LTA Vehicle Inspection Procedure at STA and Vicom made simple

This article is for the newbies whom are visiting a LTA approved inspection centre such as Vicom and STA Inspection for the first time or unfamiliar with the procedures.

Under the Road Traffic Act, it is an offence to use a vehicle without a valid inspection certificate.
It is also a mandatory requirement for renewal of annual road tax.

Let's go through some simple procedures to make your visit a breeze.

Inspection Notification

About one to two months before the inspection date, LTA will send a notice stating the date of inspection.
Do keep the notice and bring it along on day of inspection.
The letter looks like this.

LTA vehicle inspection notice

List of LTA vehicle inspection centre and operating hours

Visiting The Inspection Centre

There is no need to make a prior appointment with the inspection centres. They operate on a first-come-first-served basis. Do note they are closed on Sundays and Public Holidays. Bring along the inspection LTA inspection notification letter.
It is recommended to go during morning off peak hours to avoid a long queue. The wait can take up to an hour or more during peak period. Occasionally, you may experience an even long waiting period if you encountered rows of Army vehicles or newly registered vehicles, etc. That is a clear sign to come back another day unless you are willing to wait. On most weekdays, the waiting time is usually between 5 to 15 minutes.

Tips to improve the speed of the process

Upon reaching the centre, make sure you drive to the correct waiting queue usually a security or inspection centre personnel will be there to direct the traffic. If there's no other vehicles in line, stop at the entrance of the inspection bay and a personnel will attend to you. Make payment and handover your vehicle to the personnel.

However should you need to wait in queue, find a good opportunity to get off the vehicle while in the queue and make payment at the cashier booth. The cashier booth is located at the entrance to the inspection bay.

The cost is around $58 + 7% GST. Off-peak car owner (OPC) will need to pay an additional $10 + 7% GST for inspection of car plate seal.

Hand over the car and walk over to the sitting area located at end of the inspection bay via a sidewalk and wait for the inspection to be completed. You may also choose to stand along the aisle and watch as your car go through each inspection station.

The Inspection Stations

The centre will run a few tests, namely: under-carriage visual inspection, headlights brightness & angle test, engine pollutant emission and noise level, vehicle side-slip test and brake functionality test. The centre may also check for illegal modification and tinting of windows. If you have any non-LTA approved modification, it is recommended to get it fixed before the vehicle inspection, otherwise a failed inspection result can only mean additional trip as well as cost. So save yourself the hassle by visiting your workshop to get it fix. We will discuss this topic in future posts

Passing The Inspection

An original Test Certificate will be issued and it is valid for 3 months. Do keep the certificate and inspection result form for future references.

You may also renew your road tax at the inspection centre with this Test Certificate AND a valid vehicle insurance to cover the entire period of the new road tax.

Your ride is now ready for the road for another year. Boleh!

Do you have any interesting encounters or tips during the inspection? Feel free to share in the comment section below for all to learn.