Newsroom
The renewal period for vehicle registration licences for 2026 began this week, with authorities urging motorists not to delay ahead of a strict March 11 deadline that carries financial penalties and no possibility of extension.
The Road Transport Department (RTD) said renewals opened on Tuesday and will run until midnight on March 11, 2026. Vehicle owners may renew licences for periods of three, six, nine or 12 months, provided the vehicle has a valid roadworthiness certificate and active insurance coverage.
Approximately 750,000 vehicles are expected to have their registration licences renewed this year, according to RTD officer Konstantinos Kouppis, who noted that the process is carried out primarily online through the department’s website.
Drivers who fail to renew by the deadline will face a surcharge of €10 plus 10% of the annual registration fee. “There is a strict timetable and the legislation does not provide for an extension,” Kouppis said.
The RTD said the renewal process is considered complete only when the screen displaying “Print Registration Licence” appears, showing the vehicle’s registration number and the licence’s expiry date. If the process is interrupted before that point, it must be repeated. The department has also upgraded its payment system, adding extra checks to ensure licences are issued only after payment is confirmed.
While most renewals are handled online, motorists who encounter difficulties may apply in person at RTD district offices or Citizen Service Centres. No renewal reminders will be sent, and vehicle owners are responsible for keeping their contact details up to date in the RTD registry.
Authorities also warned against waiting until the final days of the renewal period, citing the risk of system congestion.
Special cases, including vehicles belonging to embassies, the United Nations, certain organizations with exemptions, antique vehicles with special licences, quarry vehicles and some large-family private buses, must be handled directly through RTD offices rather than online.
Vehicle owners who renewed their licence for 2025 but do not intend to renew for 2026 must formally declare their vehicle immobilized. Failure to do so means the obligation to pay circulation fees continues. Immobilization declarations can be submitted online.
Vehicles that were neither renewed nor declared immobilized in 2025 will be removed from the RTD register unless outstanding fees are paid and the 2026 licence is renewed by the March 11 deadline.
Separately, the RTD reiterated that registration licences cannot be issued for vehicles with unresolved airbag recall obligations. As of the end of 2025, around 11,000 vehicles remained unable to renew due to pending airbag replacements.
Of those, about 7,000 active vehicles had exceeded the eight-month replacement deadline set by a ministerial decree and are now considered immobilized. Kouppis said replacement rates exceed 90% overall, but tracking down remaining owners has proven difficult, as many cannot be contacted.
During 2025, nearly 19,500 additional vehicles were added to airbag recall lists, with around 4,000 still awaiting replacement.
Officials expressed hope that the inability to renew registration licences will prompt affected owners to complete the required safety work before returning their vehicles to the road.
