A minor defect at the vehicle test is not a fail

«Pass with minor defects» is the line on the Spanish ITV vehicle inspection report that most people read as a fail, and it means precisely the opposite: you passed.

Royal Decree 920/2017 and the inspection manual sort every fault into three boxes, and the box decides the result. Minor: it is written down, you repair it when you can, and the inspection comes out FAVOURABLE. They hand you the certificate and the sticker, and nobody makes you come back. Serious: the result is UNFAVOURABLE. You have two months from that first inspection to repair it and sit a second one, which is partial and only looks at what failed; meanwhile the car may only go to the garage and back to the station. Very serious: the result is NEGATIVE, and then the car does not drive at all, not even to the garage. It leaves on a tow truck.

The confusion is expensive. It is easy to walk out holding a pass, see the word «defect» printed on the paper and pay that same afternoon for an emergency repair that could have waited for two quotes and no hurry.

So before you ring the garage, take the report and look for two things: the word printed beside each defect — minor, serious or very serious — and the result at the bottom. If it says FAVOURABLE, you have until the next inspection to fix it.