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FR-MKT · LEBANON · 21 Oct 2026

Home · Guides · Lebanon mechanic fee

The Lebanon mechanic fee in 2026: unpaid fees, late penalties and where to pay

Sources checked 20 October 2026. Not legal advice.

Every registered car in Lebanon owes a yearly traffic fee, known as the mechanic fee. If you import a car, you pay it from the month the car goes on the road. If you buy or resell a car already on the road, the questions are different: has it been paid, what penalties have built up, who pays them, and where. This page covers those questions from the law and the Traffic, Trucks and Vehicles Management Authority's own announcements. The fee table itself is in the registration guide.

How much is the car mechanic fee in Lebanon in 2026?

  • Budget Law 2024, Art. 70, sets the fee by the car's age from its date of manufacture and its horsepower: from LBP 200,000 to LBP 31,000,000 a year (about $2.23 to $346.37 at 89,500) (Art. 70, checked 20 Oct 2026 · estimate — confirm locally). The full table is in the registration guide.
  • "Horsepower" is the figure on the Lebanese registration, not the US brochure figure.
  • 2026: we found no official change (Law 324 status; Budget Law 2026; MoF Citizen Budget 2026, checked 20 Oct 2026). Press disagrees: MTV called a reported rise false (MTV, 31 Jan 2026), while Leb Economy and Lebanon 24 reported a 160% rise (Leb Economy, 6 Feb 2026; Lebanon 24, 4 Feb 2026). Confirm the amount due before you rely on it.

Late payment: 10% a month, capped at double

  • Penalty: 10% of the fee for each month late, with a part month counted as a full month. Total penalties within one year are capped at double the fee (Law No. 59 of 1988, Art. 3, checked 20 Oct 2026 · estimate — confirm locally).
  • Deadlines: each year's deadlines are set by a joint decision of the Interior and Finance ministers (same article). We didn't find the 2026 decision.
  • Paid fees aren't refunded, even if the car is later taken off the road (same article).

Illustrative example (not a real car; estimate — confirm locally): a car in the "5 to 12 years, 21–30 hp" band owes LBP 2,400,000 a year (Art. 70). Paid 6 months late: penalty 6 × 10% = LBP 1,440,000, so LBP 3,840,000 in total, about $42.91 at 89,500 (BdL, accessed 19 Oct 2026).

Buying a used car: who pays the unpaid fees?

  • The fees stay with the car. Law 59/1988, Art. 5, says unpaid annual fees and their penalties remain due (Law 59/1988, checked 20 Oct 2026).
  • The law we read doesn't say whether seller or buyer pays. Mizan, a legal-information site, lists any unpaid annual fee among the costs of a transfer and says who pays is negotiable, usually with the seller clearing old fees and fines (Mizan, checked 20 Oct 2026). Agree it in writing before you pay.
  • Other marks can block a transfer. Mizan says a car with a seizure, a traffic judgment or an unpaid parking fine can't be transferred until it's lifted (Mizan). In 2020 the Authority said unpaid parking-meter fees block annual-fee payment and transfers until paid (IMLebanon, 10 Jan 2020).
  • Check traffic tickets separately by plate on the Internal Security Forces site (ISF, checked 20 Oct 2026).
  • Cars left unpaid for five years: a private car in Lebanon for more than five consecutive years without paying is deemed wrecked and withdrawn from the road, and its registration is cancelled by decision of the Minister of Interior. The fees and penalties stay due, and keeping the car means paying the first-registration fees again as well (Law 59/1988, Art. 5, checked 20 Oct 2026). Ask about this before buying a car that has been parked for years.

Where to check and pay

  • Payment agents named by the Authority: since 30 May 2024 the annual traffic fee (mechanic) is collected at all centres of OMT, Whish Money, Cash Plus and BOB Finance (TMO announcements, checked 20 Oct 2026). FlipRadar has no deal with any of them.
  • The Authority's own sections have also taken mechanic payments, and its Jounieh branch lists mechanic among services that need no advance booking (TMO, 1 Aug 2025). Appointments for other services are on tmo.gov.lb.
  • Online lookup: we didn't find an official one on tmo.gov.lb on 20 Oct 2026. Ask the Authority or the payment agent for the amount due by plate number and plate code.
  • E-vignette: the Authority says the electronic sticker is required under Traffic Law No. 243 of 2012 (Arts. 145 and 154) as extra proof the fee was paid. Ask for it when you pay and stick it on the lower left of the windscreen (TMO, 4 Jun 2024). A window to collect unclaimed stickers ran to 1 Sep 2026 (TMO, 1 Jul 2026).

Imported cars: the first year is part-year

An imported car has no Lebanese fee history. The fee runs from the date the car is put on the road, for the remaining months of that year only, with a part month counted as a full month (Law 59/1988, Art. 3, checked 20 Oct 2026 · estimate — confirm locally). A car registered in October pays 3/12 of the yearly amount. Registration steps and the worked example are in the registration guide. Customs comes before that: Lebanon car import tax. The full cost is in Landed cost in Beirut.

