How HAK (Croatian Auto Club) helps drivers in Croatia

If you have ever driven on Croatian roads, you’ve probably traced the information on the traffic condition. Most precisely, you’ve most definitely found the news on HAK’s official pages or heard it on the radio while driving.

HAK is our savior when talking about traffic and roads in Croatia. It covers a wide aspect of work related to traffic and safety, including implementing driving tests, supervising technical inspection stations, and informing citizens about the condition of the Croatian roads.

HAK also offers the service of diagnosis or repair to its members in case a vehicle breaks down. They transport vehicles to the closest authorized service if the breakdown cannot be immediately fixed.

In this post, we cover:

• What is HAK
• Scope of work
• HAK membership
• How residents can join
• How legal persons can join
• Information on travel
• HAK rent a car

The facts are these…

How HAK (Croatian Auto Club) supports drivers in Croatia

What is HAK – Croatian Auto Club?

HAK is a non-profit association whose members are Croatian car clubs, residents, drivers, and owners of motor vehicles in Croatia. Other legal persons can also join it. HAK is abbreviated from Hrvatski autoklub (Croatian Auto Club).

[Read: Difference between legal and natural persons in Croatia]

HAK currently includes 70 car clubs from Croatia and more than 227.000 active members. It is a member of FIA ​​(Federation Internationale de l’Automobile), a significant international automobile federation with about 80 million members.

A list of Croatian car clubs that are HAK members is available here.

HAK operates based on the tradition of:

• The first Croatian Automobile Club founded in 1906
• The First Croatian Motorcycle Club founded in 1921
• Croatian Automobile and Motorcycle Association founded in 1946
• Croatian Automobile Association founded in 1948

HAK’s position and powers in Croatia are regulated by:

• Zakon o Hrvatskom autoklubu (Law on the Croatian Auto Club) – view here
• Zakon o sigurnosti prometa na cestama (Law on road traffic safety) – view here

What is HAK in charge of in Croatia?

HAK’s scope of work in Croatia is vast and diverse and covers:

• Rights and benefits of its members
• Technical assistance to drivers on the road
• Touring assistance and services to members and other drivers
• Informing about the driving conditions on Croatian roads
• Traffic safety and prevention
• Publishing
• Environmental protection

With regard to public power, HAK is in charge of:

• Issuing international driver’s licenses
• Issuing licenses to drive someone else’s motor vehicle abroad
• Issuing carnets, triptychs, and other documents for crossing Croatian borders without paying customs duty on cars and international documents for the transport of goods, motor vehicles, car parts, and equipment – view a guide on importing vehicles here
• Takes over, collects, stores, and sells motor and trailer vehicles and vessels and their parts imported in Croatia and that are the subject of customs, administrative, or misdemeanor proceedings
• Selling vouchers to foreign drivers for the purchase of motor fuel – view a guide on driving and gas stations here
• Selling vouchers for the use of Croatian highways and road facilities – view a guide on highways and tolls here
• Providing technical assistance to drivers on Croatian roads

[Read: How to exchange a foreign driver’s license for a Croatian one]

[Read: How to import and register a boat in Croatia]

In addition, HAK is responsible for:

• Implementation of driving tests for driving categories and types of vehicles – view a guide on driver’s license categories here
• Supervision over entities that perform training of driving candidates
• Supervision over vehicle technical inspection stations
• Implementation of vehicle homologation – read about homologation here

[Read: How to register a car or motor vehicle and get an annual inspection in Croatia, including technical inspection]

What does membership in HAK cover in Croatia?

By joining HAK, you can get many benefits related to driving on Croatian roads and ensure they will help you in case of vehicle failures or traffic accidents.

Membership in HAK may include:

• Assistance on the road – diagnosis, troubleshooting, and transport in the event of a breakdown
• Vehicle transportation in the event of a traffic accident or theft
• Rent-a-car vehicle or public transport for the continuation of the trip or accommodation
• Vehicle repatriation – return of the vehicle to Croatia
• Storage of vehicle broken down or damaged in a traffic accident
• Tire replacement
• Technical inspections – engine operation, light adjustment
• Financial assistance in case of death or permanent physical damage
• Legal advice on road traffic and vehicles
• HAK journal
• Savings program HAK preporučuje (HAK recommends)

When joining HAK, you can choose between several types of models where each includes different width of services. Most of the services cover its help on the Croatian territory and roads. However, the model called Europa (Europe) also offers services around Europe. You can view a list of countries it covers here.

