Owning a car · 50 states and DC
Vehicle inspection cost by state
Whether you need an inspection at all depends on the state, sometimes on the county, and on the age and fuel of the car.
Built by Radif Partners · How the fees are calculated · Editorial policy
Inspection fees · Texas
$17
Due at purchase $2,594 · out the door $37,594
Then about $76 a year to renew.
| Motor vehicle sales tax (6.25%) | $2,187.50 |
| Title application fee (emissions county) | $33.00 |
| Registration fee (base + $1 TexasSure), 24 months (2 years) | $103.50 |
| County local fees (Harris County), 24 months (2 years) | $23.00 |
| Processing and handling fee (2 years) | $4.75 |
| Inspection program replacement fee (new vehicle, two years) (2 years) | $16.75 |
| Dealer documentation fee (no cap; $225 reference) | $225.00 |
TxDMV and Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts schedules read on 2026-10-11. Some lines have no single official amount and are listed apart. How this is calculated.
In 2026, 21 of the 51 jurisdictions require no periodic inspection for an ordinary private car, 28 require an emissions test in all or part of the state, and 15 keep a safety inspection (Delaware, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia). Texas ended safety inspections for non-commercial vehicles on January 1, 2025 and now collects a $7.50 replacement fee with registration instead, while 17 Texas counties still test emissions. New cars are usually exempt for their first years: three model years in metro Atlanta, eight in California before the first smog check. Prices are often set by the stations rather than by the state; where a state sets a fee or a cap, the calculator adds it (21 jurisdictions), and where it does not, the line is shown without an amount instead of an invented average.
Safety, emissions or nothing
Safety inspections check brakes, lights, tires and steering; emissions tests read the onboard diagnostics or measure the exhaust. Federal clean air rules push states with polluted metro areas to test emissions, which is why programs often cover a few counties around a large city rather than the whole state. Safety inspections are a state choice, and several states have dropped them in recent years.
Who sets the price
Three models exist. Some states set a single fee charged by every station. Others set a maximum and let stations charge less. Many leave the price to the market and only fix the state's share, often a certificate fee: California's stations must charge an $8.25 certificate fee, but the price of the smog check itself is free. The table below shows the official amount where one exists.
Exemptions that matter
New cars are exempt for their first model years in most programs, very old cars in some (Georgia exempts cars 25 model years or older), and electric cars from every emissions test. Counties outside the program area are exempt from emissions tests altogether, so the county field of the calculator matters here too.
Related pages
The smog check page focuses on emissions programs, California's in particular. The yearly cost of keeping a car registered, inspection included, is on the renewal page, and the full bill at purchase on the DMV fees calculator.
The 51 jurisdictions side by side
| State | Inspection | Official fee | Who must inspect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | none | – | Alabama has no safety or emissions inspection for private passenger cars. |
| Alaska | none | – | No safety or emissions inspection is required to register a passenger car. |
| Arizona | emissions | $16.15 | Emissions test in the Phoenix (every 2 years) and Tucson (every year) areas from the sixth registration year; electric vehicles exempt; no safety inspection. |
| Arkansas | none | – | No safety or emissions inspection is among the documents DFA requires to register a car. |
| California | emissions | $8.25 | Biennial smog check for gasoline and hybrid vehicles older than eight model years (smog abatement fee instead before that) and at change of ownership for vehicles older than four model years; electric vehicles are exempt. |
| Colorado | emissions | $35.00 | Emissions test every two years for gasoline and hybrid vehicles more than seven model years old in all or parts of Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, Jefferson, Larimer and Weld counties; no safety inspection. |
| Connecticut | emissions | $20.00 | Emissions test every two years for gasoline and hybrid cars from their fourth model year; electric cars are exempt; no periodic safety inspection. |
| Delaware | both | $0.00 | Safety and emissions inspection at the DMV's own lanes, free, every two years; vehicles in their first seven model years are exempt. |
| District of Columbia | emissions | $35.00 | Emissions inspection every two years at the DC inspection station, paid with the registration; brand-new cars get a four-year sticker and electric cars a non-expiring one. |
| Florida | none | – | No safety or emissions inspection for private passenger vehicles. |
| Georgia | emissions | – | Yearly emissions test in 13 metro Atlanta counties for gasoline cars and light trucks except the three newest model years and those 25 model years or older; no safety inspection. |
| Hawaii | safety | $25.75 | Yearly safety inspection at a permitted station everywhere in Hawaii; a new car's first certificate covers two years; no emissions test. |
| Idaho | none | – | No inspection for passenger cars; Ada County's emissions testing program ended on June 30, 2023. |
| Illinois | emissions | $0.00 | OBD emissions test every two years for gasoline cars once they are four years old, only in the Chicago and Metro-East test areas; no safety inspection for private cars. |
| Indiana | emissions | – | Emissions test every other year in Lake and Porter counties for gasoline cars and light trucks, except the four newest model years; no safety inspection. |
| Iowa | none | – | No periodic safety or emissions inspection for passenger cars. |
| Kansas | none | – | No periodic inspection; a used vehicle titled in another state needs a one-time Kansas Highway Patrol VIN check (minimum $20) before titling. |
| Kentucky | none | – | No periodic inspection; a vehicle brought from another state is inspected once by the sheriff's certified inspector before titling ($15 for an individual). |
