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  1. Home

Smog Check Executive Summary Report
August 2020

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 933,785 94,345 10.10%
All Tests 1,023,510 108,386 10.59%

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 109,266 232,073 94,584 200,395
Non-Directed 158,826 270,202 143,764 246,042
Total 268,092 502,275 238,348 446,437

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 394 101 179 47
Non-Directed 136,336 20,682 126,597 18,963
Total 136,730 20,783 126,776 19,010

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 444 119 26.80% 18.24% 5.86% 11.71% 6.98% NA
1977 656 170 25.91% 17.84% 7.93% 12.65% 5.03% NA
1978 703 152 21.62% 16.50% 6.12% 9.39% 4.98% NA
1979 793 206 25.98% 18.54% 7.57% 11.73% 6.18% NA
1980 433 96 22.17% 14.09% 6.93% 9.47% 5.54% NA
1981 459 106 23.09% 16.78% 7.19% 11.33% 6.75% NA
1982 490 131 26.73% 19.39% 7.35% 10.82% 5.10% NA
1983 668 154 23.05% 17.51% 6.89% 10.93% 4.79% NA
1984 1,130 283 25.04% 20.18% 8.32% 9.47% 5.75% NA
1985 1,556 400 25.71% 17.93% 6.17% 10.93% 5.08% NA
1986 2,105 523 24.85% 17.48% 6.13% 10.40% 4.80% NA
1987 2,204 549 24.91% 18.15% 6.85% 10.07% 4.63% NA
1988 2,646 605 22.86% 16.44% 5.10% 9.49% 3.48% NA
1989 3,580 799 22.32% 15.11% 4.33% 10.28% 4.08% NA
1990 4,037 852 21.10% 14.09% 4.21% 9.44% 3.81% NA
1991 4,779 952 19.92% 13.54% 3.77% 9.02% 3.41% NA
1992 4,667 992 21.26% 14.33% 4.11% 9.58% 3.73% NA
1993 5,632 1,355 24.06% 17.31% 4.46% 9.94% 3.92% NA
1994 7,972 1,724 21.63% 14.59% 2.92% 9.52% 3.52% NA
1995 8,769 1,914 21.83% 14.87% 3.10% 9.24% 3.65% NA
1996 11,151 2,159 19.36% 9.10% 1.46% 11.28% 3.28% 11.27%
1997 13,538 2,813 20.78% 9.04% 1.34% 12.70% 3.37% 12.68%
1998 21,575 3,853 17.86% 6.93% 1.26% 11.55% 2.71% 11.54%
1999 21,182 3,653 17.25% 5.33% 1.07% 12.16% 3.00% 12.16%
2000 463 80 17.28% 7.78% 2.81% 10.80% 4.10% 10.80%
2001 318 63 19.81% 5.97% 2.20% 16.98% 2.52% 16.98%
2002 411 73 17.76% 6.81% 2.92% 11.68% 3.16% 11.68%
2003 355 62 17.46% 5.35% 1.69% 12.68% 2.25% 12.68%
2004 444 55 12.39% 3.15% 1.80% 9.46% 1.80% 9.46%
2005 323 50 15.48% 5.57% 0.93% 12.69% 1.24% 12.69%
2006 559 57 10.20% 3.58% 0.54% 6.80% 1.07% 6.80%
2007 314 36 11.46% 2.55% 0.64% 9.24% 1.91% 9.24%
2008 376 18 4.79% 1.33% 0.53% 3.46% 0.27% 3.46%
2009 99 10 10.10% 2.02% 1.01% 10.10% 1.01% 10.10%
2010 109 9 8.26% 1.83% 0.92% 8.26% 2.75% 8.26%
2011 176 7 3.98% 1.70% 1.14% 3.41% 1.14% 3.41%
2012 377 21 5.57% 1.59% 1.06% 5.57% 0.00% 5.57%
2013 50 4 8.00% 0.00% 0.00% 8.00% 0.00% 8.00%
2014 81 3 3.70% 1.23% 0.00% 3.70% 0.00% 3.70%
2015 63 2 3.17% 0.00% 0.00% 3.17% 0.00% 3.17%
2016 64 1 1.56% 0.00% 0.00% 1.56% 0.00% 1.56%
2017 53 1 1.89% 0.00% 0.00% 1.89% 0.00% 1.89%
2018 52 0 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
2019 102 0 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
2020 465 2 0.43% 0.00% 0.00% 0.43% 0.00% 0.43%
All Model Years 126,423 25,114 19.87% 10.63% 2.60% 10.84% 3.38% 6.69%

