The tehnički pregled is Serbia's roadworthiness test, and your registration depends on it. The test is quick and follows a clear list, yet cars fail regularly — almost always over small things you could have spotted in five minutes in the car park. Here is what the station looks at, what is worth going through yourself the evening before, and what is better shown to a workshop in advance so you do not have to come back a second time.
What the station looks at
The inspection follows a fixed list of systems: lights and beam alignment, brakes — service and parking brake separately, steering, suspension, tyres, glass and wipers, seat belts, mirrors, the horn, the exhaust system and the condition of the body. Markings are checked as well: the chassis number must be legible and match the entry in your saobraćajna dozvola, and the plates must be intact and readable. The kočnice are measured on a roller bench, one wheel at a time, and what matters is not only that the car stops, but that both wheels on an axle brake equally.
Bring your saobraćajna dozvola and a valid compulsory insurance policy — they are asked for at the desk. The mandatory kit has to be in the boot: a first aid kit, a warning triangle, a hi-vis vest, a tow rope or bar, a spare wheel with jack and wrench or a repair kit, and spare bulbs. The list is not the same for a private passenger car and for a working vehicle, so if you drive a taxi or a van for work, check what is required with the station beforehand.
Why cars fail most often
- Lights are the most common reason. A blown side light, bulbs of different colour in the headlamps, misaligned beam height, a dead rear fog lamp, reversing light or number plate lamp. Cheap LED bulbs in a headlamp designed for halogen are a case of their own: the problem is not brightness but the fact that they are a non-homologated type of light source, so the beam setter finds no clear cut-off line. Xenon without headlamp washers and automatic beam levelling raises questions too.
- Brakes. The roller bench immediately shows a difference between the left and right side of an axle, and a weak handbrake. The causes are usually mechanical: a sticking caliper, a seized slide pin, an unevenly worn pad — while the pedal can still feel perfectly normal. On older cars the handbrake usually fails because of a seized cable, while newer cars with an electric parking brake have no cable at all: there the actuator gets repaired and the bench needs a service mode. If you drive all-wheel drive (permanent quattro or on-demand Haldex), ask the station in advance how they measure the brakes, because rollers require a special procedure, or the figure has to be taken with a decelerometer on the road.
- Tyres. The station looks at tread wear — it must not be worn down to the wear indicators — and at whether both tyres on an axle match in size, construction and tread pattern; a winter tyre on one side and a summer tyre on the other will not pass. Cuts, bulges and exposed cord in the sidewall mean a fail, no discussion. A space-saver spare counts only as a temporary fix, not as a proper wheel.
- Glass and wipers. A car fails over damage in the driver's field of vision, the area in front of the steering wheel within the wiper sweep. A small stone chip outside that zone is normally recorded as a defect, and a chip that has been professionally resin-filled passes: the repair costs a fraction of a new windscreen, so it is worth visiting a glass shop before the test rather than after. Cracks are a different matter — a long crack reaching into the field of vision fails the car regardless of where it started. With tinting, what counts is light transmission rather than how dark the glass looks: factory tinted and athermal glass is usually no problem, while film on the windscreen is a reliable way to earn a remark. Wiper blades that smear and washer jets that do not spray go down as defects.
- Exhaust. Petrol cars are measured for exhaust gas composition and diesels for smoke, so the car should arrive warmed up and running properly. A diesel should not visibly smoke under load; if it does, sort it out before the station, and the cause is usually the injectors, the particulate filter or the EGR valve. On petrol cars, high readings normally point to the lambda sensor, the catalytic converter or misfires. A holed pipe or a broken silencer is audible straight away, and the exhaust tract is also checked for being complete.
- Suspension and steering. Play in the track rod ends, worn bushes, split CV and ball joint boots show up on a lift within a couple of minutes, along with oil and brake fluid leaks. One important caveat about the amortizeri: a light film of oil on the rod is not yet a leak. What fails is a damper that is genuinely wet and dripping, or one that has lost its damping so the car keeps bouncing after a bump. The potholed roads around Novi Sad take their toll, but there is no need to replace healthy dampers just in case before the test.
Winter equipment deserves a separate note, because it is constantly confused with the inspection. It is a matter for police checks on the road during the winter period, not an item on the test line: you will pass the inspection on summer tyres, but on a winter road surface that is another conversation entirely. What exactly is required in season, and from when, is easiest to confirm in advance with the station or your insurance agent.
What to check yourself, and what needs a workshop
The evening before, have someone walk around the car while you switch on, one after another, dipped and main beam, indicators, hazards, rear position lights, rear fog lamp, brake lights including the third one, reverse light and number plate lamp. Look at the tread and the pressures in all four tyres, keeping them equal side to side: uneven pressure and uneven wear create exactly the braking force imbalance the roller bench picks up. Top up the screen wash and confirm the jets actually spray, press the horn, clean the glass and the plates, and check the windscreen for cracks in the field of vision. Tug each seat belt sharply, so that it locks and then retracts fully; frayed or cut webbing is a fail no matter how well the belt locks. Glance into the boot too: first aid kit, vest, triangle, spare wheel or repair kit. A blown bulb costs far less than a second visit.
The rest you cannot see yourself, and that is exactly what sends people back for a second attempt. In a single appointment on a lift, a workshop checks play in the suspension and steering, the state of the pads and discs, and leaks from dampers, driveshafts and brake hoses. Headlamp alignment on a beam setter is especially worth doing: after a bulb change, front-end repair or a different bumper the aim is almost certainly off, and you cannot judge it by eye. If the ABS, airbag or brake system lamp is lit, the diagnosis belongs before the inspection — a lift shows no electronic fault codes, those are read with a scanner through the OBD-II port. Pads, discs and bulbs are replaced in the same appointment, whereas knocking suspension and a droning exhaust are not same-day fixes.
And here is what you should not drive to the test at all. If the brake pedal sinks, has gone soft or needs pumping, if you can see brake fluid around a wheel or the reservoir level has dropped, or if the car pulls hard to one side under braking, this is not something to squeeze in on the way to the registration desk. A soft pedal means air or a leak in the circuit, or a master cylinder on its way out; pulling under braking means a sticking caliper or a seized piston. Do not drive a car in that state across town: call a tow truck and have it brought to the workshop. The same goes if the brakes clearly do not hold or the steering has developed obvious play. The order is simple: scanner and lift first, test station second.