Put it into the free calculator

The live max bid calculator is a free USD worksheet with no account: max bid = resale − repair − buyer fee − transport − title and registration − target profit. Put the first part-year mechanic fee, any arrears and penalties you agree to pay, and the registration fees into Title and registration (LBP ÷ 89,500 for USD). It has no customs or fee fields and doesn't know Lebanon.

Open the max bid calculator →

Want this inside the browser? The FlipRadar Chrome extension version with Market Profiles adds USD-first amounts with LBP alongside, landed cost at your port, a walk-away line, stop-flags for structural, flood and fire damage, and a warning for the 8-year age limit. It's in private beta and not in the Chrome Web Store. The private beta is free. To try it, email hello@theflipradar.com and ask for the private-beta extension.

FlipRadar is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any auction company, the Traffic, Trucks and Vehicles Management Authority, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Finance or any payment agent. FlipRadar isn't a clearing agent or a payment service.

Related guides: Registering an imported car in Lebanon · Lebanon car import tax · Landed cost in Beirut · Lebanon import rules · all guides.

FAQ

How much is the mechanic fee in Lebanon in 2026?

The annual traffic fee, known as the mechanic fee, is set by Budget Law 2024 Art. 70 by the car's age from its date of manufacture and its horsepower: from LBP 200,000 to LBP 31,000,000 a year, about $2.23 to $346 at 89,500 LBP per dollar (lebaneselegislation.com, checked 20 Oct 2026). We found no change to these amounts in official 2025 or 2026 texts, but press reports disagree. The full table is in our Lebanon registration guide. Estimate — confirm locally.

What is the late penalty on the Lebanon mechanic fee?

Law No. 59 of 1988, Art. 3, sets a penalty of 10% of the fee for each month of delay, with a part month counted as a full month, and caps the total penalties within one year at double the fee due (lebaneselegislation.com, checked 20 Oct 2026). The payment deadlines are set by a joint decision of the Interior and Finance ministers; we didn't find the 2026 decision. Estimate — confirm locally.

Who pays unpaid mechanic fees when you buy a used car in Lebanon?

The official texts we read don't say how arrears are split between seller and buyer. Law No. 59 of 1988, Art. 5, says unpaid annual fees and their penalties stay due on the vehicle (checked 20 Oct 2026). Mizan, a legal-information site, lists any unpaid annual fee among the costs of a transfer and says who pays is negotiable, usually with the seller clearing old fees (checked 20 Oct 2026). Agree it in writing before you pay.

Where can I pay the mechanic fee in Lebanon?

The Traffic, Trucks and Vehicles Management Authority announced on 30 May 2024 that annual traffic fees (mechanic) are collected at all centres of the money-transfer companies OMT, Whish Money, Cash Plus and BOB Finance (tmo.gov.lb announcements, checked 20 Oct 2026). Its own sections have also taken mechanic payments, and its Jounieh branch lists mechanic among services that need no advance booking (1 Aug 2025).

Is there an official online lookup for unpaid mechanic fees?

We didn't find one on tmo.gov.lb on 20 Oct 2026. Older payment-agent pages point to tmo.gov.lb/machining-scales, which now opens the Authority's home page. Ask the Authority or the payment agent for the amount due by plate number and plate code. Traffic tickets are a separate check on the Internal Security Forces site (isf.gov.lb, checked 20 Oct 2026).

What is the e-vignette?

The Authority says the electronic sticker (e-vignette) is required under Arts. 145 and 154 of Traffic Law No. 243 of 2012 and is extra proof that the annual traffic fee was paid. It is handed out by the payment agents and goes on the lower left of the windscreen (tmo.gov.lb announcement of 4 Jun 2024, checked 20 Oct 2026).

How is the mechanic fee charged in the first year for an imported car?

Law No. 59 of 1988, Art. 3, charges the annual traffic fee for the remaining months of the year only, from the date the car is put on the road, with a part month counted as a full month (checked 20 Oct 2026). A car registered in October pays 3/12 of the yearly amount. Estimate — confirm locally.

What happens to a car that hasn't paid the mechanic fee for five years?

Law No. 59 of 1988, Art. 5, says a private car that has been in Lebanon for more than five consecutive years without paying the fees due is deemed wrecked and withdrawn from the road, and its registration is cancelled by decision of the Minister of Interior. The unpaid fees and penalties stay due. An owner who wants to keep the car pays the first-registration fees plus those fees and penalties (checked 20 Oct 2026).

Did Budget 2026 raise the mechanic fee by 160%?

Sources disagree. MTV (31 Jan 2026) and a Leb Economy item the same day said the claim that Budget 2026 raised mechanic fees was false. Leb Economy (6 Feb 2026) and Lebanon 24 (4 Feb 2026) reported a 160% rise. The Budget 2026 law text and the Ministry of Finance's Citizen Budget 2026 list no mechanic-fee change (checked 20 Oct 2026). Confirm the amount due before you pay or price a car.

Where does the mechanic fee go in the FlipRadar calculator?

In Title and registration. The free max bid calculator is a USD worksheet with no customs or fee fields: add the first part-year mechanic fee, any arrears and penalties you agree to pay, and the registration fees there.

Sources

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