Inspections and Registrations
How the new Texas car inspection law affects end-of-year stickers
Texas inspection sticker
Beginning January 1, 2025, Texas vehicle owners will no longer be required to obtain a safety inspection prior to vehicle registration.
House Bill 3297, passed during the 88th Legislature in 2023, abolishes the vehicle safety inspection program for regular cars and trucks. (The Department of Motor Vehicles notes that commercial vehicles will still be required to undergo safety inspections.)
Texas will now join the 36 other states in the U.S. that do not require safety inspections. This change means that car or truck owners will now take personal responsibility for making sure that what they drive doesn’t pose a danger to anyone inside or outside of the vehicle.
Texas State Sen. Mayes Middleton spoke for us all in May 2023 when he said that “vehicle inspections are costly, time consuming and provide little benefit to public safety."
Fees
Drivers will still have to pay the annual $7.50 safety inspection fee, under a new name: Inspection Program Replacement Fee, as part of the registration fee. Those registering a new car will pay a $16.75 Inspection Program Replacement Fee to cover the first two years.
Emissions
While the safety inspection is a thing of the past, emissions is not: 17 counties will still have to submit to emissions inspections prior to registration.
Emissions inspection tests are still required in these 17 counties:
- Houston-Galveston area: Brazoria, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, and Montgomery counties
- Dallas-Fort Worth area: Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall, and Tarrant counties
- Austin area: Travis and Williamson counties
- El Paso County
Slacker info
In a statement, Staff Sgt. Rob Mallory with the Texas Highway Patrol says that "if your inspection is expiring in the next couple of months, you still need to go down and get your state inspection done in order to renew your vehicle registration for another year."
And according to a representative from the DMV, you have five business days after your current sticker expires to get a new one. This refutes common urban legends such as "you have 10 days," "you have 30 days," and "you have 6 months."
However, let's say you're a slacker whose sticker expires in December (or even November, if you're a real slacker) — and you don't renew your registration until January. You could theoretically get away with not having to get an inspection. They won't make the safety inspection retroactive.
For non-slackers: Ensure your vehicle has passed an inspection no earlier than 90 days before renewal, and include a copy of the passing Vehicle Inspection Report (VIR) if it cannot be electronically verified. Plus a copy of current proof of insurance.
