California smog check rules

Do you need one?

California asks for a smog check every other year, at registration renewal.

Your DMV renewal notice tells you when yours is due.

Cars eight model years old and newer skip the test. You pay a smog abatement fee with registration instead.

Add eight to your model year and you have the first check. A 2019 comes due in 2027.

Vehicles that never need one

Some vehicles are out of the program for good:

• Gasoline, hybrid, and alternative-fuel: 1975 and older
• Diesel: 1997 and older
• Diesel over 14,000 lbs gross vehicle weight
• Natural gas over 14,000 lbs gross vehicle weight
• Electric vehicles
• Motorcycles

Everything else registered in California is in the program.

What it costs

The state does not set the price. Each station picks its own, so it moves by city and by shop.

In Folsom it generally runs $40 to $70.

Compare every Folsom station →

Buying or selling a car

The seller supplies the smog certificate, and it has to be under 90 days old.

Cars four model years old and newer are exempt. The buyer pays a smog transfer fee at DMV instead.

Transfers between immediate family members need no test.

Moving to California

You get 20 days to register after you move here.

An out-of-state car needs a smog check to register, and the eight-year exemption does not apply to it.

It also has to be certified to California emissions standards. Check the label under the hood.

DMV smog rules

When DMV requires a STAR station

Your renewal notice either says STAR or it does not.

STAR stations meet higher state performance standards. Only they can certify the vehicles the state directs to them.

If the notice stays quiet, any smog station can test you.

5 of Folsom's 14 stations are STAR certified:

• Smog It Up 7530 Folsom Auburn Rd
• Folsom Motor Works, LLC 703 Bidwell St
• Folsom Smog Test Only 81 Natoma St Ste 100
• Smog N Go 1300 Praarie City Road Ste B
• Speedee Oil Change & Auto Service 6604 Folsom - Auburn Rd

BAR STAR program

Test-only vs test & repair

Test-only stations inspect. They cannot do the repairs.

Test-and-repair stations do both.

Repair-only shops fix cars but cannot certify them.

11 of Folsom's 14 stations can also do the repairs.

If you fail

You leave with a vehicle inspection report listing why it failed.

Fix what the report names, then come back for a retest.

Go back to a STAR station if your notice said STAR. Otherwise any smog station can retest you.

The station sends the certificate to DMV. It is good for 90 days.

Folsom stations that can repair and retest in one stop:

• Folsom Motor Works, LLC 703 Bidwell St
• Folsom Chevrolet 12655 Auto Mall Cir
• Future Nissan Of Folsom 12610 Auto Mall Cr.
• Folsom Autotech 1126 A Sibley St
• Hyundai Of Folsom, LLC 12530 Auto Mall Circle
• Folsom Lake Ford 12755 Folsom Blvd

Help paying for repairs

California pays toward emissions repairs through the Consumer Assistance Program.

Up to $1,450 for a 1996 or newer car, up to $1,100 for 1976 through 1995.

There is an income limit: 225% of the federal poverty level. The car has to have failed its biennial check.

Repairs go through a STAR test-and-repair station under contract with the state, and you cover a co-payment.

The state will also pay to retire a car instead of repairing it.

Call (866) 272-9642

Apply at bar.ca.gov