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Smog Check Executive Summary Report
August 2023

Download Data (.csv)
  • Initial Tests
  • Initial Test Failures
  • Certification
  • Inspection and Repair Costs
  • Stations and Technicians
  • Smog Check Requirements by Vehicle Type

Initial Tests

Testing Volume

Test Type Performed Failed Failure Rate
Initial Test 984,114 85,447 8.68%
All Tests 1,067,868 98,639 9.24%

Initial Tests Performed by STAR Stations

Vehicle Type Test-and-Repair Station Initial Tests Test-Only Station Initial Tests Test-and-Repair Station Certificates Issued Test-Only Station Certificates Issued
Directed 102,297 245,095 90,128 216,485
Non-Directed 164,213 312,175 150,479 288,757
Total 266,510 557,270 240,607 505,242

Initial Tests Performed by Non-STAR Stations

Vehicle Type Test-and-Repair Station Initial Tests Test-Only Station Initial Tests Test-and-Repair Station Certificates Issued Test-Only Station Certificates Issued
Directed 129 36 5 2
Non-Directed 129,792 25,810 121,076 23,954
Total 129,921 25,846 121,081 23,956

BAR-97 Initial Tests by Vehicle Model Year

Model Year Initial Tests Failed Overall Overall Failure Rate Emissions Failure Rate Gross Polluter Failure Rate Functional Failure Rate Visual Failure Rate OBDII Failure Rate
1976 387 88 22.74% 17.83% 6.72% 7.49% 3.88% NA
1977 482 116 24.07% 17.01% 5.81% 11.41% 5.81% NA
1978 574 113 19.69% 14.98% 5.92% 6.79% 3.31% NA
1979 582 150 25.77% 17.53% 7.56% 12.37% 6.87% NA
1980 345 61 17.68% 12.46% 5.51% 6.96% 3.48% NA
1981 393 93 23.66% 20.36% 9.92% 9.16% 5.34% NA
1982 372 88 23.66% 17.20% 6.72% 9.14% 4.84% NA
1983 534 134 25.09% 19.29% 8.61% 7.87% 5.24% NA
1984 789 192 24.33% 19.26% 7.22% 9.13% 5.20% NA
1985 1,102 238 21.60% 15.97% 5.35% 8.71% 5.90% NA
1986 1,479 325 21.97% 15.69% 5.68% 8.92% 4.67% NA
1987 1,694 370 21.84% 15.23% 6.14% 9.33% 4.37% NA
1988 1,931 438 22.68% 15.90% 4.61% 9.68% 4.14% NA
1989 2,660 530 19.92% 13.95% 3.91% 8.20% 3.16% NA
1990 2,863 555 19.39% 13.06% 4.26% 8.45% 2.93% NA
1991 3,350 688 20.54% 14.48% 4.09% 8.60% 3.10% NA
1992 3,203 645 20.14% 14.21% 3.97% 8.12% 3.59% NA
1993 4,120 853 20.70% 14.39% 3.23% 8.50% 3.30% NA
1994 4,754 1,058 22.25% 15.02% 3.07% 9.53% 3.77% NA
1995 6,957 1,325 19.05% 13.01% 2.30% 7.79% 3.13% NA
1996 5,978 1,125 18.82% 10.02% 1.66% 10.32% 2.48% 10.32%
1997 11,045 2,031 18.39% 8.62% 1.21% 10.76% 2.60% 10.73%
1998 11,454 2,093 18.27% 8.01% 1.27% 10.58% 3.13% 10.58%
1999 18,224 2,861 15.70% 5.22% 0.90% 10.45% 2.77% 10.43%
2000 293 37 12.63% 8.19% 3.07% 3.07% 3.75% 3.07%
2001 255 18 7.06% 4.71% 0.78% 1.18% 2.35% 1.18%
2002 235 20 8.51% 5.53% 2.13% 2.13% 2.55% 2.13%
2003 333 24 7.21% 4.50% 1.80% 2.70% 1.80% 2.70%
2004 275 9 3.27% 1.45% 0.00% 0.73% 1.45% 0.73%
2005 336 17 5.06% 3.57% 1.49% 0.60% 0.89% 0.60%
2006 281 14 4.98% 2.85% 1.42% 0.36% 2.14% 0.36%
2007 296 22 7.43% 4.73% 1.01% 1.35% 2.36% 1.35%
2008 220 8 3.64% 2.27% 0.00% 0.45% 1.36% 0.45%
2009 127 4 3.15% 0.79% 0.00% 0.00% 3.15% 0.00%
2010 50 1 2.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 2.00% 0.00%
2011 242 0 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
2012 147 1 0.68% 0.68% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
2013 288 4 1.39% 0.69% 0.00% 0.35% 0.35% 0.35%
2014 157 1 0.64% 0.64% 0.64% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
2015 387 5 1.29% 0.78% 0.52% 0.52% 0.00% 0.52%
2016 90 0 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
2017 75 2 2.67% 2.67% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
2018 67 0 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
2019 57 0 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
2020 66 0 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
2021 29 2 6.90% 0.00% 0.00% 6.90% 0.00% 6.90%
2022 83 1 1.20% 1.20% 1.20% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
2023 302 2 0.66% 0.33% 0.00% 0.33% 0.00% 0.33%
2024 31 0 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Other 1 0 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% NA
All Model Years 89,995 16,362 18.18% 10.21% 2.40% 9.21% 3.10% 9.64%

