If you own, buy or sell a car registered in Slovakia, put 1 October 2026 in your calendar. From that date the state checks motor third-party liability insurance automatically, straight from its databases. An uninsured vehicle fails both the technical and the emissions test, and the fine arrives in the post. Here are the exact amounts and deadlines.
What changed in Slovakia
The amendment known locally as Lex PZP – Act No. 77/2026 Coll., which amends Act No. 381/2001 Coll. on compulsory motor third-party liability insurance – took effect on 1 August 2026. The first weeks were mostly about warnings: the vehicle register was linked to the register of the Slovak Insurers’ Bureau and keepers of uninsured cars received notices.
Since 1 October 2026 the system runs at full strength. If a registered vehicle has no valid policy for more than 30 days, the district authority can impose a fine in an order procedure – purely on the basis of register data, without a classic administrative hearing. Liability is strict: nobody asks whether the car was actually driven.
What an uninsured vehicle costs
The amount does not depend on how long the car was uninsured, but on its maximum permissible weight:
- €120 – vehicles up to 750 kg, for example trailers
- €300 – over 750 kg up to 3,500 kg, meaning ordinary cars, vans and motorcycles
- €600 – over 3,500 kg up to 12,000 kg
- €900 – over 12,000 kg
- double the amount for a repeat offence; a further fine can only follow at least 150 days after the previous decision became final
How to cut the fine to a third
Lawmakers assumed that most uninsured vehicles are down to forgetfulness rather than bad faith. Two reductions are therefore available, both tied to a 15-day deadline from delivery of the order:
- Paying within 15 days cuts the fine by a third – for a passenger car from €300 to €200.
- If within the same period you also prove that the vehicle has been insured or deregistered, it drops by another third, to €100.
Leaving the envelope from the authority in a drawer is, in this case, the most expensive option available.
No insurance, no roadworthiness test
The second change affects properly insured owners too. Since October, testing stations verify the policy directly in the database. If the vehicle is not listed as insured, neither the technical nor the emissions test can end with a pass, no matter what condition the car is in.
Checking is free: the Slovak Insurers’ Bureau runs a public search for a vehicle’s insurer by registration number or VIN on its website. That is worth doing especially if the policy was taken out only hours before the appointment, or if you have just switched insurers.
A car that never moves: temporary deregistration
The classic case: the car has been sitting in a garage for two years, nobody drives it, the policy expired long ago. Under the new rules, that is exactly the vehicle the payment order will find.
The answer is temporary deregistration, available at any traffic inspectorate or online through the slovensko.sk portal. The fee starts at €5 for up to one year (half that for an electronic application) and rises with the length of the period. During that time no insurance is needed and the insurer refunds the unused premium. Vehicles left uninsured for a very long time, on the other hand, can be struck off the register permanently by the authorities.
When buying or selling, the transfer date decides
The most common misconception: the seller assumes the policy carries on for the buyer. It does not. Slovak compulsory insurance ends the moment the change of keeper is entered in the register. The seller is entitled to a refund of the remaining premium, and the buyer needs their own contract on the day of the transfer – not “sometime this week”.
- Buying? Arrange insurance before you drive home. The VIN and the details from the registration certificate are enough; an online policy takes a few minutes.
- Selling? After the transfer, notify your insurer that the contract has ended and ask for the refund.
- Buying a car that stood for years? Check whether it is temporarily deregistered and how long its roadworthiness test is still valid.
Better to sell a car you no longer use
If there is a car in your yard you no longer need, the new rules are a good reason to settle the matter: either deregister it temporarily, or find it a new owner while it still has value.
On AutoCasa, listing is free, with no sales commission and no limit on the number of adverts. You can list cars, motorcycles, vans and trucks, buses, trailers, spare parts, wheels and tyres, and bicycles. Promoting a listing is optional and starts at €1.50.
For a car that has been standing a long time, say openly in the advert since when it has not been driven and whether it is still registered. You will save yourself repeated questions and reach the buyers who are looking for exactly that kind of car.
This article describes the rules in force in Slovakia: Act No. 381/2001 Coll. as amended by Act No. 77/2026 Coll. (Lex PZP), as of September 2026. Other countries have their own rules.
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