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  1. Home

Smog Check Executive Summary Report
January 2021

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 877,392 87,471 9.97%
All Tests 957,415 100,202 10.47%

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 103,376 223,339 90,043 193,987
Non-Directed 145,585 251,221 131,639 228,746
Total 248,961 474,560 221,682 422,733

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 360 77 152 34
Non-Directed 126,019 20,380 117,043 18,713
Total 126,379 20,457 117,195 18,747

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 400 100 25.00% 17.75% 8.25% 11.75% 7.00% NA
1977 496 112 22.58% 15.12% 6.05% 11.90% 6.25% NA
1978 593 129 21.75% 14.50% 7.08% 10.79% 6.91% NA
1979 697 177 25.39% 18.22% 7.46% 9.76% 4.88% NA
1980 345 68 19.71% 13.04% 4.93% 9.86% 4.93% NA
1981 390 97 24.87% 19.49% 7.18% 8.72% 5.38% NA
1982 411 104 25.30% 19.46% 7.30% 10.95% 5.11% NA
1983 541 128 23.66% 16.82% 7.76% 11.46% 5.73% NA
1984 915 235 25.68% 19.45% 6.89% 10.60% 6.23% NA
1985 1,283 298 23.23% 16.99% 5.69% 10.91% 4.60% NA
1986 1,559 378 24.25% 17.90% 6.41% 10.20% 4.49% NA
1987 1,810 422 23.31% 16.85% 5.19% 10.28% 4.81% NA
1988 2,149 491 22.85% 16.98% 5.44% 10.19% 4.05% NA
1989 2,979 635 21.32% 15.14% 5.24% 9.70% 3.52% NA
1990 3,497 752 21.50% 14.76% 4.52% 10.07% 3.69% NA
1991 3,896 768 19.71% 13.37% 3.52% 8.80% 3.77% NA
1992 3,847 851 22.12% 14.61% 4.16% 10.19% 4.47% NA
1993 4,733 1,130 23.87% 16.16% 3.74% 10.52% 4.08% NA
1994 6,371 1,439 22.59% 15.01% 2.86% 9.86% 4.16% NA
1995 8,558 1,821 21.28% 14.52% 2.62% 8.60% 3.68% NA
1996 8,065 1,666 20.66% 9.49% 1.39% 12.32% 3.57% 12.30%
1997 13,288 2,662 20.03% 8.80% 1.22% 12.09% 3.25% 12.09%
1998 14,559 2,809 19.29% 7.58% 1.28% 12.55% 3.35% 12.55%
1999 22,814 3,613 15.84% 5.27% 0.96% 10.77% 2.75% 10.77%
2000 345 69 20.00% 8.99% 4.93% 11.88% 3.48% 11.88%
2001 303 42 13.86% 5.28% 0.66% 9.24% 2.31% 9.24%
2002 276 59 21.38% 8.70% 4.35% 14.13% 2.17% 14.13%
2003 344 55 15.99% 4.94% 1.74% 10.76% 2.91% 10.76%
2004 322 44 13.66% 6.83% 2.48% 8.39% 1.55% 8.39%
2005 386 40 10.36% 2.59% 0.78% 7.77% 0.78% 7.77%
2006 365 40 10.96% 3.56% 0.82% 7.12% 0.82% 7.12%
2007 341 44 12.90% 3.81% 1.47% 9.09% 0.88% 9.09%
2008 200 22 11.00% 3.50% 1.00% 7.00% 0.50% 7.00%
2009 103 14 13.59% 2.91% 0.00% 12.62% 0.00% 12.62%
2010 71 9 12.68% 0.00% 0.00% 12.68% 1.41% 12.68%
2011 195 13 6.67% 0.51% 0.00% 6.15% 0.00% 6.15%
2012 130 7 5.38% 0.77% 0.77% 4.62% 1.54% 4.62%
2013 203 11 5.42% 0.49% 0.49% 5.42% 0.00% 5.42%
2014 49 1 2.04% 0.00% 0.00% 2.04% 0.00% 2.04%
2015 60 5 8.33% 0.00% 0.00% 8.33% 0.00% 8.33%
2016 72 4 5.56% 0.00% 0.00% 5.56% 0.00% 5.56%
2017 71 1 1.41% 0.00% 0.00% 1.41% 0.00% 1.41%
2018 39 1 2.56% 2.56% 2.56% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
2019 57 0 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
2020 317 1 0.32% 0.32% 0.00% 0.00% 0.32% 0.00%
Other 1 0 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
All Model Years 108,446 21,367 19.70% 10.52% 2.45% 10.76% 3.50% 6.66%

