It is confirmed. After years of debate about whether or not to implement a technical inspection for motorized two and three wheels, the latter will undergo it starting next year. Starting in April, models whose first registration is prior to January 1, 2017 must be registered before December 31.
But now another category will also have to pass the technical inspection: cars without a permit, or more precisely, according to its legal definition in the registration document, light and heavy quadricycles. As for the two wheels, these are all motorizations, both thermal and electric.
What frequency?
The implementation will first be gradual: after the models before 2017, in 2024, it will be the turn of vehicles registered between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2019 in 2025, then from January 1, 2020 to 31 December 2021 in 2026.
Starting in 2027 we will move to the periodicity planned by the Ministry of Transport. This will be the same transition pattern as for two wheels: five years after first registration (within 6 months prior to its fifth anniversary date) and every three years thereafter. Longer periods than for passenger cars, which must carry out this inspection four years after the first registration and then every two years.
However, the period is the same if you sell your vehicle to an individual (after its first technical inspection): you must be able to provide the report of an inspection of less than six months.
What elements are controlled?
Although it may seem surprising, the technical inspection for cars without a permit will be the same as for two-wheeled ones:
“There will be 78 checkpoints, compared to 133 for a light vehicle (LV), with 165 possible breakdowns, compared to 613 in the LV, but we clearly find the three levels of breakdowns: minor, major and critical,” explains Karine Bonnet. . , general director of Dekra, which supervises the network of the same name as well as the Norisko and Autocontrol centers.
The deadlines will be the same in the event of an unfavorable result: two months to carry out the return visit. But validity, the possibility of circulation, is only possible on the day of control for critical failure.
Among the main control points, we can mention those related to the braking and steering equipment, but also to the lights, reflective devices and electrical equipment, or even the axles, wheels, tires and suspensions, as well as the control of polluting emissions.
Starting in 2025, the limitation will also be checked at 45 km/h for mopeds and cars without a permit, such as light quadricycles, and at 90 km/h for heavy quadricycles. Noise and pollution control will also begin this year.
“The defroster or windshield washer will not be controlled in cars without permission because this equipment is not mandatory,” specifies Karine Bonnet.
In which technical inspection centers?
Not all technical inspection centers will necessarily offer the service for two-three wheels and for cars without a license:
“For drivers who already have VL (light vehicle) or PL (heavy vehicle) approval, there is a 33-hour training course that must be completed by April 15. And 140 hours for the new drivers,” explains Karine Bonnet.
How many cars without a license are there in France?
In France there are a total of 304,768 unlicensed cars, according to registration figures provided by AAA Data and finalized at the end of October.
For recent models like the Citroën AMI, there will be time to prepare. The first AMIs in the centers, launched in 2020, are therefore expected at the earliest from 2026.
The car without a permit remains a French specialty: of the almost 42,000 units sold in Europe in 2021, half were manufactured in France, Dekra emphasizes. As a result, few foreign countries have implemented technical inspections for these vehicles. It has only been used in Italy since 2001 and in Spain since 2007.
Source: BFM TV
