Glossary
TÜV / HU (German Periodic Inspection)
Germany's biennial roadworthiness inspection. TÜV is the largest of several authorised inspection bodies; HU (Hauptuntersuchung) is the formal name of the test.
Definition
The Hauptuntersuchung — main inspection — is Germany's mandatory roadworthiness test, due every two years on cars older than three years. The test is carried out by one of several certified inspection bodies; TÜV (Technischer Überwachungsverein) is the largest and best-known, with DEKRA, GTÜ, and KÜS occupying the rest of the market. A passed HU is documented by a windscreen sticker — the round HU plakette — colour-coded by year of expiry. Detailed findings, including odometer reading, are stored in the inspection body's database and transmitted to the central registration authority. German inspection records are a strong rollback-detection input but they are not freely accessible to the public; commercial history reports rely on licensed feeds and on data exposed through the inspection bodies' own buyer-protection products.
Why it matters when buying a used car
Germany supplies a large share of EU cross-border used-car volume, and HU mileage data is the primary input for catching rollback on those exports. A car with a clean MOT-equivalent inspection trail across multiple HU cycles is materially harder to rollback-fraud.
Often confused with
MOT
The UK's annual roadworthiness test, mandatory for cars over three years old. Records mileage and any defects on a public-access history.
APK
The Netherlands' periodic roadworthiness inspection, registered against the vehicle's number plate in the national registry.
STK
The Czech and Slovak roadworthiness inspection. Logs mileage at every test and is one of the more rollback-prone records due to historical paper-based reporting.
Mileage rollback
Tampering with a vehicle's odometer to display a lower mileage than the car has actually covered. A criminal offence in every EU country.