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 1 50.00% 50.00% 0.00% 50.00% 50.00% 0.00%
1997 10 2 20.00% 20.00% 0.00% 20.00% 10.00% 0.00%
1998 202 25 12.38% 12.38% 1.49% 11.39% 4.46% 0.99%
1999 824 91 11.04% 9.22% 2.43% 8.37% 5.46% 0.85%
2000 39,539 6,533 16.52% 14.84% 2.87% 14.63% 10.55% 0.22%
2001 30,350 5,108 16.83% 15.13% 3.08% 14.89% 10.46% 0.25%
2002 52,539 6,770 12.89% 11.38% 2.34% 11.13% 7.74% 0.25%
2003 38,192 5,144 13.47% 11.84% 2.57% 11.56% 7.93% 0.28%
2004 66,935 7,038 10.51% 9.27% 1.83% 9.10% 6.42% 0.17%
2005 41,877 4,684 11.19% 9.79% 2.07% 9.60% 6.64% 0.19%
2006 75,945 6,670 8.78% 7.79% 1.30% 7.66% 5.38% 0.13%
2007 45,604 3,754 8.23% 7.29% 1.35% 7.19% 5.01% 0.11%
2008 69,616 4,546 6.53% 5.89% 0.86% 5.78% 4.15% 0.11%
2009 26,899 1,739 6.46% 5.84% 0.88% 5.74% 4.01% 0.10%
2010 66,225 3,714 5.61% 5.24% 0.47% 5.18% 2.78% 0.06%
2011 26,784 1,973 7.37% 6.91% 0.59% 6.83% 3.08% 0.08%
2012 99,241 5,609 5.65% 5.29% 0.44% 5.25% 2.83% 0.04%
2013 17,525 1,014 5.79% 5.34% 0.55% 5.30% 2.37% 0.03%
2014 17,916 920 5.14% 4.81% 0.43% 4.79% 2.62% 0.02%
2015 19,747 933 4.72% 4.40% 0.36% 4.37% 2.36% 0.03%
2016 22,351 960 4.30% 4.00% 0.32% 3.99% 2.60% 0.02%
2017 16,458 691 4.20% 4.05% 0.16% 4.03% 3.00% 0.01%
2018 12,447 461 3.70% 3.58% 0.13% 3.58% 2.83% 0.00%
2019 15,549 587 3.78% 3.68% 0.09% 3.66% 3.08% 0.02%
2020 4,530 254 5.61% 5.39% 0.22% 5.39% 4.92% 0.00%
2021 48 6 12.50% 12.50% 0.00% 12.50% 8.33% 0.00%
Other 7 4 57.14% 14.29% 0.00% 14.29% 14.29% 0.00%
All Model Years 807,362 69,231 8.57% 7.72% 1.26% 7.60% 5.06% 0.12%

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 13,433 10.63%
All Visual 10,139 1.26% 4,278 3.38%
All Functional 62,354 7.72% 13,701 10.84%
OBDII 61,377 7.60% 8,459 6.69%
Overall 69,231 8.57% 25,114 19.87%

Initial Test Failures by Program Area

Program Area OIS BAR-97
Initial Tests Failed Failure Rate Initial Tests Failed Failure Rate
Enhanced 697,545 60,677 8.70% 98,595 19,976 20.26%
Partial 38,745 3,121 8.06% 7,511 1,747 23.26%
Basic 64,242 4,915 7.65% 15,058 2,212 14.69%
Change of Ownership 6,830 518 7.58% 1,278 326 25.51%
No Program 0 0 0.00% 3 1 33.33%
Unknown 0 0 0.00% 3,978 852 21.42%
All Program Areas 807,362 69,231 8.57% 126,423 25,114 19.87%

Initial Test Failures by Station Type

Station Type OIS BAR-97
Initial Tests Failed Failure Rate Initial Tests Failed Failure Rate
STAR Test-Only 427,535 40,049 9.37% 74,740 14,546 19.46%
STAR Test-Only (Suspended) 468 28 5.98% 67 2 2.99%
Non-STAR Test-Only 18,456 1,336 7.24% 2,327 359 15.43%
STAR Test-and-Repair 230,153 19,884 8.64% 37,939 8,358 22.03%
STAR Test-and-Repair (Suspended) 337 23 6.82% 13 2 15.38%
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 126,057 7,476 5.93% 10,673 1,604 15.03%
Test-and-Repair/Dealer 2,512 135 5.37% 13 5 38.46%
Business Fleet 347 26 7.49% 0 0 0.00%
Permanent Fleet Registered 77 2 2.60% 0 0 0.00%
Referee 290 199 68.62% 177 131 74.01%
Government Fleet 1,130 73 6.46% 474 107 22.57%
All Stations 807,362 69,231 8.57% 126,423 25,114 19.87%

