Be careful with the MOT sticker: you have to display it, but remember, only the latest one.

The Technical Vehicle Inspection (ITV) is one of the obligations we have to fulfil when we own a vehicle. In principle, you don’t have to take it until the car is four years old, but as it gets older, that interval gets shorter until the moment comes when you have to go to the corresponding station every year.

On each visit to the ITV, we are given a sticker confirming that everything is in order and that the car has passed all the tests satisfactorily. This sticker must not be placed at random on the windscreen; its location is set out by law. So it has to be placed on the upper right-hand side of the windscreen.

It is placed on the inside, because the adhesive side faces the visible side, not the rear. This ensures it is protected from the weather and that no one can tear it off, as could happen if it were on the outside. If it is placed differently, we may be fined, up to 80 euros. But that is not the only reason we could receive a fine for incorrectly positioning the ITV sticker.

Many people accumulate several ITV stickers on the windscreen. These are usually stuck below the previous ones, creating a column of stickers that certify each passed inspection at the corresponding station. Is this punishable? Yes, but not because the stickers succeed one another and could confuse the municipal or DGT officers checking that everything is in order.

The problem arises if the officer understands that those stickers cause a loss of visibility and obstruct the driver’s field of view. In that case, under Article 19 of the General Traffic Regulations, they may impose a fine of 80 euros. The same amount that can be charged for displaying the sticker in a place other than the one provided for it.

The problem, then, is that those stickers obstruct the driver’s view. So the best way to avoid a fine is to remove the sticker from the previous ITV visit before placing the new one. It is somewhat tricky, because the adhesive used on these stickers is quite strong and hard to peel off. But it can be removed in a few minutes, and the new one can then be placed right away in its proper location.