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 3 1 33.33% 33.33% 0.00% 33.33% 0.00% 0.00%
1997 3 0 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
1998 150 16 10.67% 10.00% 1.33% 10.00% 4.00% 0.00%
1999 651 80 12.29% 10.91% 1.69% 10.45% 6.61% 0.46%
2000 24,485 4,381 17.89% 16.10% 3.28% 15.88% 11.66% 0.22%
2001 37,019 5,930 16.02% 14.50% 2.67% 14.25% 10.37% 0.24%
2002 31,454 4,742 15.08% 13.44% 2.91% 13.17% 9.00% 0.27%
2003 48,394 5,938 12.27% 10.90% 2.25% 10.68% 7.50% 0.22%
2004 39,778 4,950 12.44% 11.09% 2.28% 10.87% 7.62% 0.22%
2005 58,291 6,053 10.38% 9.21% 1.79% 9.06% 6.32% 0.15%
2006 46,145 4,832 10.47% 9.22% 1.79% 9.04% 6.22% 0.18%
2007 66,444 5,035 7.58% 6.63% 1.27% 6.51% 4.50% 0.12%
2008 42,999 3,436 7.99% 7.18% 1.14% 7.07% 4.91% 0.11%
2009 38,201 2,349 6.15% 5.66% 0.64% 5.58% 4.14% 0.08%
2010 31,345 2,554 8.15% 7.61% 0.77% 7.56% 3.74% 0.05%
2011 61,206 3,450 5.64% 5.26% 0.49% 5.22% 2.62% 0.04%
2012 36,144 2,909 8.05% 7.63% 0.61% 7.59% 3.56% 0.04%
2013 95,841 4,480 4.67% 4.31% 0.46% 4.27% 2.30% 0.04%
2014 15,570 905 5.81% 5.45% 0.48% 5.43% 2.67% 0.03%
2015 18,269 906 4.96% 4.72% 0.30% 4.70% 2.67% 0.02%
2016 17,217 698 4.05% 3.83% 0.25% 3.83% 2.40% 0.01%
2017 29,397 1,317 4.48% 4.31% 0.22% 4.30% 3.29% 0.02%
2018 12,487 487 3.90% 3.71% 0.21% 3.70% 2.92% 0.01%
2019 10,020 326 3.25% 3.05% 0.16% 3.04% 2.50% 0.01%
2020 6,170 233 3.78% 3.66% 0.11% 3.63% 3.14% 0.03%
2021 1,259 95 7.55% 7.47% 0.08% 7.47% 6.91% 0.00%
Other 4 1 25.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
All Model Years 768,946 66,104 8.60% 7.78% 1.26% 7.67% 5.06% 0.11%

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 11,411 10.52%
All Visual 9,656 1.26% 3,799 3.50%
All Functional 59,817 7.78% 11,672 10.76%
OBDII 58,952 7.67% 7,218 6.66%
Overall 66,104 8.60% 21,367 19.70%

Initial Test Failures by Program Area

Program Area OIS BAR-97
Initial Tests Failed Failure Rate Initial Tests Failed Failure Rate
Enhanced 663,954 57,651 8.68% 83,946 16,916 20.15%
Partial 38,230 3,129 8.18% 6,774 1,486 21.94%
Basic 60,848 4,857 7.98% 13,053 1,906 14.60%
Change of Ownership 5,914 467 7.90% 1,016 257 25.30%
Unknown 0 0 0.00% 3,657 802 21.93%
All Program Areas 768,946 66,104 8.60% 108,446 21,367 19.70%

Initial Test Failures by Station Type

Station Type OIS BAR-97
Initial Tests Failed Failure Rate Initial Tests Failed Failure Rate
STAR Test-Only 410,406 38,221 9.31% 64,154 12,455 19.41%
STAR Test-Only (Suspended) 1,096 105 9.58% 78 13 16.67%
Non-STAR Test-Only 18,475 1,374 7.44% 1,982 276 13.93%
STAR Test-and-Repair 216,612 18,891 8.72% 32,349 7,109 21.98%
STAR Test-and-Repair (Suspended) 98 6 6.12% 26 4 15.38%
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 117,354 7,050 6.01% 9,025 1,338 14.83%
Test-and-Repair/Dealer 2,353 110 4.67% 18 1 5.56%
Business Fleet 384 25 6.51% 0 0 0.00%
Permanent Fleet Registered 41 2 4.88% 0 0 0.00%
Referee 410 223 54.39% 108 51 47.22%
Government Fleet 1,717 97 5.65% 706 120 17.00%
All Stations 768,946 66,104 8.60% 108,446 21,367 19.70%

