Here in the UK, I have to put my car through an MOT test once a year to ensure its roadworthiness. If it fails the test, it’s literally illegal to drive the car. The MOT test checks that the car is safe to drive, and engine emissions are within legal limits. Is there any equivalent in USA? I appreciate different states may all have different laws.
39 comments
It varies by state. California and Maryland I know do
Michigan doesn’t
Not in Tennessee
Most states have some sort of inspection, but the levels vary greatly.
Nothing federal except for commercial trucking.
It’s entirely state-by-state. Some states have required vehicle inspection, other states have no inspection at all. And what is inspected and when is up to each state, for example new vehicles might not need to be inspected for the first 2 to 3 years.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_inspection_in_the_United_States
As with almost all things it’s regulated by the states:
Here’s a rundown
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_inspection_in_the_United_States
Not in Indiana. I believe Lake County has an emissions test and that’s about it
Most state do, some don’t, intensity and frequency vary a lot.
North Carolina requires a yearly safety inspection. It’s fairly cursory; they check to make sure the tires aren’t excessively worn, that the windshield wipers work, that the mirrors are there, that the lights work, that the horn works, etc. It’s not like they do NDT on the frame or anything.
But we are a federation, and that sort of thing is regulated at the state level, so there are more than 50 correct answers to this question.
Not here. At most, you get an emissions test when your car is 7 model years old or something like that.
There are required emissions tests here once your car reaches a certain age and if you are in a densely populated metro area. There are no safety inspections except the gas cap during the emissions inspection.
You can be ticketed for an unsafe car, though.
Not in Oklahoma
It’s regulated at the state and county level. Ohio doesn’t have an inspection, but PA does. Then in PA some counties require an emissions check while others don’t.
Like anything – rules will vary state to state.
Here in Massachusetts, you need to do a yearly ‘Inspection’.
It costs $35 and can be done at any mechanic – or some auto-parts retailers. You will get a sticker of completion to put in your front windshield.
And yes, part of the inspection is an engine emissions test.
If you fail any part of the inspection, you can get an ‘temporary extension’, which allows you to drive your car for another few weeks – to give you time to fix whatever issue to get re-inspected.
Otherwise, if your Massachusetts car has an expired inspection, it is illegal to drive.
If you come from a State that does not require an inspection into Massachusetts, that is *okay* because your car is not registered here. But if you want to resettle into Massachusetts permanently, you will need to get new plates, registration and pass an inspection. And we also mandate insurance (not all states do).
Not in Michigan.
In Arizona, I take my car every two years to a mandatory emissions inspection.
whether you live in a state with required inspections or not, there are still requirements for what’s on the road that police can see and take action on if need be.
you need 2 working headlights (I’ve been pulled over for this, but never ticketed. usually they just want to make sure you know about the issue). there are regulations around how dark windows can be tinted, as well as certain car accessories or modifications.
Maine and Rhode Island do. It’s annoying to get done every year but so it goes. They test safety and emissions.
I grew up in Florida. They did that up through the 70s, at least. It was cancelled some time in the 80s, I think.
It was a pain in the ass.
Illinois requires emissions testing for private vehicles in several counties with a fairly dense population but safety inspections are only for commercial vehicles
We have to get emissions tested every other year in Central Maryland, but TIL that it isn’t required everywhere in Maryland.
Yes in Arizona
Here in NJ it’s emissions only
Maybe in some states, here your car could be falling apart and no one in the government cares unless you injure or kill someone.
Virginia has a yearly inspection and, I think, northern Virginia adds the emissions test.
Every state is different. In California, if you have a vehicle with a ICE then you have to get it smogged either every other year or just when you sell it. Which rule you have to follow depends on where you live and the smog situation in that area.
For general road worthiness, I’ve only had to have that done with “salvaged” cars. I bought a car from a junkyard once because the only thing wrong with it was a blown head gasket. I fixed the head gasket, but because it had been in a junkyard, it had a “salvaged” title. As a result, I had to have a brake and light inspection before I could register and drive it.
Louisiana has that, you have to take it to a certified place and they check a bunch of stuff. Kansas and Florida don’t. The Atlanta metropolitan area requires just an emissions test (I think that’s all they check), but it’s not statewide. I think most of Georgia doesn’t require it.
Not in my state but North Carolina does yearly tests. Even then some counties within the state don’t require it. Each state has their own laws.
This might seem a stupid question (kind of a follow-on from the OP), but just interested. I am also from the UK(!).
Every US colleague noting it is a state thing.
Is the requirement determined by the state in which you are resident/where your vehicle is registered, *regardless* of where you happen to be driving? What I mean is, if you live in a state that *does not* require an annual check or has different regulations, can you then drive across a border into a state that *does* require such a check, or has different regulatory compliance, with no issue? Do police and/or other relevant officials only concern themselves, in that sense, with vehicles registered in their state (so ‘out of state’ plates would count as ‘not our jurisdiction’ etc)?
Wisconsin doesn’t have that, but Pennsylvania where my parents live does! Cars have to pass inspection at least once every few years.
In my state it depends on the county. My county just stopped doing emissions testing where they would check to see if you were polluting too much. Things like a broken light is up to the cops to notice and normally warn you or give you a ticket that can be thrown out by fixing it.
Pennsylvania has yearly inspection requirements for both safety and emissions.
Depends on the state. I wish they would bring it back in Florida. So many pieces of junk on the road.
Nope. Not here. I just pay online once a year and they send me tags.
It varies by state but, from my experience, no. Not like it is in the UK. I remember having to do a light conversion and something else on one of my cars before I could get my UK tags. Every year having to have both of my vehicles inspected and having to ask “Fix to pass”.
The only thing I have to do now that I’m back in the US, is get an annual smog check.
California, Nevada and Arizona only require a smog/emissions check for your yearly registration.
Emissions up north, full inspection down south, nothing in some states.
Here in Texas we have to get them inspected every year
We have no state inspection here in Georgia. Metro Atlanta counties do require an emissions inspection though.
But when I live in Pennsylvania yearly inspections were required. And what a scam that was. See, the state doesn’t perform the inspection. Independent mechanic shops were certified to do it. So they could tell you whatever they wanted was wrong with your car and you had no choice but to fix it. They could really scam someone who didn’t know about cars. The flip side of that is, if you know a certified mechanic, you can usually get him to pass your car for the right price.
Some states or parts of state require emissions testing but that’s it
Missouri gas a safety test. If you’re vehicle is on even # year model & it’s an even # year, you can get a 2 year inspection. Same for odd # models in odd years