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 834,296 89.35% 99,489 10.65%
All Tests 909,231 88.83% 114,279 11.17%

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 446,437 88.88% 55,838 11.12%
Non-STAR Test-Only 19,010 91.47% 1,773 8.53%
STAR Test-and-Repair 238,348 88.91% 29,744 11.09%
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 126,776 92.72% 9,954 7.28%
All Stations 830,571 89.51% 97,309 10.49%

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 37,750 $57.16 229,461 $53.75 267,211 $54.23
STAR Test-Only 74,515 $50.32 427,102 $49.45 501,617 $49.58
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 10,569 $55.75 125,330 $60.96 135,899 $60.56
Non-STAR Test-Only 2,308 $43.90 18,318 $46.80 20,626 $46.47
Test-and-Repair/Dealer 13 $64.22 2,489 $65.43 2,502 $65.42
Total 125,155 $52.72 802,700 $52.46 927,855 $52.50

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 0 $0.00 8,123 $50.33 37,750 $57.16 221,338 $53.87
STAR Test-Only 217 $55.67 8,384 $48.32 74,298 $50.30 418,718 $49.47
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 0 $0.00 78,794 $64.04 10,569 $55.75 46,536 $55.75
Non-STAR Test-Only 21 $40.44 7,592 $44.14 2,287 $43.93 10,726 $48.68
Test-and-Repair/Dealer 0 $0.00 2,361 $65.22 13 $64.22 128 $69.40
Total 238 $54.32 105,254 $60.32 124,917 $52.72 697,446 $51.28

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) $1-100 960 $50.47 4,603 $476.60
$101-250 1011 $171.98
$251-500 1105 $364.27
$501-650 421 $575.75
Over $650 1106 $1,199.44
Non-STAR Repairs (Test-and-Repair) $1-100 313 $51.65 1,161 $412.20
$101-250 291 $168.10
$251-500 274 $365.36
$501-650 77 $566.49
Over $650 206 $1,309.50
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 $0.00 109 $817.56
$101-250 0 $0.00
$251-500 22 $411.07
$501-650 24 $579.74
Over $650 63 $1,050.11
Total Repairs $1-100 1273 $50.76 5,873 $470.20
$101-250 1302 $171.11
$251-500 1401 $365.22
$501-650 522 $574.57
Over $650 1375 $1,209.09

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 49 1,885 71 2,110
STAR Test-Only 18 2 1,738 35 1,793
STAR Sub-Total 123 51 3,623 106 3,903
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 486 44 2,044 239 2,813
Non-STAR Test-Only 25 6 291 32 354
Non-STAR Sub-Total 511 50 2,335 271 3,167
Basic Area Dealer 59 0 0 0 59
Business Fleet 0 0 4 0 4
Permanent Fleet Registered 3 2 48 4 57
Referee 5 0 30 0 35
Government Fleet 41 5 301 13 360
Repair-Only 2 0 43 1 46
Unknown Type 0 0 11 0 11
Other Station Sub-Total 110 7 437 18 572
All Stations 744 108 6,395 395 7,642

Stations Conducting Test by Equipment Type

Station Type Equipment Type
BAR-97 Only OIS Only BAR-97 and OIS
STAR Test-and-Repair 0 164 1,871
STAR Test-Only 3 71 1,655
STAR Sub-Total 3 235 3,526
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 0 1,770 400
Non-STAR Test-Only 2 101 70
Non-STAR Sub-Total 2 1,871 470
Permanent Fleet Registered 0 16 0
Business Fleet 0 3 0
Basic Area Dealer 0 51 3
Unknown Type 0 0 3
Government Fleet 8 134 33
Referee 0 4 19
Other Station Sub-Total 8 208 58
All Stations 13 2,314 4,054

Referee Certificates Issued

Certificate Type OIS BAR-97
Certificate of Compliance 201 130
Certificate of Non Compliance 0 0
Parts Cost 21 5
Hardship Extensions 0 0
Exempt Vehicle 0 8
Exempted by Directive 7 0
Parts Exemption 2 0
Unknown Outcome 0 0
Permanently Exempt Vehicle 0 0
Temporarily Exempt Vehicle 0 0
All Certificates Issued 231 143

Technicians

License Type Licenses
EO (Inspect Only) 4,043
EO + EI (Inspect and Repair) 4,943
All License Types 8,986

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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