For many, the main inspection is an unpleasant appointment - but you should definitely not miss it.
A sticker reveals when the next TÜV test is due.
The TÜV plaque reveals when the next main inspection is due.
They come in six colors - and they all have a meaning.
We explain how to read the sticker correctly.
From time to time, car owners get a cold shiver down their spines: When does my car actually have to go through the
main inspection
(HU) again?
The small round
sticker on the rear license plate gives it away
- if you can read it.
In everyday life, of course, most people don't talk about the HU - but about the TÜV.
The
TÜV
is only one of the organizations that are allowed to carry out the main inspection.
However, TÜV is the market leader.
If you want, you can also have your car inspected by
DEKRA
(German Motor Vehicle Monitoring Association),
GTÜ
(Society for Technical Monitoring) or
KÜS
(vehicle monitoring organization for freelance motor vehicle experts).
The TÜV sticker - which is why it is attached to the license plate
In Germany,
cars have to be inspected every two years
(exception:
new cars only after three years
).
During this inspection, the inspectors determine whether the car is still
in a technically perfect condition
.
If the vehicle is classified as
roadworthy , it gets the
sticker
- as a kind of proof
.
At the same time, the inspection sticker also indicates the
next HU date
.
That means the color of the TÜV sticker
If you take a look at a few car license plates, you will quickly find out: the TÜV sticker is available
in different colors
.
The color - of which there are only six -
always stands for the year
in which the HU is due.
For example,
blue represents
the year 2020
, yellow represents the year 2021, red represents the year 2022, pink represents 2023, green represents 2024, and orange represents 2025.
From the year 2026 the colors will repeat again
- starting with blue.
The colors enable police officers, for example, to quickly see whether a vehicle's TÜV has long expired.
That's what the numbers on the TÜV sticker mean
+
The number at the top always indicates the MOT month - in this case it would be February.
© picture alliance / dpa / Michael Reichel
The
number in the middle of the inspection sticker
is the easiest to explain: it
stands for the year
in which the general inspection is due.
The numbers from one to twelve, arranged in a circle around the year, represent the month in which the car must be inspected.
But which of the twelve months is it?
That depends on
how the examiner applied the sticker last time
: it's
always the month that's at the top
.
If the number at the top (where there is always twelve on a clock) is a ten, for example, then the TÜV is due in October - if the three are at the top, the car has to go to the general inspection in March.
The 50 most common and stupid excuses made by drivers at TÜV Süd
The 50 most common and stupid excuses made by drivers at TÜV Süd
TÜV sticker: This is how you read the thick black bars on the edge
Because the numbers are not so easy to see from a distance, there is
another way to read the TÜV date
.
It works like a clock: If the
two thick black bars
are between 2 and 4 o'clock, then the three is at the top - and that means that the TÜV is due in March.
If the two bars are between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m., then the 6 is at the top - so the HU is due in June in this case.
Sebastian Oppenheimer
