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  1. Home

Smog Check Executive Summary Report
June 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 950,318 87,965 9.26%
All Tests 1,036,025 101,336 9.78%

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 107,825 230,217 94,853 202,178
Non-Directed 161,851 279,191 147,509 255,441
Total 269,676 509,408 242,362 457,619

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 238 50 79 26
Non-Directed 139,908 21,154 130,706 19,650
Total 140,146 21,204 130,785 19,676

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 479 116 24.22% 16.08% 7.10% 10.23% 6.47% NA
1977 584 121 20.72% 14.90% 5.82% 9.08% 4.97% NA
1978 667 140 20.99% 14.69% 6.75% 7.50% 4.50% NA
1979 717 171 23.85% 17.02% 7.11% 11.16% 5.72% NA
1980 457 109 23.85% 15.97% 7.22% 11.60% 7.00% NA
1981 453 94 20.75% 17.00% 7.95% 8.39% 3.75% NA
1982 467 104 22.27% 15.85% 5.35% 9.21% 4.71% NA
1983 665 151 22.71% 16.09% 6.17% 9.17% 5.11% NA
1984 1,018 266 26.13% 19.06% 8.06% 10.71% 7.07% NA
1985 1,402 348 24.82% 18.62% 7.42% 9.42% 5.21% NA
1986 1,840 410 22.28% 15.98% 6.09% 9.46% 4.02% NA
1987 2,095 468 22.34% 16.28% 5.25% 8.93% 4.49% NA
1988 2,326 511 21.97% 15.99% 5.80% 8.94% 3.61% NA
1989 3,257 680 20.88% 13.85% 4.88% 9.67% 3.47% NA
1990 3,754 758 20.19% 14.04% 4.29% 8.68% 3.57% NA
1991 4,346 893 20.55% 13.35% 3.11% 9.36% 3.93% NA
1992 4,324 909 21.02% 14.71% 3.72% 8.40% 3.54% NA
1993 5,039 1,134 22.50% 15.72% 3.21% 9.41% 3.79% NA
1994 6,077 1,313 21.61% 14.30% 3.21% 9.81% 3.51% NA
1995 8,915 1,758 19.72% 13.57% 2.52% 8.03% 3.02% NA
1996 7,950 1,604 20.18% 10.03% 1.64% 10.98% 3.25% 10.97%
1997 14,238 2,729 19.17% 8.29% 1.19% 11.68% 3.13% 11.67%
1998 14,870 2,707 18.20% 7.23% 1.18% 11.63% 3.19% 11.63%
1999 24,282 3,541 14.58% 4.74% 0.76% 9.94% 2.45% 9.94%
2000 382 66 17.28% 7.59% 2.88% 9.69% 3.14% 9.69%
2001 380 67 17.63% 5.53% 1.84% 13.16% 3.42% 13.16%
2002 309 34 11.00% 3.88% 1.29% 8.09% 1.94% 8.09%
2003 438 62 14.16% 6.85% 2.28% 8.90% 2.28% 8.90%
2004 388 38 9.79% 4.64% 1.55% 6.96% 1.55% 6.96%
2005 490 52 10.61% 3.88% 1.22% 7.76% 1.22% 7.76%
2006 402 48 11.94% 4.48% 1.00% 7.71% 2.74% 7.71%
2007 437 41 9.38% 4.12% 1.60% 6.18% 2.29% 6.18%
2008 277 25 9.03% 2.89% 1.44% 6.86% 1.44% 6.86%
2009 124 10 8.06% 3.23% 1.61% 5.65% 1.61% 5.65%
2010 124 13 10.48% 0.81% 0.00% 9.68% 1.61% 9.68%
2011 239 9 3.77% 0.84% 0.42% 3.77% 0.00% 3.77%
2012 146 8 5.48% 1.37% 0.00% 4.11% 0.68% 4.11%
2013 347 11 3.17% 0.86% 0.00% 2.02% 0.58% 2.02%
2014 65 6 9.23% 1.54% 0.00% 7.69% 3.08% 7.69%
2015 70 4 5.71% 1.43% 0.00% 5.71% 0.00% 5.71%
2016 89 0 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
2017 75 0 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
2018 55 0 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
2019 58 0 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
2020 203 0 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
2021 25 0 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
2022 7 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% 0.00%
All Model Years 115,353 21,529 18.66% 10.08% 2.39% 9.93% 3.24% 6.08%

