Texas to remove annual vehicle inspections

The Texas Department of Public Safety announced upcoming changes to the state’s “Vehicle Safety Inspection Program.”

Beginning Jan. 1 of next year, non-commercial vehicles will no longer need a vehicle safety inspection prior to registration.

This is the result of House Bill 3297, which was passed by the 88th Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott in 2023.

There will, however, be an inspection program replacement fee of $7.50. This fee will be added to the total when one registers his or her vehicle with the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles.

New vehicles purchased in Texas that have not been previously registered in Texas or another state are required to pay an initial inspection program replacement fee of $16.75 to cover two years.

While comprehensive vehicle safety inspections will be eliminated for non-commercial vehicles, Texans whose vehicles are registered in emission counties will still be required to have emissions tests, according to the DPS.

These tests are required in major metropolitan areas including Brazoria, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, and Montgomery counties as well as Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall, Tarrant, Travis, Williamson, and El Paso counties. Bexar County will be added to the list of counties requiring emission tests beginning in 2026.

Clinton Darilek of Darilek Automotive in Shiner said he believes this law is detrimental to drivers.

“I’ve been in this business for eight years, and we’ve required inspections throughout those eight years,” he said. “This could cause a lot of cars on the road to fail. People could have flats on their tires, busted out lights. I could see it happening where there could be more wrecks on the road.”

Darilek said that while the state may no longer require mandatory inspections, he intends to provide one with every oil change that comes into his shop.

Texas was one of just 13 states that mandated annual inspections for all vehicles.

Commercial vehicles in all counties will still be required to obtain a passing vehicle safety inspection. Because they will be required to pay for that safety inspection, commercial vehicles will be exempt from the inspection program replacement fee.