Smog Check Rules in California

The State of California has laws in place to protect people from the hazards of air pollution. One of the worst offenders, and one that can be regulated and controlled, are car emissions. Vehicle exhaust systems used to emit particles that would hang in the air and keep it polluted. With the development of new technologies, such as the catalytic converter, combustion engine exhaust systems no longer emit such horrendous pollution into the air that people breathe.

About Smog Checks

• Smog checks are required during a vehicle's first registration in California, and once every two years afterward. This rule applies to 1976 model year and newer passenger vehicles and trucks powered by gasoline, propane, natural gas, diesel, and methanol or ethanol fuels. Smog Inspections are required every time a vehicle is sold or bought in the state of California. The DMV does not allow a vehicle to be registered during a title transfer until a valid smog check certificate can be produced. Every other time a vehicle registration is renewed, it must have a smog certificate, a printout of the vehicle's emissions test results. The vehicle must be registered within 90 days of the date of the emissions test. Vehicles can be tested at a smog check station, and their locations can be found online at the Department of Consumer Affairs Bureau of Automotive Repair.

Smog Abatement Fee

• If your vehicle is six or less model years old, you are not required to get a smog certification if you pay the annual $24 smog abatement fee at the Department of Motor Vehicles. A smog certificate is not required in order to transfer the car's title when a vehicle that is four or less model years old. The buyer however, must pay the smog transfer fee that, as of August 2010, is $8. The only time the fee does not have to be paid or a smog certificate does not have to be provided is if the vehicle is transferred from one spouse to another, between siblings, children, parent, grandparent, or grandchild, or if the vehicle was registered and its biennial smog certification was submitted to the DMV within 90 days before the title transfer date.

Special Testing Procedures

• Special Testing Procedures are required for Gross Polluters only. These vehicles are categorized as Test Only and State Referee Inspections. If a vehicle requires theses types of inspections, the DMV paperwork will tell you.

Exemptions

• Vehicles exempt from the California Smog Check Program as of August 2010 are hybrid powered cars, two-wheel motorcycles, diesal cars and trucks that are 1997 model year and older, deisel tucks over 14,500 GVW, motor vehicles with one- or two-cylinder engines, two-stroke engines (excluding rotary engines), engines under 819 cc, 1975 models year or older, and if the model is six years old or younger (unless it is for initial registration or transferal of title of ownership).

  A vehicle is exempt from a smog Check when they are 30 yrs old, which is any motor vehicle manufactured prior to 1976 model year. All vehicles that are younger than 30 yrs are to be tested according to California State Emissions Law. If your car is 6 yrs old or newer, it is exempt from having to have a smog check, unless the Air Resource Board has deteremined that a 5th or 6th model year vehicle would prevent the State from meeting the requirements of the Federal Clean Air Act. This rule does not apply to nonresident or custom-built cars that have been made since 1976. These vehicles still need to get a smog certification.

Hybrid Electric Vehicles

• Hybrid Electric Vehicles are exempt from the smog test because their emissions cannot be tested with current emissions test procedures. Because they cannot be tested, the owners of such vehicles receive an exemption certificate that verifies that they are hybrid vehicles.

Diesel Smog Check

• Effective January 1, 2010, all diesel vehicles, cars, and trucks model year 1998 and newer that weigh under 14,500 pounds GVWR need a Diesel Smog Check. This check is a visual inspection of the vehicle's emissions and/or smog components, a system check of the On Board Diagnostics system, a visual smoke check for excessive black smoke and an EVAP functional test. Any vehicle that fails the diesel smog test must be repaired at a diesel repair shop.

Counties that Require Inspection

• If a vehicle doesn't fall under any of the above categories, check to see if you live in a county that requires a smog inspection. The counties in the State of California that do require a smog inspection are Alameda, Butte, Colusa, Contra Costa, Fresno, Glenn, Kern, Kings, Los Angeles, Madera, Marin, Merced, Monterey, Napa, Nevada, Orange, Sacramento, San Benito, San Francisco, San Jaoquin, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Solano, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Tulare, Ventura, Yolo, and Yuba. Six counties require smog certificates only within certain zip codes: El Dorado, Placer, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Sonoma county.

Failing Inspection

• If the vehicle fails inspection, it must be repaired, re-tested, and must pass inspection before it can be registered. If the state determines that the vehicle fails a smog check, the DMV sends a registration renewal notice that states: Smog Certification Required at Test-Only Station. The vehicle must then be taken to a test-only station. The vehicles that are likely to get this type of notice are those that fall under the High Emitter Profile.