| Louisiana | both | $10.00 to $18.00 | Yearly safety inspection (brake tag) statewide through 2026, plus an emissions test in Ascension, East Baton Rouge, Iberville, Livingston and West Baton Rouge; the sticker ends elsewhere on January 1, 2027. |
| Maine | both | $12.50 to $18.50 | Yearly safety inspection for every registered car; in Cumberland County it is an enhanced inspection that adds the OBD emissions check for 1996 and newer models. |
| Maryland | both | $30.00 | Safety inspection at a licensed station before a used car is titled; VEIP emissions test every two years in Baltimore City and 13 counties (Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Calvert, Carroll, Cecil, Charles, Frederick, Harford, Howard, Montgomery, Prince George's, Queen Anne's, Washington). |
| Massachusetts | both | $35.00 | Every registered car needs a yearly safety and emissions inspection ($35), within 7 days of registration for a newly bought car; cars under 15 years with OBD also take the emissions test. |
| Michigan | none | – | Michigan has no safety or emissions inspection for passenger cars. |
| Minnesota | none | – | Minnesota has no safety or emissions inspection for passenger cars. |
| Mississippi | none | – | Mississippi has no periodic safety or emissions inspection for private passenger cars. |
| Missouri | both | $0.00 to $12.00 | Safety inspection every other year for vehicles more than 10 model years old or with 150,000 miles or more; emissions test every other year in the City of St. Louis and St. Louis, St. Charles and Jefferson counties. |
| Montana | none | – | Montana has no periodic safety or emissions inspection for private passenger cars. |
| Nebraska | none | – | No periodic safety or emissions inspection; a $10 sheriff's identification inspection is required only for a vehicle brought from another state, an assembled vehicle or a salvage title. |
| Nevada | emissions | – | Yearly emissions test for gasoline cars based in the urban areas of Clark and Washoe counties from the fourth registration of a new car (hybrids from their sixth model year); electric cars are exempt. |
| New Hampshire | none | – | The yearly state safety and emissions inspection has been suspended since February 2026 after its repeal; stations no longer issue stickers while the federal court case continues. |
| New Jersey | both | $0.00 | Safety and emissions inspection every two years, after a five-year exemption for new cars; 100% electric vehicles are exempt. Free at state inspection facilities, for a fee at licensed private facilities. |
| New Mexico | emissions | – | Air Care emissions test for cars registered in Albuquerque-Bernalillo County (new cars exempt for 4 years, also due at change of ownership); no safety inspection. |
| New York | both | $21.00 to $37.00 | Yearly safety inspection for every car and at each change of owner, plus an OBD II emissions test except for cars under two model years, over 25 model years, and electric cars. |
| North Carolina | both | $13.60 to $30.00 | Annual safety inspection statewide; OBD emissions test at the same visit in 19 counties for gasoline cars from 3 to 19 years old. |
| North Dakota | none | – | No safety or emissions inspection for passenger cars in North Dakota. |
| Ohio | emissions | – | E-Check every two years in Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Portage and Summit counties for gasoline and diesel cars from 6 years old (non-plug-in hybrids from 7) through 26 years old; no safety inspection. |
| Oklahoma | none | – | No safety or emissions inspection for registered passenger cars in Oklahoma. |
| Oregon | emissions | $20.00 to $25.00 | DEQ emissions test every two years inside the Portland-area and Medford-area boundaries; cars of the last four model years and all-electric cars are exempt; no safety inspection. |
| Pennsylvania | both | – | Yearly safety inspection for most passenger cars and light trucks statewide, plus an emissions inspection in the counties of the state's emissions program; stations set the price. |
| Rhode Island | both | $55.00 | Statewide safety and emissions inspection every 24 months (safety only for fully electric cars); new cars are exempt for 2 years or 24,000 miles. |
| South Carolina | none | – | No safety or emissions inspection for private passenger cars. |
| South Dakota | none | – | No safety or emissions inspection for passenger cars. |
| Tennessee | none | – | No safety or emissions inspection: emissions testing ended on January 14, 2022 in Hamilton, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson and Wilson counties and on February 4, 2022 in Davidson County. |
| Texas | emissions | $2.75 | Safety inspections ended for non-commercial vehicles on January 1, 2025 (a $7.50 inspection program replacement fee is paid with registration instead); emissions tests remain in 17 counties around Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin and El Paso, with new vehicles exempt for two years. |
| Utah | emissions | – | Emissions inspection in Salt Lake, Davis, Utah, Weber and Cache counties, every two years until the car is six and every year after; cars less than two years old and electric cars are exempt. |
| Vermont | both | – | Every registered vehicle needs a safety inspection once a year, plus an OBD emissions inspection for vehicles 16 model years old or less, within 15 days of registering in Vermont. |
| Virginia | both | $2.00 | Emissions inspection in Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William and Stafford counties and five Northern Virginia cities ($2 yearly emissions fee with registration); statewide safety inspection by stations. |
| Washington | none | – | No safety or emissions inspection: the emission check program ended on January 1, 2020. |
| West Virginia | safety | $0.00 to $19.00 | Every registered vehicle needs a safety inspection once every two years at a station licensed by the West Virginia State Police, within 10 days of buying a car that has no valid sticker. |
| Wisconsin | emissions | – | Emissions test every two years from the fourth model year for gasoline, diesel and hybrid cars kept in Kenosha, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Sheboygan, Washington and Waukesha counties; no safety inspection. |
| Wyoming | none | – | No periodic safety or emissions inspection for passenger cars; a $10 VIN inspection applies in the cases W.S. 31-2-103 lists, such as a vehicle coming from another state. |