valid technical inspection is associated with a fine from PLN 1,500 to even PLN 5,000.

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In the event of serious defects that, according to officers, may pose a risk to road safety, the vehicle's registration certificate may be withheld. The driver then has seven days to undergo technical inspections to avoid further consequences.

According to data from the Rankomat.pl portal, in 2024, a passenger car MOT will cost PLN 98, a motorcycle or tractor PLN 62, a truck PLN 153, and a car with an LPG installation PLN 161 (PLN 98 regular inspection + PLN 63 for a gas installation). Due to the increase in penalties for failure to have an MOT, these prices may also change.

As naTemat.pl unofficially reports, the planned increase in fees may amount to as much as 20 percent, which means that a passenger car technical inspection will cost PLN 117.

The Ministry of Infrastructure plans to allow drivers to have their vehicle inspected up to 30 days before their current test expires. In that case, the new test would be valid for an additional month.

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The proposed increases cited by naTemat.pl are as follows:

• Carrying out an inspection one week after the deadline: 100% of the cost,
• delay up to three weeks: 200%,
• exceeding the deadline by 90 days: 300 percent

At the moment, the regulations are at the stage of initial talks and establishing the details. According to reports, in 2025, penalties for failure to have an inspection may range from PLN 3,000 to even PLN 15,000, depending on the length of the delay.

In 2023, there were 2,523 district vehicle inspection stations and 2,993 basic ones in Poland. Since 2022, 16 new facilities have been created, which is related to the growing number of vehicles on Polish roads. More than 20 million cars appeared for periodic inspection, of which 471 thousand did not pass technical inspections .

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According to police data, the main causes of accidents related to the poor technical condition of vehicles are faulty steering and braking systems and worn tires . This problem primarily concerns older vehicles, which constitute a significant part of the fleet moving on Polish roads.