TÜV Explained: What Foreign Buyers of German Cars Need to Know

• HU (Hauptuntersuchung) — the main roadworthiness test. Every 24 months on cars, every 12 months on commercial vehicles and older classics. Pass sticker goes on the rear plate.
• AU (Abgasuntersuchung) — the emissions test, run alongside HU. On modern cars it's a five-minute OBD readout; on older diesels it's a real tailpipe sniff.
• §21 StVZO — one-off individual approval for a vehicle without EU type approval (a US re-import, a UK JDM, a modified vehicle).
• §13 EG-FGV — the equivalent for re-registering an EU-type-approved car from another EU country after Zulassung expires.
• §19.3 / §21 for modifications — approval for tuning changes (lowered springs, exhaust, wheels outside the ABE).
• H-Gutachten — the specialist assessment that awards H-Kennzeichen (historic plate) status. Vehicle must be 30+ years old and largely original.

HU is a safety and legal-compliance inspection, not a mechanical service. In roughly 45 minutes an examiner checks:

• Brakes — pad thickness, disc condition, brake balance on a rolling road
• Steering geometry, ball joints, tie rods
• Lights — every bulb, plus headlight alignment
• Chassis corrosion — a real inspection under the car on a lift
• Tyres — depth, damage, correct size for the papers
• Emissions via AU

What HU does not check: engine wear, oil condition, gearbox health, air-con performance, cosmetic condition, service history. A car can pass HU with a smoking engine — it just can't pass with a corroded brake line.

• Standard HU + AU on a modern petrol car — €130-160 across TÜV, DEKRA, GTÜ.
• Diesel with DPF check — €150-190.
• §21 Einzelabnahme on a US or JDM re-import — €800-2,000 depending on how much documentation the vehicle needs.
• H-Gutachten for classic status — €150-250 plus HU.
• Lead time — 1-2 days at independent workshops, 1-2 weeks at branded TÜV/DEKRA stations, 3-4 weeks for §21 slots in summer.

Legally, a car with expired HU cannot be driven on German roads and cannot be freshly registered until it passes. Two practical routes:

• Seller passes HU before handover. Cleanest. Add a clause to your Kaufvertrag that final payment is conditional on a fresh HU sticker.
• You buy on Kurzzeitkennzeichen (5-day plates). We arrange a 5-day insurance-and-plate combination that lets you drive the car straight to a TÜV station. Works when the car is priced attractively for the risk.

For every used-car case we run:

• Check the current HU expiry date on the Fahrzeugbrief the moment documents arrive.
• If HU expires within 6 months, we book a fresh HU in Brandenburg before Zulassung — cleaner than inheriting an old sticker.
• For re-imports, we open the §21 case with TÜV Berlin-Brandenburg the same day we receive documents, because their calendar is the choke point.
• Any prep work (bulb replacements, tyre swaps, headlight adjustment) goes through the workshop we use in Golzow at trade rates, passed through 1:1.