Note: Some model year 1975 and older vehicles required a Referee inspection (for example, engine changes). Vehicle model years 2000 and newer were tested on the BAR-97 because they may not be compatible with the OIS test (for example, a non-OBD-II certified vehicle).

OIS Initial Tests by Vehicle Model Year

Model Year Initial Tests Failed Overall Overall Failure Rate Functional Failure Rate Visual Failure Rate OBDII Failure Rate OBDII Readiness Failure Rate Smoke and/or Liquid Leak Failure Rate
1996 2 0 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
1997 6 1 16.67% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
1998 150 15 10.00% 7.33% 1.33% 7.33% 6.00% 0.00%
1999 666 70 10.51% 8.86% 1.95% 8.41% 4.65% 0.45%
2000 19,739 3,190 16.16% 14.26% 3.23% 14.02% 10.16% 0.23%
2001 32,556 4,653 14.29% 12.65% 2.73% 12.46% 9.17% 0.19%
2002 25,134 3,633 14.45% 12.60% 3.12% 12.39% 8.58% 0.21%
2003 46,524 5,475 11.77% 10.16% 2.46% 9.98% 6.83% 0.18%
2004 32,273 4,010 12.43% 10.72% 2.60% 10.52% 7.13% 0.20%
2005 55,348 5,650 10.21% 8.76% 2.02% 8.63% 5.93% 0.13%
2006 38,167 3,896 10.21% 8.68% 2.13% 8.53% 5.66% 0.15%
2007 67,184 5,231 7.79% 6.53% 1.59% 6.44% 4.37% 0.09%
2008 34,074 2,969 8.71% 7.60% 1.56% 7.44% 5.02% 0.16%
2009 45,287 3,005 6.64% 5.91% 0.98% 5.80% 4.05% 0.12%
2010 28,864 2,327 8.06% 7.37% 0.98% 7.32% 3.28% 0.04%
2011 58,348 3,738 6.41% 5.88% 0.70% 5.83% 2.76% 0.05%
2012 29,698 2,581 8.69% 7.94% 1.05% 7.85% 3.38% 0.08%
2013 103,322 5,202 5.03% 4.51% 0.65% 4.48% 2.14% 0.03%
2014 29,381 2,017 6.86% 6.20% 0.76% 6.15% 2.93% 0.05%
2015 138,300 6,171 4.46% 3.94% 0.62% 3.91% 1.87% 0.03%
2016 17,922 991 5.53% 5.09% 0.54% 5.08% 2.66% 0.01%
2017 18,720 936 5.00% 4.68% 0.33% 4.65% 3.02% 0.03%
2018 16,951 796 4.70% 4.35% 0.35% 4.34% 2.84% 0.01%
2019 19,434 911 4.69% 4.45% 0.23% 4.44% 3.34% 0.01%
2020 12,261 578 4.71% 4.53% 0.18% 4.50% 3.48% 0.02%
2021 12,391 478 3.86% 3.65% 0.23% 3.64% 2.79% 0.01%
2022 6,981 274 3.92% 3.81% 0.11% 3.81% 3.19% 0.00%
2023 4,242 261 6.15% 6.11% 0.05% 6.08% 5.42% 0.02%
2024 199 25 12.56% 12.56% 0.00% 12.56% 12.56% 0.00%
Other 9 2 22.22% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
All Model Years 894,133 69,086 7.73% 6.82% 1.27% 6.73% 4.16% 0.09%

