EUR 260 — and there is no 15-day "grace period" in which you are allowed to drive

Updated July 2026

🚗 Can I drive a car whose registration (roadworthiness test) has expired?

Quick answer

No — driving an unregistered vehicle, or one whose registration certificate expired more than 15 days ago, costs EUR 260 (Art. 238(7) of the Road Safety Act, euro amounts per NN 114/22 — NN is Narodne novine, the official gazette). The most stubborn myth is that after expiry you get a "15-day or one-month grace period" in which you may drive normally. There is none: even within the first 15 days driving is already an offence, only a milder one — EUR 90. Those 15 days are the owner's deadline to renew the registration or deregister the vehicle, not a licence to drive. The only lawful way to reach the testing station is on temporary test plates (pokusne pločice), issued for at most 3 days for the trip to the test.

📋 The rules

Registration runs on an annual cycle: a passed roadworthiness test and the renewal of the registration certificate are valid for 12 months — until the last day of the month punched on the sticker; both are done at a vehicle testing station, not at the police (Road Safety Act; the ordinances on roadworthiness tests and on registration, NN 130/17).
New vehicles have a longer first cycle: the first regular roadworthiness test falls due in the month in which 24 months from first registration expire, and every 12 months after that (Art. 256 of the Road Safety Act; CVH, the Croatian vehicle centre).
The scale of driver fines (Art. 238, euro amounts per NN 114/22): EUR 260 if the vehicle is unregistered or the certificate expired more than 15 days ago (para. 7); EUR 90 if it expired up to 15 days ago, and for tractors and working machines (para. 8); EUR 30 for driving without carrying a valid certificate (para. 9); legal persons EUR 660–1,990 (para. 5).
An owner who does not renew the registration within 15 days of expiry must deregister the vehicle — hand in the registration certificate for cancellation and return the plates; otherwise a fine of EUR 90 follows (Art. 250(1) and (13)). If the certificate expired more than 1 year ago, MUP (the police) records the deregistration of its own motion, and the plates and the certificate go on the wanted list.
The only lawful way to take an unregistered vehicle for testing is on temporary test plates: issued for at most 15 days, and for the trip to the roadworthiness test for at most 3 days, always with a valid compulsory insurance policy for that period (Art. 252 of the Road Safety Act; details from the CVH and police pages, not directly from NN). A vehicle that fails the test may be retested free of charge within 15 days.

🔓 Exceptions

Temporary test plates (the 3-day type): you sign a declaration that the steering and braking systems are sound, and you may then lawfully bring the unregistered vehicle to the testing station. Without them, even that single drive is an offence.
Insurance is a separate contract: the compulsory policy has its own 12 months, so a registration that has just expired does not automatically mean the car is uninsured (a buyer may even drive on the previous owner's policy until it runs out — CVH). But once the policy lapses, a far harsher regime for uninsured vehicles kicks in.
Working machines are not subject to the roadworthiness test at all, and tractors and working machines driven on an expired certificate fall into the milder EUR 90 class (Art. 238(8)), not the EUR 260 one.

⚠️ Penalties & fines

Driver: EUR 260 (unregistered, or expired more than 15 days ago) or EUR 90 (up to 15 days). Owner: another EUR 90 for failing to deregister. An unregistered vehicle left on the road: EUR 130 (Art. 35); in a parking space: EUR 30 (Art. 78). The real danger arrives when the insurance policy expired along with the registration: that is a separate fine of EUR 660–6,630 (Art. 65 of the Compulsory Traffic Insurance Act, NN 155/23) and — worst of all — full recourse by the Croatian Insurance Bureau after an accident; documented cases show EUR 89,000 and over EUR 130,000 recovered personally from uninsured drivers. After a year of expiry the vehicle is deregistered ex officio and the plates go on the wanted list.

📎 Official sources

Last verified: 2026-07-12

❓ Frequently asked

Do I get a 15-day grace period after the registration expires?

You do not: the police may fine you from day one, with EUR 90 in the first 15 days and EUR 260 after that. Those 15 days are the owner's deadline to renew the registration or deregister the vehicle, not permission to drive.

How do I lawfully drive the car to the roadworthiness test?

Only on temporary test plates, which for the trip to the test are issued for a maximum of three days and require a valid compulsory insurance policy. Without them, even that single drive is an offence.

Is the EUR 260 fine fixed, or is it an upper limit?

It is fixed: Art. 238(7) of the Road Safety Act prescribes exactly EUR 260, even though many websites write "a fine of up to EUR 260". Pages still quoting kuna describe the position before the euro amounts in NN 114/22.

What if the insurance expired together with the registration?

Then a separate fine of EUR 660 to 6,630 under the Compulsory Traffic Insurance Act lands on top of the traffic fine. After an accident the Croatian Insurance Bureau recovers the entire loss from you personally, and documented cases run past EUR 130,000.

What happens if I do not renew the registration for a year?

MUP deregisters the vehicle of its own motion, and the registration certificate and the plates go on the wanted list. The car can be brought back into traffic later through the normal registration procedure, but driving it in the meantime stays a EUR 260 offence.

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