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Smog Check Executive Summary Report
May 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 924,089 87,773 9.50%
All Tests 1,008,399 100,759 9.99%

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 105,169 228,219 92,154 199,872
Non-Directed 155,567 271,951 141,203 248,398
Total 260,736 500,170 233,357 448,270

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 240 38 81 24
Non-Directed 134,040 20,219 124,903 18,711
Total 134,280 20,257 124,984 18,735

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 462 94 20.35% 11.47% 5.63% 9.09% 5.41% NA
1977 567 123 21.69% 13.40% 5.47% 10.23% 6.70% NA
1978 687 140 20.38% 15.28% 4.37% 8.30% 4.51% NA
1979 702 178 25.36% 19.09% 8.12% 11.40% 6.27% NA
1980 404 72 17.82% 11.88% 5.94% 6.93% 4.46% NA
1981 492 97 19.72% 15.65% 6.10% 7.32% 4.07% NA
1982 506 113 22.33% 17.39% 7.31% 11.46% 5.34% NA
1983 607 134 22.08% 15.32% 5.77% 10.54% 5.93% NA
1984 1,049 222 21.16% 15.92% 7.44% 9.15% 4.29% NA
1985 1,524 354 23.23% 18.04% 6.69% 9.25% 3.81% NA
1986 1,849 425 22.99% 15.85% 6.22% 10.98% 4.49% NA
1987 2,056 476 23.15% 17.51% 5.93% 8.80% 4.67% NA
1988 2,421 583 24.08% 17.76% 5.87% 9.83% 4.58% NA
1989 3,203 661 20.64% 14.74% 4.25% 8.87% 3.97% NA
1990 3,833 752 19.62% 13.33% 3.42% 8.97% 3.68% NA
1991 4,369 876 20.05% 13.66% 3.57% 8.51% 3.00% NA
1992 4,319 838 19.40% 12.90% 3.22% 8.06% 3.43% NA
1993 5,150 1,122 21.79% 15.59% 3.09% 9.26% 3.77% NA
1994 6,190 1,362 22.00% 14.72% 2.84% 9.56% 3.63% NA
1995 9,184 1,853 20.18% 14.08% 2.55% 8.23% 3.51% NA
1996 7,988 1,688 21.13% 10.44% 1.59% 11.74% 3.72% 11.74%
1997 14,744 2,774 18.81% 8.40% 1.20% 11.39% 2.73% 11.39%
1998 15,100 2,786 18.45% 7.34% 1.25% 11.76% 2.89% 11.75%
1999 24,532 3,663 14.93% 4.72% 0.82% 10.25% 2.52% 10.25%
2000 349 49 14.04% 7.45% 3.44% 7.74% 2.58% 7.74%
2001 331 49 14.80% 5.14% 1.51% 10.88% 1.51% 10.88%
2002 332 53 15.96% 6.93% 3.01% 9.94% 2.11% 9.94%
2003 470 58 12.34% 4.26% 1.28% 8.72% 2.13% 8.72%
2004 386 42 10.88% 4.40% 2.07% 7.51% 1.81% 7.51%
2005 461 50 10.85% 4.12% 2.39% 6.72% 1.74% 6.72%
2006 405 53 13.09% 6.17% 1.73% 7.90% 2.47% 7.90%
2007 355 38 10.70% 3.10% 0.56% 7.61% 1.97% 7.61%
2008 243 23 9.47% 4.53% 2.88% 6.58% 0.82% 6.58%
2009 121 19 15.70% 5.79% 0.00% 9.92% 3.31% 9.92%
2010 95 11 11.58% 1.05% 0.00% 10.53% 1.05% 10.53%
2011 212 20 9.43% 2.83% 1.42% 8.49% 0.94% 8.49%
2012 147 7 4.76% 0.00% 0.00% 4.76% 0.68% 4.76%
2013 325 16 4.92% 0.62% 0.31% 4.00% 0.31% 4.00%
2014 68 3 4.41% 1.47% 1.47% 4.41% 0.00% 4.41%
2015 67 3 4.48% 0.00% 0.00% 4.48% 0.00% 4.48%
2016 87 2 2.30% 0.00% 0.00% 2.30% 0.00% 2.30%
2017 82 1 1.22% 1.22% 1.22% 1.22% 0.00% 1.22%
2018 41 1 2.44% 0.00% 0.00% 2.44% 0.00% 2.44%
2019 66 0 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
2020 126 0 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
2021 1 1 100.00% 100.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Other 1 0 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
All Model Years 116,709 21,885 18.75% 10.17% 2.34% 10.03% 3.21% 6.21%