Note: Some model year 1999 and older vehicles required a Referee inspection, were tested at Beta stations, or were 1998/1999 model year diesels.

Initial Test Failures

Initial Test Failures by Failure Type

Failure Type OIS BAR-97
Failed Failure Rate Failed Failure Rate
All Emissions NA NA 9,190 10.21%
All Visual 11,361 1.27% 2,787 3.10%
All Functional 60,962 6.82% 8,292 9.21%
OBDII 60,177 6.73% 4,957 9.64%
Overall 69,086 7.73% 16,362 18.18%

Initial Test Failures by Program Area

Program Area OIS BAR-97
Initial Tests Failed Failure Rate Initial Tests Failed Failure Rate
Enhanced 772,375 59,786 7.74% 74,438 13,906 18.68%
Partial 43,737 3,471 7.94% 4,509 900 19.96%
Basic 72,498 5,443 7.51% 10,427 1,438 13.79%
Change of Ownership 5,523 386 6.99% 621 118 19.00%
All Program Areas 894,133 69,086 7.73% 89,995 16,362 18.18%

Initial Test Failures by Station Type

Station Type OIS BAR-97
Initial Tests Failed Failure Rate Initial Tests Failed Failure Rate
STAR Test-Only 503,677 40,802 8.10% 53,593 9,769 18.23%
Non-STAR Test-Only 23,707 1,550 6.54% 2,139 221 10.33%
STAR Test-and-Repair 240,008 19,303 8.04% 26,502 5,241 19.78%
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 122,675 6,910 5.63% 7,246 1,015 14.01%
Test-and-Repair/Dealer 2,073 92 4.44% 28 2 7.14%
Business Fleet 307 3 0.98% 0 0 0.00%
Permanent Fleet Registered 11 1 9.09% 0 0 0.00%
Referee 465 355 76.34% 76 35 46.05%
Government Fleet 1,210 70 5.79% 411 79 19.22%
All Stations 894,133 69,086 7.73% 89,995 16,362 18.18%

BAR-97 Initial Test Failure Rate by Vehicle Model Year

BAR-97 Initial Test Failure Rate by Vehicle Model Year. A visual representation of the data of the chart in the BAR-97 Initial Tests by Vehicle Model Year table from 1976 to 1999.

Note: Please see tabular data in the BAR-97 Initial Tests by Vehicle Model Year table for BAR-97 tests conducted on other vehicle model years not shown in chart.

OIS Initial Test Failure Rate by Vehicle Model Year

A chart showing OIS initial test failure rate by vehicle model year 2000 to 2019. The chart is a visual display of the OIS Initial Tests by Vehicle Model Year table.

Note: Please see tabular data in the OIS Initial Tests by Vehicle Model Year table for OIS tests conducted on other vehicle model years not shown in chart.

Certification

Certification Volume

Test Type Certificates Issued Total Certificates Issued Percent No Certificates Issued No Certificates Issued Percent
Initial Test 893,326 90.77% 90,788 9.23%
All Tests 963,345 90.21% 104,523 9.79%

Certification Volume by Station Type1

Station Type Certificates Issued on Initial Test Total Certificates Issued Percent No Certificates Issued on Initial Test Total No Certificates Issued Percent
STAR Test-Only 505,242 90.66% 52,028 9.34%
Non-STAR Test-Only 23,956 92.69% 1,890 7.31%
STAR Test-and-Repair 240,607 90.28% 25,903 9.72%
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 121,081 93.20% 8,840 6.80%
All Stations 890,886 90.95% 88,661 9.05%

