Published 2026-09-28
Do the obvious checks at home, take the papers, and log the result as its own visit.
Inspection names differ by country. The habit does not: a date on the calendar, a car that must be legal, and a report you should keep.
This is not a substitute for local rules. It is the work you can do in a driveway so the station is not the first time you notice a lamp is out.
01
Plate, documents the station will ask for, and the expiry you are racing. Put the expiry in a reminder the day you last passed, not the week it lapses.
02
Lights, indicators, horn, wipers, washer, tire tread and obvious damage, and a warning lamp that stays on. Fix what you can before you queue.
03
Recent brakes, tires, or a failed item from last time. The inspector does not need your whole log. You need to know what was already done.
04
Pass, fail, or advisory. Date, odometer, cost, and the next expiry. Failed items that you then repair are later rows, not the inspection row rewritten.
An advisory is not a pass you should forget. Copy the lines you intend to act on into a reminder or a note on the inspection row. Do not log them as repairs until the work is done.
Reminders are for the expiry. The maintenance tracker is for the visit. This website will not book the station or read local law.
Only if it is due. An inspection is not an oil service. Mixing them on one invoice is fine if that is what you paid for. Keep the jobs named.
Keep the report. Repair, retest, and log both the fail and the later pass. Do not delete the fail so the history looks clean.