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 26 3 11.54% 11.54% 0.00% 11.54% 3.85% 0.00%
1997 95 5 5.26% 4.21% 0.00% 4.21% 2.11% 0.00%
1998 246 27 10.98% 9.35% 1.22% 8.13% 5.28% 1.22%
1999 971 102 10.50% 9.06% 1.65% 8.86% 5.36% 0.21%
2000 24,143 4,293 17.78% 15.96% 3.30% 15.66% 11.32% 0.30%
2001 40,128 5,876 14.64% 13.09% 2.62% 12.88% 9.36% 0.21%
2002 29,562 4,198 14.20% 12.51% 2.72% 12.25% 8.76% 0.26%
2003 52,322 6,091 11.64% 10.15% 2.25% 9.93% 6.89% 0.22%
2004 37,693 4,575 12.14% 10.56% 2.31% 10.33% 7.22% 0.23%
2005 68,361 6,654 9.73% 8.54% 1.68% 8.37% 5.86% 0.17%
2006 41,704 4,280 10.26% 8.98% 1.82% 8.82% 6.18% 0.16%
2007 75,619 5,394 7.13% 6.23% 1.23% 6.13% 4.21% 0.10%
2008 38,189 3,069 8.04% 7.16% 1.24% 7.03% 5.04% 0.14%
2009 47,533 2,768 5.82% 5.31% 0.68% 5.22% 3.73% 0.10%
2010 28,705 2,223 7.74% 7.25% 0.65% 7.18% 3.57% 0.07%
2011 64,670 3,722 5.76% 5.36% 0.52% 5.31% 2.67% 0.05%
2012 27,392 2,170 7.92% 7.43% 0.67% 7.35% 3.61% 0.08%
2013 113,636 5,245 4.62% 4.25% 0.46% 4.21% 2.10% 0.05%
2014 17,590 985 5.60% 5.23% 0.46% 5.20% 2.69% 0.03%
2015 21,597 1,056 4.89% 4.61% 0.35% 4.57% 2.45% 0.04%
2016 19,313 830 4.30% 4.06% 0.27% 4.02% 2.51% 0.04%
2017 23,834 894 3.75% 3.49% 0.29% 3.47% 2.44% 0.01%
2018 15,552 594 3.82% 3.68% 0.16% 3.66% 2.84% 0.03%
2019 10,100 404 4.00% 3.81% 0.21% 3.79% 3.09% 0.02%
2020 5,675 243 4.28% 4.05% 0.21% 4.02% 3.40% 0.04%
2021 2,700 182 6.74% 6.56% 0.15% 6.56% 5.89% 0.00%
2022 19 3 15.79% 15.79% 0.00% 15.79% 15.79% 0.00%
Other 5 2 40.00% 20.00% 0.00% 20.00% 20.00% 0.00%
All Model Years 807,380 65,888 8.16% 7.32% 1.23% 7.20% 4.74% 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 11,869 10.17%
All Visual 9,929 1.23% 3,749 3.21%
All Functional 59,083 7.32% 11,705 10.03%
OBDII 58,123 7.20% 7,248 6.21%
Overall 65,888 8.16% 21,885 18.75%

Initial Test Failures by Program Area

Program Area OIS BAR-97
Initial Tests Failed Failure Rate Initial Tests Failed Failure Rate
Enhanced 698,838 57,417 8.22% 89,977 17,292 19.22%
Partial 38,945 3,067 7.88% 7,005 1,464 20.90%
Basic 63,118 4,885 7.74% 14,512 2,004 13.81%
Change of Ownership 6,479 519 8.01% 1,096 239 21.81%
No Program 0 0 0.00% 1 0 0.00%
Unknown 0 0 0.00% 4,118 886 21.52%
All Program Areas 807,380 65,888 8.16% 116,709 21,885 18.75%

Initial Test Failures by Station Type

Station Type OIS BAR-97
Initial Tests Failed Failure Rate Initial Tests Failed Failure Rate
STAR Test-Only 431,617 37,889 8.78% 68,553 12,678 18.49%
STAR Test-Only (Suspended) 1,449 103 7.11% 48 14 29.17%
Non-STAR Test-Only 18,084 1,165 6.44% 2,173 282 12.98%
STAR Test-and-Repair 226,056 18,918 8.37% 34,680 7,247 20.90%
STAR Test-and-Repair (Suspended) 853 48 5.63% 72 9 12.50%
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 124,269 7,143 5.75% 10,011 1,422 14.20%
Test-and-Repair/Dealer 2,622 127 4.84% 13 1 7.69%
Business Fleet 384 35 9.11% 0 0 0.00%
Permanent Fleet Registered 31 0 0.00% 0 0 0.00%
Referee 545 362 66.42% 84 49 58.33%
Government Fleet 1,470 98 6.67% 1,075 183 17.02%
All Stations 807,380 65,888 8.16% 116,709 21,885 18.75%