1 Note: Excludes Basic area dealer, Fleets and Referee stations

Inspection and Repair Costs

Inspection Costs by Station and Test Type1

Station Type BAR-97 Initial Test Count Average BAR-97 Inspection Cost OIS Initial Test Count Average OIS Inspection Cost Total Initial Test Count Overall Average Inspection Cost
STAR Test-and-Repair 26,301 $67.89 239,445 $55.62 265,746 $56.83
STAR Test-Only 52,545 $58.63 502,095 $61.30 554,640 $61.05
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 7,133 $64.57 121,881 $62.92 129,014 $63.01
Non-STAR Test-Only 2,087 $50.50 23,643 $51.84 25,730 $51.73
Test-and-Repair/Dealer 28 $65.46 2,069 $63.95 2,097 $63.97
Total 88,094 $61.69 889,133 $59.75 977,227 $59.92

1 Note: Smog Check Inspectors are asked to enter their inspection costs once per month. These costs may or may not include any discounts and may not reflect the actual inspection cost. Additionally, inspection costs entries in excess of $99 cannot be entered into the BAR-97 software.

Inspection Costs by Station and Equipment Type1

Station Type BAR-97 Equipment Only OIS Equipment Only Both Equipment (BAR-97 and OIS)
BAR-97 Initial Test Count Average BAR-97 Inspection Cost OIS Initial Test Count Average OIS Inspection Cost BAR-97 Inspection Count Average BAR-97 Inspection Cost OIS Initial Test Count Average OIS Inspection Cost
STAR Test-and-Repair 6 $70.83 13,258 $58.34 26,295 $67.89 226,187 $55.46
STAR Test-Only 69 $63.82 19,328 $53.90 52,476 $58.62 482,767 $61.60
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 0 $0.00 80,025 $68.81 7,133 $64.57 41,856 $51.65
Non-STAR Test-Only 0 $0.00 11,076 $58.76 2,087 $50.50 12,567 $45.74
Test-and-Repair/Dealer 0 $0.00 1,881 $63.35 28 $65.46 188 $69.94
Total 75 $64.38 125,568 $64.44 88,019 $61.68 763,565 $58.98

1 Note: Smog Check Inspectors are asked to enter their inspection costs once per month. These costs may or may not include any discounts and may not reflect the actual inspection cost. Additionally, inspection costs entries in excess of $99 cannot be entered into the BAR-97 software.

Repair Costs

Repair Station Type Cost Ranges Vehicles Repaired Average Cost Vehicles Repaired (All Cost Ranges) Average Cost (All Cost Ranges)
STAR Repairs (Test-and-Repair, Non-CAP) $1-100 556 $55.85 3,505 $650.26
$101-250 700 $171.74
$251-500 742 $366.33
$501-650 294 $577.52
Over $650 1213 $1,390.17
Non-STAR Repairs (Test-and-Repair) $1-100 171 $51.77 887 $632.18
$101-250 213 $168.25
$251-500 185 $364.31
$501-650 73 $576.26
Over $650 245 $1,659.56
Repair-Only $1-100 0 $0.00 0 $0.00
$101-250 0 $0.00
$251-500 0 $0.00
$501-650 0 $0.00
Over $650 0 $0.00
CAP Repairs $1-100 0 $0.00 421 $1,221.84
$101-250 35 $203.03
$251-500 43 $391.63
$501-650 33 $586.96
Over $650 310 $1,519.61
Total Repairs $1-100 727 $54.89 4,813 $696.93
$101-250 948 $172.11
$251-500 970 $367.07
$501-650 400 $578.07
Over $650 1768 $1,450.20

Note: Non-CAP repair costs are based solely on Smog Check Inspector entries. The majority of non-CAP repairs are not entered into the repair database and therefore not included in this summary.

