Emissions Inspections

Requirements

If your vehicle is garaged in the counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, Prince William, or Stafford, or the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Manassas or Manassas Park, your vehicle must meet the emissions inspection requirements. Inspections are valid for two years and may be obtained by having your vehicle inspected by a certified emissions inspection station.

No vehicle subject to an emissions inspection will be registered or reregistered by DMV until it has passed an emissions inspection or has been issued an emissions inspection waiver directly from DEQ for special circumstances.

When you have your vehicle inspected, the emissions station will update your vehicle record at DMV immediately. For emission inspection program fees and information or to find the location of the inspection station nearest to you, please visit the Department of Environmental Quality at (703) 583-3900 or toll free in Virginia at 1-800-275-3844.

Exemptions

1. If your vehicle is being registered for the first time in Virginia and has a current valid emissions certificate (performed in the last 12 months) from one of the following states, it may be titled and registered without a Virginia emissions inspection:
   
   Arizona
   California
   Colorado
   Connecticut
   District of Columbia
   Georgia
   Illinois
   Indiana
   Maryland
   Massachusetts
   Missouri
   New Jersey
   New York
   North Carolina
   Ohio
   Oregon
   Pennsylvania
   Tennessee
   Texas
   Utah
   Washington
   Wisconsin
2. Motor vehicles exempted from emissions inspections include:
   
   • Motorcycles
   • Gasoline powered passenger or property carrying vehicles with a model year that is more than 25 years old before January 1 of the current calendar year.
     
     EXAMPLE: Vehicles with a model year of 1984 are exempt from emissions on or after January 1, 2009; vehicles with a model year of 1985 will be exempt from emissions on or after January 1, 2010.
     
     Vehicles 25 years old or older qualify as antique motor vehicles but are not required to display antique license plates to qualify for the emissions exemption. Although exempt from the emissions inspection, the $2 emissions fee is required when renewing these registrations.
   • Gasoline powered passenger or property carrying vehicles with a manufacturer's designated gross vehicle weight rating of more than 10,000 pounds.
   • Diesel powered vehicles
     
     NOTE: Diesel powered vehicles are not exempt from the emissions testing program requirements when they have:
     1. A model year newer than 1996, and
     2. A Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) less than 8,501 lbs., (if GVWR is not available, empty and gross weights will be used) and
     3. A registration that expires in July 2007 or later.
   • Vehicles exclusively powered by clean fuel, including:
     • Compressed Natural Gas
     • Electricity
     • Liquefied Natural Gas
     • Solar Energy
   • Vehicles being titled for the first time in Virginia with a Manufacturer's Certification of Origin (MCO).
   • Qualified hybrid motor vehicles - Toyota Prius and Honda Insight model year 2007 or earlier, and the 2010 Toyota Prius. All Toyota Prius and Honda Insight models are subject to the $2 per year emissions fee when renewing the vehicle registration as required by the DEQ, Virginia Code § 46.2-1182.1.

Emissions Inspections and Vehicle Registrations

To avoid delays in obtaining your vehicle registration from DMV, have your emissions inspection completed before you apply to DMV for registration. DMV is limited to issuing a one-time only 30-day temporary registration if the vehicle owner is unable to produce proof of successfully passing an emission inspection. The customer will be charged a prorated registration fee for the one-month registration. There is no grace period allowed to obtain the safety inspection when Virginia tags are displayed.

Don't forget, you can renew your vehicle registration via the Internet, touchtone, by mail, or at any customer service center.