HAK’s membership price lists for basic and family models are available here.

How Croatian residents can become HAK members

The membership in HAK is tied to a person and not a vehicle. It is also possible to join the family, an additional member, or a legal person. An additional member is a person who will use your membership benefits together with you.

Joining HAK is possible in several ways:

• In person in HAK offices – view a list here
• In any car club in Croatia – view a list here
• By filling out this form
• By calling +385 (0)800 9987

If you are already a member of HAK and want to extend your membership or add an additional member, you can do it here.

How Croatian legal entities can become HAK members

If a legal person wishes to join HAK, for example, a Croatian company, they must choose a natural person as a beneficiary. They must pick a membership model and pay the annual membership fee. Legal persons can not be users of a family membership or have an additional member.

To become a member, legal persons must first fill out the application form for membership of a legal entity in HAK, which is available here. They must send it to Hrvatski autoklub, Avenija Dubrovnik 44, 10 000 Zagreb. Upon receipt of the mail, HAK will deliver them information on the membership payment.

More information on the membership of legal persons is available here.

How to track HAK’s information on travel in Croatia

HAK’s information center is available 24/7 by calling:

• +385 (0)72 777 777 from Croatia
• +385 (0)1 464 0800 from outside of Croatia

HAK provides the latest information on:

• Condition of highways, state and county roads – view a guide on roads here
• Situation at border crossings
• State of maritime traffic – view a boat travel guide here
• Fees for driving on highways in Croatia and abroad
• Movement bans for certain categories of vehicles in Croatia and some European countries – view a guide on vehicle categories here
• Traffic calendars
• Advice on choosing the most convenient route
• Timetable of ferries on the Adriatic

In addition, more than 25 radio and TV stations in Croatia transmit information about the condition and passability of the Croatian roads.

HAK’s traffic report is available in English here.

If you need help from HAK outside of Croatia, call +385 (0)1 1987 or +385 (0)1 4693 700.

HAK’s mobile application

HAK developed its own mobile application, which is more than useful for anyone who participates in the traffic on Croatian roads. The application is called Croatia Traffic Info – HAK.

The application includes:

• Parking service for payment by SMS in Croatia
• List of the nearest gas stations (seven companies)
• List of points of interest in Croatia
  • Airports – view Croatian airports here
  • ATMs
  • Banks – view Croatian banks here
  • Booths – view a guide on Tisak booth here
  • Car camps
  • Chain stores
  • Driving clubs
  • Driving schools – view a guide here
  • Gas stations – view a guide here
  • Hospitals
  • Hostels
  • Hotels
  • National parks – view a guide here
  • Nature parks
  • Parking lots and garages
  • Pharmacies
  • Police stations – view a list here
  • Post offices and lockers – learn about the Croatian postal office here
  • Technical inspection stations – view a guide here
  • Tourist boards – learn how tourists are registered at the police here
  • Wellness centers
• Fuel prices in Europe
• Tool for finding a parked car
• Overview of tolls in Croatia
• Easier access to HAK and essential services
• Easier search for HAK’s road assistance service
• Condition on the roads
• Live images from more than 150 cameras in Croatia
• Review of the TV show Promet info
• List of partners in HAK savings and loyalty systems
• List of radar controls
• Assistance at sea
• List of auto clubs associated with HAK
• Interactive map

[Read: Guide on driving in Croatia including highways, tolls, gas stations, car washes, and parking]

The application is available for Android here and iOS here.

How to rent a car from HAK

HAK and joining auto clubs have a separate company called HAK Rent a car d.o.o. that offers the service of short-term and long-term car rentals. HAK members can rent a car at special discounts.

HAK rent a car offers Ford, Hyundai, Opel, and VW vehicles. You can view its rental vehicles here.

Renting is available:

• Online here
• By HAK’s mobile application

View our other vehicle articles

• Electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in Croatia
• How to exchange a foreign driver’s license for a Croatian one
• How to get a driver’s license in Croatia
• How to import and register a boat in Croatia
• How to import your car and belongings to Croatia
• How to register a car or motor vehicle and get an annual inspection in Croatia
• How to take driving school (Autoškola)

Sources:
HAK
Zakon o sigurnosti prometa na cestama