Can a car with stickers pass the annual inspection?
2 Answers
Cars with small-area stickers that are not in the form of advertisements and do not exceed 30% of the vehicle's surface area can pass the annual inspection. However, it should be noted that if the area of the stickers exceeds 30% of the vehicle's body, it will be treated as an unauthorized modification of the vehicle's appearance. If the sticker design involves special markings such as police, fire, or ambulance symbols, it will not pass the annual inspection. Additional considerations for car stickers are as follows: 1. The area of car stickers must not exceed 30%; otherwise, you need to register with the vehicle management office and obtain a new vehicle license, or it will be considered an illegal modification. 2. The stickers applied should not affect driving safety; otherwise, the car will not pass the annual inspection. 3. Special colors such as fire engine red, engineering rescue yellow, and the white and blue color scheme for national administrative law enforcement are reserved for special vehicles and cannot be used on ordinary family cars.
Last month, I just put an anime car sticker on my car—it was quite cute—and then went for the annual inspection. Surprisingly, it passed! The inspector said the key points are the sticker's location and size. If it's on the rear windshield or side windows, as long as it doesn’t exceed 30% of the area and doesn’t obstruct the view, it’s fine. However, the front windshield is absolutely off-limits. He reminded me that regulations vary by location—some cities are stricter, especially with shiny or advertising stickers, which are more likely to violate rules. The annual inspection doesn’t just check stickers; it also covers brakes, emissions, etc. If a sticker causes issues, you’ll have to remove it immediately. I’d recommend checking local traffic regulations before applying any stickers to avoid wasted trips. Overall, just be cautious when choosing stickers—avoid anything too flashy or that affects driving safety. Most small stickers should pass without a problem.
