The Technical Vehicle Inspection (ITV) is a mandatory procedure that all drivers must pass every two years, if the car is four years old, or even every year if the vehicle is more than a decade old. Just as it happens with medical check-ups -although we can skip them, at the expense of our health-, the ITV can be a cumbersome but necessary process. To pass it, you have to go to one of the authorized ITV stations all over the country -there are hundreds of them, managed by more than a dozen companies-, which are in charge of verifying the vehicle’s conditions and certifying that it meets the requirements to circulate on the roads.
It is not essential to make an appointment to pass the ITV, but it is advisable, to avoid long waits and to avoid leaving it until the last moment and risk expiration, which is punishable with a fine and a serious infraction. However, as with so many other bureaucratic procedures, making an appointment may not be so easy: in Mallorca, in mid 2023, waiting lists reached between nine months and a year, as a result of a strike by the workers of the ITV concessionaire on the island, the German TÜV Rheinland.
To avoid this type of problem, the digital ITV was launched in 2020, which allows part of the procedure to be carried out online, thus speeding up the physical inspection at the station. What is the digital ITV and how does it work? Here we tell you all about it.
What is the digital ITV?
Drivers who go to a station to pass the ITV often have to face long waits, even if they have made an appointment in advance. The problem is that there is usually a bottleneck when it comes to handing in the documentation and making the payment.
For this reason, the company Red Itelevesa digitalized part of this process with the ITV Digital, “a technical inspection at the click of a button”, as the company explains on its website.
According to Red Itelevesa, “the key to the ITV Digital is that it skips the entire administrative process prior to the inspection, saving time and personal interactions. Also, remember to buy your ITV through the web and the App, where you can add this service if you want an easier, faster and more comfortable inspection.” The digital ITV allows the driver to go directly to the inspection line, “skipping” the administrative process and delivering the documentation to the technician.
How to pass the digital ITV?
The process is as follows: The first step is to enter the Red Itelevesa website or mobile app and purchase the appointment, selecting “ITV Digital”. The price of doing this through the internet is the same as the physical station. Once you have chosen the date and time of the inspection, you have to go with the vehicle and stand in the line that says “ITV Digital” to pass the inspection. The technical tests that the vehicle must pass are the conventional ones, but the inspection report and invoice are delivered telematically.
In fact, the process is practically the same as the traditional method, but it allows you to save time by being able to pay online in advance, skipping this administrative procedure.
What documentation is needed?
There are no shortcuts here. At the time of passing the inspection at the ITV station, certain documentation must be provided, even if the payment and the previous appointment have been made digitally.
The documentation required to pass the ITV is: the ITV card, if the process has already been passed previously; the vehicle’s registration certificate, although it is possible to access it online at the station itself; and the insurance papers, which, in any case, do not need to be presented physically.
Advantages
According to Red Itelevesa, the main benefits are: “You save time and personal interactions. You buy the ITV Digital with zero contact through the web. It takes less time than passing the ITV in a conventional way. You make your appointment through the web or the app. You pay from home and skip the administrative process”.
As the instructions for passing the ITV through this method are indicated at all times, the driver can do the procedure without having to get out of the vehicle.
In which cities can it be done?
The service is available at the company’s stations in Madrid, Murcia, the Canary Islands and some areas of Castilla y León. In June 2023, according to the latest information available, the digital ITV was in the two stations in Valladolid and in those of Castellanos de Moriscos (Salamanca), Morales del Vino (Zamora), Onzonilla (León), Villalonquéjar (Burgos), Palencia, Soria and Ávila. The company planned to add another seven within this region in the short term, although the ultimate goal is to offer digital ITV in all its stations nationwide.