Stations and Technicians

Licensed Stations by Type/Privilege and Program Area

Station Type Basic Change-of-Ownership Enhanced Partial Total
STAR Test-and-Repair 105 34 1,662 74 1,875
STAR Test-Only 21 2 1,612 32 1,667
STAR Sub-Total 126 36 3,274 106 3,542
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 456 56 1,915 204 2,631
Non-STAR Test-Only 31 7 379 40 457
Non-STAR Sub-Total 487 63 2,294 244 3,088
Basic Area Dealer 49 0 0 0 49
Business Fleet 0 0 3 0 3
Permanent Fleet Registered 3 2 49 4 58
Referee 5 0 30 0 35
Government Fleet 44 5 299 13 361
Repair Only 1 0 33 1 35
Other Station Sub-Total 102 7 414 18 541
All Stations 715 106 5,982 368 7,171

Stations Conducting Test by Equipment Type

Station Type Equipment Type
BAR-97 Only OIS Only BAR-97 and OIS
STAR Test-and-Repair 2 231 1,605
STAR Test-Only 2 109 1,581
STAR Sub-Total 4 340 3,186
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 0 1,560 299
Non-STAR Test-Only 0 133 73
Non-STAR Sub-Total 0 1,693 372
Permanent Fleet Registered 0 3 0
Business Fleet 0 2 0
Basic Area Dealer 0 41 4
Government Fleet 11 117 20
Referee 0 3 30
Other Station Sub-Total 11 166 54
All Stations 15 2,199 3,612

Referee Inspections

Inspection Type Total Completed
Law Enforcement Citations 544
Smog Inspection/Repair Disputes 513
CAT BAR Label 498
Repair Cost Waiver + Parts Locator Service 182
BAR Referrals 168
Engine Change/Replacement 81
Clean Gas 69
Specially Constructed Vehicle/Kit Car 31
Grey Market 10
OBD Monitor Issues 3
All Inspections 2,099

Referee Certificates Issued

Certificate Type OIS BAR-97
Certificate of Compliance 250 71
Certificate of Non Compliance 0 0
Repair Cost Waiver 33 4
Limited Parts Exemption 7 0
Exempt Vehicle 0 17
Exempted by Directive 14 2
Permanently Exempt Vehicle 0 0
Temporarily Exempt Vehicle 0 0
All Certificates Issued 304 94

Technicians

License Type Licenses
EO (Inspect Only) 4,308
EO + EI (Inspect and Repair) 4,220
All License Types 8,528

Smog Check Requirements by Vehicle Type

Fuel Type Model-Year GVWR1 OBD II Equipped? Smog Check Required
All2 Four model-years and newer3 All All None
Fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth model-years4 All All None
1975 and earlier All All None
Gasoline and Flex Fuel
(Methanol or Ethanol)
1976-1999 All All BAR-97
2000 and newer 14,000 and less Yes5 OIS
No BAR-97
Over 14,000 All BAR-97
Hybrid 2000 and newer 14,000 and less All OIS
Dedicated Propane and Natural Gas
(CNG, LNG, or LPG)
1976-1999 14,000 and less All BAR-97
Over 14,000 All None
2000 and newer 14,000 and less Yes OIS
No BAR-97
Over 14,000 All None
Diesel 1976-1997 All All None
1998 and newer 14,000 and less All OIS
Over 14,000 All None6
Full Electric Powered All All All None
Motorcycle All All All None
Other Vehicles: Two Cylinder Engine,
Two-stroke Engine,
Off-highway Registered
All All All None

1 Gross vehicle weight rating
2 Includes gasoline, flex fuel, hybrid, dedicated propane, and natural gas vehicles. A Smog Check is required for all out-of-state 1976 model-year and newer vehicles registering in California for the first time and other initial registration events determined by the Department of Motor Vehicles.
3 Vehicles four model-years and newer are not subject to biennial (every other year) or change-of-ownership Smog Checks. Add four to the model-year of a vehicle to determine the first year a vehicle will be subject to a change-of-ownership Smog Check. For example, a 2010 model-year vehicle will be first subject a change-of-ownership Smog Check in 2014 (2010+4=2014).
4 Fifth through eighth model-year vehicles are not subject to biennial Smog Checks. However, a change-of-ownership Smog Check is required. Add eight to the model-year of a vehicle to determine the first year a vehicle will be subject to a biennial Smog Check. For example, a 2010 model-year vehicle will be first subject to a biennial Smog Check in 2018 (2010+8=2018).
5 In the future, BAR may identify some vehicles that have GVWR of 14,000 and less or that have problematic OBD II systems that may require the BAR-97 test.
6 Fleet vehicles are subject to the ARB Periodic Smoke Inspection Program (PSIP).

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