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 830,678 89.89% 93,411 10.11%
All Tests 901,244 89.37% 107,155 10.63%

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 448,270 89.62% 51,900 10.38%
Non-STAR Test-Only 18,735 92.49% 1,522 7.51%
STAR Test-and-Repair 233,357 89.50% 27,379 10.50%
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 124,984 93.08% 9,296 6.92%
All Stations 825,346 90.16% 90,097 9.84%

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 34,701 $58.30 214,432 $50.71 249,133 $51.77
STAR Test-Only 68,383 $52.00 412,579 $48.95 480,962 $49.38
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 10,011 $57.17 115,473 $60.56 125,484 $60.29
Non-STAR Test-Only 2,161 $46.95 17,038 $45.97 19,199 $46.08
Test-and-Repair/Dealer 13 $84.13 2,223 $64.33 2,236 $64.45
Total 115,269 $54.26 761,745 $51.18 877,014 $51.59

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 $81.75 8,987 $52.55 34,700 $58.30 205,445 $50.63
STAR Test-Only 243 $50.08 13,890 $42.28 68,140 $52.01 398,689 $49.18
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 0 $0.00 73,474 $66.90 10,011 $57.17 41,999 $49.48
Non-STAR Test-Only 0 $0.00 6,985 $43.82 2,161 $46.95 10,053 $47.47
Test-and-Repair/Dealer 0 $0.00 1,960 $63.09 13 $84.13 263 $73.62
Total 244 $50.21 105,296 $60.82 115,025 $54.26 656,449 $49.64

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) $1-100 351 $53.22 2,179 $595.37
$101-250 478 $166.93
$251-500 469 $365.37
$501-650 175 $578.17
Over $650 706 $1,312.03
Non-STAR Repairs (Test-and-Repair) $1-100 133 $54.79 757 $550.03
$101-250 215 $170.65
$251-500 174 $368.78
$501-650 56 $570.34
Over $650 179 $1,543.53
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 $0.00 258 $1,118.26
$101-250 22 $192.63
$251-500 30 $399.05
$501-650 23 $573.07
Over $650 183 $1,415.96
Total Repairs $1-100 484 $53.65 3,194 $626.86
$101-250 715 $168.84
$251-500 673 $367.75
$501-650 254 $575.98
Over $650 1068 $1,368.63

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 46 1,868 72 2,091
STAR Test-Only 21 1 1,729 35 1,786
STAR Sub-Total 126 47 3,597 107 3,877
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 480 48 2,022 231 2,781
Non-STAR Test-Only 25 6 243 31 305
Non-STAR Sub-Total 505 54 2,265 262 3,086
Basic Area Dealer 56 0 0 0 56
Business Fleet 0 0 4 0 4
Permanent Fleet Registered 3 2 48 4 57
Referee 5 0 31 0 36
Government Fleet 41 5 304 13 363
Repair-Only 2 0 44 1 47
Unknown Type 0 1 20 2 23
Other Station Sub-Total 107 8 451 20 586
All Stations 738 109 6,313 389 7,549

Stations Conducting Test by Equipment Type

Station Type Equipment Type
BAR-97 Only OIS Only BAR-97 and OIS
STAR Test-and-Repair 1 193 1,823
STAR Test-Only 3 83 1,644
STAR Sub-Total 4 276 3,467
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 0 1,721 379
Non-STAR Test-Only 0 87 66
Non-STAR Sub-Total 0 1,808 445
Permanent Fleet Registered 0 15 0
Business Fleet 0 2 0
Basic Area Dealer 0 47 6
Unknown Type 0 4 13
Government Fleet 8 140 30
Referee 0 0 25
Other Station Sub-Total 8 208 74
All Stations 12 2,292 3,986

Referee Certificates Issued

Certificate Type OIS BAR-97
Certificate of Compliance 323 69
Certificate of Non Compliance 0 0
Parts Cost 25 7
Hardship Extensions 0 0
Exempt Vehicle 4 10
Exempted by Directive 10 1
Parts Exemption 8 1
Unknown Outcome 0 0
Permanently Exempt Vehicle 0 0
Temporarily Exempt Vehicle 0 0
All Certificates Issued 370 88

Technicians

License Type Licenses
EO (Inspect Only) 4,117
EO + EI (Inspect and Repair) 4,804
All License Types 8,921

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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