Technical inspection of an imported car in BiH: price and EKO test

What it costs

A used imported car takes a regular technical inspection before its first registration, and it can be registered only if the inspection finds it roadworthy (Pravilnik o tehničkim pregledima vozila, Službeni glasnik BiH 33/19, article 4). Every station in BiH applies the same price list: 47 KM plus 17% VAT, 54.99 KM, for a passenger car (article 34 and annex 12). The bar-code sticker the station puts on the car is free the first time (article 8).

The calculator's "Technical inspection" row counts these amounts, by entity and drivetrain:

• Republika Srpska: 54.99 KM
• FBiH, petrol: 54.99 + 32 = 86.99 KM
• FBiH, diesel: 54.99 + 36 = 90.99 KM
• FBiH, hybrid or electric car: 54.99 KM

The EKO test in FBiH

In FBiH every regular inspection of a passenger car includes an exhaust test, the EKO test (Pravilnik o ispitivanju izduvnih gasova motornih vozila, Službene novine FBiH 102/16). With VAT it costs 32 KM for a petrol engine with a regulated catalyst and 36 KM for a diesel; 22 KM applies only to a petrol engine without one (annex 3). Electric cars, hybrids and hydrogen or fuel-cell cars are exempt, and a gas-powered car is tested on the fuel that gives the worse emissions (article 3). Since 1 January 2020 a car that fails the EKO test fails the inspection (article 2). Republika Srpska has no separate EKO test.

Registration in FBiH: only FBiH stations

Since 10 March 2022 the MUPs in FBiH accept proof of roadworthiness only from inspection stations in FBiH (decision of the FBiH Government, Službene novine FBiH 18/22). It applies until the FBiH Government decides that the harmonised inspection rulebook is fully applied across BiH; no such decision has been found. So if you are registering the car in FBiH, have it inspected at a station in FBiH. Under the state rulebook the registration authority accepts proof from any station connected to the information system (Pravilnik o registriranju vozila, article 73), but whether the MUP of Republika Srpska accepts an inspection from an FBiH station in practice is not confirmed; for registration there, use a station in Republika Srpska.

What to bring

Bring the documents that prove ownership and give the car's technical data, and proof that you have paid for the inspection (Pravilnik 33/19, article 6). For an imported car that includes the original and a copy of the homologation certificate (potvrda o usklađenosti pojedinačnog vozila): from the inspection it reaches the MUP through the homologation information system, so you need not take it to the MUP yourself (Službeni glasnik BiH 37/22, article 4). The car must be clean, or it is not inspected (Pravilnik 33/19, article 5). Until it is registered, you can drive it there on MUP test plates, as the registration guide explains.

What is checked

The inspector compares the VIN, the engine code and the plates with the car's documents; if the technical data in the documents do not match the car, the inspection is suspended and the car is sent for certification (Pravilnik 33/19, article 11). The inspection also includes a visual check of the body, tyres, glass, paint and markings (article 10) and measurements on the station's equipment (article 25):

• the brakes, on rollers that measure the braking force of each wheel
• the aim of the dipped and main beams and the light intensity
• the exhaust: smoke opacity on a diesel, gas composition on a petrol engine
• tyre pressure, noise and the horn
• on a gas-powered car, before it enters the station, that the gas system does not leak (article 9)

If the car fails

If a fault cannot be fixed on the spot at the station, the inspection is suspended once every fault is recorded, and the station gives you a certificate saying so. For the next 30 days the inspection cannot be started at another station; if you come back to the same one within that time, only the faulty items are checked again. After 30 days a whole new inspection is needed (Pravilnik 33/19, article 15). If the steering, the brakes or an LPG system is dangerously faulty, or fuel is leaking, the station informs the police so that the car is taken off the road (article 16).

A failed EKO test is repeated free of charge at the same station within ten working days; after that the car is tested as if for the first time (Službene novine FBiH 102/16, article 11).

The 30-day limit

The station sends the proof of roadworthiness to the registration authority electronically (Pravilnik 33/19, article 17), and when you apply for registration it may be at most 30 days old (Pravilnik o registriranju vozila, article 6). So time the inspection so that you can take out the AO policy and pay the fees within those 30 days. Keep the receipt too: proof of paying for the inspection goes with the registration request.

Every year after that

After that the car has a regular inspection once a year, no earlier than 30 days before its registration expires, at the same price; in FBiH the EKO test is done with it each year (Pravilnik 33/19, article 4; Službene novine FBiH 102/16, article 2).

Common mistakes

• "The inspection costs 60 to 90 KM, depending on the station." Every station charges 54.99 KM; FBiH adds only the EKO test.
• "In Republika Srpska the inspection is cheaper, about 35 to 50 KM." One price list covers all of BiH: 54.99 KM in both entities.
• "The EKO test in FBiH costs about 15 KM." It costs 32 KM for petrol and 36 KM for diesel, VAT included.
• "The EKO test costs 22 KM for a diesel and 36 KM for a gas-powered car." A diesel pays 36 KM; 22 KM applies only to a petrol engine without a regulated catalyst, and the price list has no separate price for gas.
• "The inspection is valid for as long as the registration." For a first registration the inspection record may be at most 30 days old when you apply.

This step of the import

• First registration of an imported car in BiH: FBiH and Republika Srpska
• AO insurance in BiH: the premium by kW in FBiH and Republika Srpska
• The road fee at registration in BiH: FBiH and Republika Srpska
• Vehicle-use tax in Republika Srpska: amounts and age reduction
• Environmental fee at car registration in BiH: FBiH and Republika Srpska
• The water fee at car registration in FBiH and Republika Srpska
• Cantonal car tax in FBiH: Sarajevo Canton and the other cantons

Work out the whole cost

• Germany → Republika Srpska car import calculator
• Germany → Federation of BiH car import calculator

Sources

The official laws, decisions and pages this guide rests on, read on 23/09/2026. Rules and amounts change, so check the ones that matter to you before you buy.

• Pravilnik o tehničkim pregledima vozila (Službeni glasnik BiH 33/19)
• Institut za privredni inženjering: Pravilnik o ispitivanju izduvnih gasova motornih vozila, EKO test (Službene novine FBiH 102/16)
• Vlada Federacije BiH: Odluka o neprihvatanju dokaza o obavljenom tehničkom pregledu vozila sa stanica izvan područja Federacije BiH (Službene novine FBiH 18/22)
• IDDEEA: Pravilnik o registriranju vozila (Službeni glasnik BiH 69/09)
• Uputstvo o provođenju postupka homologacije pojedinačnog vozila (Službeni glasnik BiH 37/22)