The most common APK (MOT) findings in 2025 (RDW figures)
Which points do inspectors write on the APK report most often? We worked it out from the open data of the RDW, the Netherlands Vehicle Authority, on the APK inspections of passenger cars in 2025. This shows you what it usually comes down to, and what you can check yourself beforehand.
By the team at Autobedrijf Willemsbrug, RDW-approved APK (MOT) test station since 1979 · Updated 4 November 2026
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The short answer
In 2025, inspectors at the APK (the compulsory periodic vehicle inspection in the Netherlands) of passenger cars most often noted incorrect tyre pressure (503,732 times), a nearly worn tyre with 1.6 up to and including 2.5 mm of tread (473,038 times) and a tyre with too little tread (449,580 times). Next come a wrongly aligned dipped beam, fluid leaks and a faulty number plate light. At 50.6 out of every 100 inspections, at least one point was on the report: a rejection point, a repair point or an advisory point. These figures come from RDW Open Data on 7,089,628 inspections in 2025, analysed by Autobedrijf Willemsbrug.
Which APK points do inspectors note most often?
Tyres and lights top the list. Of the ten most common points, four are about tyres and three about lights. The inspector (keurmeester in Dutch) notes each point on the APK report, the inspection report you receive after the APK. The column “per 100 inspections” shows at how many out of every 100 APK inspections this point was on the report.
| No. | Point on the inspection report | Number of times in 2025 | Per 100 inspections |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tyre pressure not at the correct value | 503,732 | 7.1 |
| 2 | Tread depth from 1.6 up to and including 2.5 mm (nearly worn) | 473,038 | 6.7 |
| 3 | Tyre with too little tread | 449,580 | 6.3 |
| 4 | Dipped beam incorrectly aligned | 376,285 | 5.3 |
| 5 | Excessive leak of oil or another fluid | 355,658 | 5.0 |
| 6 | Number plate light not working (properly) or missing | 355,014 | 5.0 |
| 7 | Wipers give insufficient visibility | 253,990 | 3.6 |
| 8 | Side light not working (properly) | 249,533 | 3.5 |
| 9 | Tyre damaged | 203,874 | 2.9 |
| 10 | Wear on parts of the braking system | 189,315 | 2.7 |
Source: RDW Open Data, inspections 2025, analysis by Autobedrijf Willemsbrug. Passenger cars, 7,089,628 APK inspections.
Places 11 to 20 are an exhaust that is not gas-tight (2.1 per 100 inspections), wear on a steering or suspension ball joint (2.0), a torn drive shaft boot (1.6), a fault in the airbag or seat belt system (1.6), an indicator with the wrong colour (1.6), an unclear cut-off line on the dipped beam (1.6), a dipped or main beam that does not work (1.5), a faulty brake light (1.5), a broken spring (1.5) and a brake that does not run freely (1.4).
How often is something noted on the APK report?
At about half of the inspections, at least one point is on the report. In 2025 that was 3,586,502 of the 7,089,628 inspections, so 50.6 out of every 100. At the other 49.4 out of every 100 inspections, nothing was on the report.
| Figure | 2025 |
|---|---|
| APK inspections of passenger cars (retests count separately) | 7,089,628 |
| Inspections with at least one point on the report | 3,586,502 (50.6 per 100) |
| Inspections without any point on the report | 3,503,126 (49.4 per 100) |
| Total number of points noted | 6,712,390 (94.7 per 100 inspections) |
| Average number of points when something is noted | 1.87 |
| Share of the ten most common points | 50.8% of all points |
Source: RDW Open Data, inspections 2025, analysis by Autobedrijf Willemsbrug.
If a car gets a point, it often does not stop at one. On average there are then 1.87 points on the report. The ten points in the table above together account for slightly more than half of everything inspectors note. The forty most common points together account for 85.3%.
Which parts of the car produce the most APK points?
