DAD 2.0 certification testing underway
The Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR) has reached a new milestone in its ongoing work to transition the California Vehicle Inspection System (Cal-VIS) to the next generation of data acquisition devices (DADs). The multiyear effort has now moved into certification testing for DAD 2.0 devices.
Cal-VIS uses DADs to retrieve On-Board Diagnostic (OBD II) data from vehicles during a Smog Check and vehicle safety systems inspection. The current generation of DADs was certified by BAR in 2013. Since then, vehicle technology has evolved significantly, requiring updated equipment to support newer vehicles and to address increasingly sophisticated OBD data fraud. The next generation of devices, known as DAD 2.0, will support 2025 and newer model year vehicles equipped with the new SAE J1979-2 (OBD or Unified Diagnostic Services) protocol.
Development of DAD 2.0 began with updated BAR specifications that included numerous new performance and security requirements. Regulatory changes adopting those specifications took effect July 1, 2024.
Over the past year, BAR has developed and deployed updated Cal-VIS software and established a vendor test environment where manufacturers could develop and validate their devices prior to submitting them to BAR for certification. Certification testing, which began in July 2026, includes a review of vendor-submitted test data and extensive in-house testing. It also involves field testing, during which each vendor must collect the results of approximately 20,000 inspections from beta inspection stations. To receive BAR certification, devices must meet all specification requirements and successfully communicate with 99.9% of vehicle OBD systems.
BAR expects DAD 2.0 models from multiple manufacturers, once certified by BAR, to become available for station use in 2027. After the new devices have been broadly deployed, BAR will announce a statewide transition date when all stations must stop using DAD 1.0 and begin using DAD 2.0.
For certification status updates and a list of certified devices, visit BAR’s Certified data acquisition devices webpage.