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 784,399 89.40% 92,993 10.60%
All Tests 851,056 88.89% 106,359 11.11%

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 422,733 89.08% 51,827 10.92%
Non-STAR Test-Only 18,747 91.64% 1,710 8.36%
STAR Test-and-Repair 221,682 89.04% 27,279 10.96%
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 117,195 92.73% 9,184 7.27%
All Stations 780,357 89.66% 90,000 10.34%

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 32,356 $56.98 215,745 $50.01 248,101 $50.92
STAR Test-Only 64,007 $51.07 409,676 $49.32 473,683 $49.56
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 9,035 $56.27 115,818 $57.95 124,853 $57.83
Non-STAR Test-Only 1,933 $45.21 17,999 $44.85 19,932 $44.89
Test-and-Repair/Dealer 18 $69.44 2,353 $65.83 2,371 $65.86
Total 107,349 $53.19 761,591 $50.77 868,940 $51.07

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 1 $61.75 9,515 $52.93 32,355 $56.98 206,230 $49.87
STAR Test-Only 3 $35.00 11,079 $51.44 64,004 $51.07 398,597 $49.26
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 0 $0.00 73,768 $63.91 9,035 $56.27 42,050 $47.49
Non-STAR Test-Only 1 $61.75 6,727 $44.15 1,932 $45.20 11,272 $45.27
Test-and-Repair/Dealer 0 $0.00 2,121 $65.38 18 $69.44 232 $69.91
Total 5 $45.70 103,210 $60.30 107,344 $53.19 658,381 $49.28

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) $1-100 387 $57.51 2,186 $545.77
$101-250 464 $167.38
$251-500 485 $361.51
$501-650 220 $574.95
Over $650 630 $1,256.07
Non-STAR Repairs (Test-and-Repair) $1-100 127 $62.07 782 $547.80
$101-250 223 $171.13
$251-500 192 $370.78
$501-650 58 $580.43
Over $650 182 $1,524.63
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 1 $59.95 286 $1,020.10
$101-250 15 $202.85
$251-500 39 $394.78
$501-650 28 $569.98
Over $650 203 $1,267.44
Total Repairs $1-100 515 $58.64 3,254 $587.95
$101-250 702 $169.33
$251-500 716 $365.81
$501-650 306 $575.53
Over $650 1015 $1,306.50

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 47 1,876 74 2,102
STAR Test-Only 20 2 1,734 37 1,793
STAR Sub-Total 125 49 3,610 111 3,895
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 486 44 2,029 232 2,791
Non-STAR Test-Only 27 5 264 31 327
Non-STAR Sub-Total 513 49 2,293 263 3,118
Basic Area Dealer 57 0 0 0 57
Business Fleet 0 0 4 0 4
Permanent Fleet Registered 3 2 48 4 57
Referee 5 0 31 0 36
Government Fleet 41 5 302 13 361
Repair-Only 2 0 43 1 46
Unknown Type 0 1 15 0 16
Other Station Sub-Total 108 8 443 18 577
All Stations 746 106 6,346 392 7,590

Stations Conducting Test by Equipment Type

Station Type Equipment Type
BAR-97 Only OIS Only BAR-97 and OIS
STAR Test-and-Repair 2 202 1,811
STAR Test-Only 1 84 1,637
STAR Sub-Total 3 286 3,448
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 0 1,724 384
Non-STAR Test-Only 1 103 67
Non-STAR Sub-Total 1 1,827 451
Permanent Fleet Registered 0 13 0
Business Fleet 0 3 0
Basic Area Dealer 0 49 5
Unknown Type 0 3 11
Government Fleet 9 111 29
Referee 0 0 25
Other Station Sub-Total 9 179 70
All Stations 13 2,292 3,969

Referee Certificates Issued

Certificate Type OIS BAR-97
Certificate of Compliance 325 95
Certificate of Non Compliance 0 0
Parts Cost 32 7
Hardship Extensions 0 0
Exempt Vehicle 0 13
Exempted by Directive 5 0
Parts Exemption 10 0
Unknown Outcome 0 0
Permanently Exempt Vehicle 0 0
Temporarily Exempt Vehicle 0 0
All Certificates Issued 372 115

Technicians

License Type Licenses
EO (Inspect Only) 4,052
EO + EI (Inspect and Repair) 4,787
All License Types 8,839

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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