How Long Can a Car Go Without Inspection Before Getting Fined?
3 Answers
Small cars will be fined if they go without inspection for more than three months. The fines for overdue car inspections are divided into the following situations: 1. If the car has been overdue for inspection for less than three months, you can simply make up for it and will receive a verbal warning without a fine. 2. If the car has been overdue for inspection for more than three months but less than two years, you will need to pay a fine, and your driver's license will be deducted 3 points. 3. If the car has not been inspected for more than two years, the vehicle's file will be canceled, and restoring the file is relatively complicated; generally, a fine must be paid before restoration. Below are the laws and regulations regarding overdue vehicle inspections: According to the Road Traffic Law: 1. Vehicles that have not undergone annual inspection on time are not allowed to be driven on the road; 2. Driving a vehicle without timely annual inspection will result in a 3-point deduction and a fine; 3. For all traffic accidents caused by vehicles that have not undergone annual inspection on time, the responsible party will bear all or primary liability, and the insurance company will not be responsible; 4. Vehicles that have not undergone annual inspection on time are considered illegal driving.
Having driven for 15 years, I've seen many car owners suffer the consequences of overdue vehicle inspections. If your vehicle's annual inspection has expired and you're caught driving it on the road, you'll immediately be penalized with 3 demerit points and a 200 yuan fine, plus your car will be towed away. Don't believe any claims about a three-day grace period—even being just one day overdue will get you fined if you drive. I recommend setting a phone reminder two months in advance for your inspection. If you do forget, don't risk driving—call a tow truck to take your car directly to the inspection station; it's the safest option. If an accident occurs during the overdue inspection period, the insurance company will absolutely refuse to pay, leaving you to cover all repair costs yourself. In the end, it's much more costly than getting your inspection done on time.
Last year, my neighbor forgot to get the annual inspection due to a business trip and was stopped by traffic police while driving to work two weeks overdue. They were immediately fined, had points deducted, and their car was impounded. This incident shows that penalties for overdue inspections aren't based on how long it's been overdue, but whether the vehicle is driven on the road without a valid inspection. As long as the annual inspection sticker on the vehicle registration is expired, you will definitely be fined if caught driving. Some places might give a verbal warning for vehicles overdue by less than a week, but I advise against taking that risk. If a vehicle misses more than three inspection cycles, it will be forcibly scrapped—a much bigger loss than a few hundred yuan in fines.