Tyres and lights together produce almost half of all points. We added up the forty most common points per part of the car. A car can get more than one point for the same part, for example for tyre pressure and for tread depth.
| Part | Number of points in 2025 | Per 100 inspections | Share of all points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tyres | 1,673,403 | 23.6 | 24.9% |
| Lights | 1,639,571 | 23.1 | 24.4% |
| Suspension, steering and drive train | 841,466 | 11.9 | 12.5% |
| Brakes | 502,169 | 7.1 | 7.5% |
| Fluid leaks | 355,658 | 5.0 | 5.3% |
| Wipers and washers | 333,314 | 4.7 | 5.0% |
| Warning lights (airbag, tyre pressure, ABS) | 195,698 | 2.8 | 2.9% |
| Exhaust | 184,682 | 2.6 | 2.8% |
Source: RDW Open Data, inspections 2025, analysis by Autobedrijf Willemsbrug. Only the 40 most common points, grouped by Autobedrijf Willemsbrug.
What the inspector checks on each part is explained in our APK checklist.
Why do tyres appear on the APK report so often?
Tyres wear with every kilometre, and the tyre pressure drops slowly without you noticing. That is why three tyre points are in places 1 to 3. Each one has a different meaning.
At the APK the inspector measures the tread at several places across the tyre. A tyre often wears unevenly, for example on the inside when the wheel alignment is off. The outside then still looks fine, while the inside is already below the limit. The rules are explained in our article on tread depth and the APK. Need new tyres? See our page about tyre replacement in Rotterdam.
Which lighting points come up most often?
A wrongly aligned dipped beam is the most common lighting point, at 5.3 out of every 100 inspections. A faulty number plate light follows with 5.0, and a side light that does not work with 3.5 out of every 100 inspections.
You often do not notice a broken bulb yourself, because you are not standing behind or beside your car when the light is on. You also cannot see a wrongly aligned dipped beam well from inside the car. The inspector measures the alignment with a headlight alignment tester and also looks at the cut-off line: the sharp line where the light stops. An unclear cut-off line was on the report at 1.6 out of every 100 inspections.
Colour counts too. An indicator with a colour that is not permitted came up 111,486 times. Read more about lights and headlight alignment at the APK.
How often is it about leaks, wipers or brakes?
An excessive leak of oil or another fluid was on the report at 5.0 out of every 100 inspections, 355,658 times in total. Water does not count. If the car was first put into use before 1 January 2018, such a leak is a repair advisory point and not a rejection point, according to the APK handbook of the RDW. That does not apply to leaks from the fuel system, the braking system, the steering or the suspension.
How should you read these RDW figures?
A point on the report is not the same as a fail. The RDW data counts every point that an inspector registers on the APK report. The data does not distinguish between the kinds of points below. A tread depth of 2 mm, for example, is an advisory point, not a reason to fail. Our article on how to read the APK report explains the kinds of points in more detail.
| Point on the report | Dutch term | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Rejection point | afkeurpunt | A defect that means the car does not meet the APK requirements. If it is not fixed during the inspection, the car fails. |
| Repair point | reparatiepunt | A repair that was needed for the APK. The report lists it under the defects that have been repaired. |
| Advisory point | adviespunt | Not a reason to fail. A part that is expected to stop meeting the requirements soon, probably within a year. |
| Repair advisory point | reparatieadviespunt | Not a reason to fail. Used on cars first put into use before 1 January 2018 for a safety system that is not working properly, such as the airbag warning, or for an excessive fluid leak. |
Source: APK handbook of the RDW (APK-handboek)
The definitions of rejection points and repair points are in the APK handbook of the RDW (in Dutch). This is how we worked out the figures:
Want to know how your make of car compares? Read APK figures per make (in Dutch).
What can you check yourself before the APK?
You can check many of the most common points yourself. That way you avoid some of the points on the report.
- Measure the tyre pressure and compare it with the value on the sticker in the door pillar or the fuel filler flap.
- Look at the tread. If you do not have a tread depth gauge, put a 1 euro coin in the groove, or a 2 euro coin for winter tyres. If the outer rim of the coin sticks out above the groove, the ANWB says the tyre needs replacing.
- Switch on all the lights and walk around the car: dipped beam, main beam, side lights, rear lights, indicators and number plate light. Ask someone to press the brake pedal so you can check the brake lights.
- Test the wipers and the washers. If the wipers leave streaks, replace the blades.
- Look under the car for fresh marks on the ground after it has been parked overnight.
- Watch for warning lights on the dashboard, such as the airbag light or the tyre pressure light.
More tips are in preparing your car for the APK. If you have the APK done at our garage, it costs € 50 for petrol, petrol hybrid and electric cars. If your car fails with us and we do the repair, the retest is included. On our APK page you can read how it works at our garage.