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 18 2 11.11% 5.56% 0.00% 5.56% 5.56% 0.00%
1997 57 6 10.53% 7.02% 3.51% 7.02% 3.51% 0.00%
1998 268 19 7.09% 5.60% 1.87% 5.22% 2.99% 0.37%
1999 969 113 11.66% 9.80% 2.17% 9.60% 6.71% 0.21%
2000 24,332 4,225 17.36% 15.68% 3.12% 15.35% 11.21% 0.33%
2001 39,701 5,878 14.81% 13.31% 2.56% 13.09% 9.47% 0.22%
2002 30,048 4,299 14.31% 12.51% 2.94% 12.32% 8.44% 0.19%
2003 53,698 6,138 11.43% 9.95% 2.24% 9.75% 6.72% 0.20%
2004 37,722 4,430 11.74% 10.24% 2.17% 10.02% 6.94% 0.22%
2005 71,834 6,642 9.25% 8.04% 1.66% 7.88% 5.38% 0.16%
2006 42,641 4,326 10.15% 8.85% 1.79% 8.68% 6.18% 0.17%
2007 77,184 5,447 7.06% 6.07% 1.19% 5.99% 4.07% 0.08%
2008 38,374 3,010 7.84% 6.98% 1.16% 6.81% 4.75% 0.17%
2009 52,061 2,854 5.48% 4.97% 0.67% 4.90% 3.52% 0.07%
2010 30,118 2,286 7.59% 7.06% 0.76% 6.97% 3.52% 0.09%
2011 65,884 3,838 5.83% 5.46% 0.47% 5.43% 2.74% 0.03%
2012 27,769 2,110 7.60% 7.20% 0.55% 7.14% 3.70% 0.05%
2013 117,521 5,308 4.52% 4.13% 0.49% 4.09% 2.00% 0.04%
2014 18,857 1,039 5.51% 5.19% 0.40% 5.14% 2.82% 0.05%
2015 23,402 1,169 5.00% 4.67% 0.39% 4.65% 2.65% 0.03%
2016 21,329 832 3.90% 3.66% 0.28% 3.64% 2.41% 0.01%
2017 24,971 965 3.86% 3.60% 0.27% 3.60% 2.45% 0.01%
2018 15,839 603 3.81% 3.62% 0.16% 3.60% 2.84% 0.02%
2019 11,001 458 4.16% 3.96% 0.20% 3.95% 3.19% 0.01%
2020 5,984 219 3.66% 3.48% 0.17% 3.48% 2.87% 0.00%
2021 3,322 209 6.29% 6.17% 0.09% 6.17% 5.57% 0.00%
2022 50 6 12.00% 12.00% 0.00% 12.00% 12.00% 0.00%
Other 11 5 45.45% 18.18% 0.00% 18.18% 9.09% 0.00%
All Model Years 834,965 66,436 7.96% 7.12% 1.20% 7.01% 4.59% 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 11,631 10.08%
All Visual 9,995 1.20% 3,736 3.24%
All Functional 59,443 7.12% 11,457 9.93%
OBDII 58,531 7.01% 7,019 6.08%
Overall 66,436 7.96% 21,529 18.66%

Initial Test Failures by Program Area

Program Area OIS BAR-97
Initial Tests Failed Failure Rate Initial Tests Failed Failure Rate
Enhanced 720,486 57,871 8.03% 88,551 16,880 19.06%
Partial 40,959 3,040 7.42% 6,884 1,428 20.74%
Basic 66,955 4,996 7.46% 14,379 2,041 14.19%
Change of Ownership 6,565 529 8.06% 1,178 268 22.75%
No Program 0 0 0.00% 1 0 0.00%
Unknown 0 0 0.00% 4,360 912 20.92%
All Program Areas 834,965 66,436 7.96% 115,353 21,529 18.66%

Initial Test Failures by Station Type

Station Type OIS BAR-97
Initial Tests Failed Failure Rate Initial Tests Failed Failure Rate
STAR Test-Only 442,515 38,070 8.60% 66,893 12,454 18.62%
STAR Test-Only (Suspended) 1,247 87 6.98% 35 5 14.29%
Non-STAR Test-Only 19,141 1,206 6.30% 2,063 252 12.22%
STAR Test-and-Repair 234,545 19,032 8.11% 35,131 7,179 20.43%
STAR Test-and-Repair (Suspended) 1,818 79 4.35% 243 29 11.93%
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 130,298 7,226 5.55% 9,848 1,407 14.29%
Test-and-Repair/Dealer 2,684 126 4.69% 20 1 5.00%
Business Fleet 376 36 9.57% 0 0 0.00%
Permanent Fleet Registered 38 1 2.63% 0 0 0.00%
Referee 693 472 68.11% 68 31 45.59%
Government Fleet 1,610 101 6.27% 1,052 171 16.25%
All Stations 834,965 66,436 7.96% 115,353 21,529 18.66%

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 856,768 90.16% 93,550 9.84%
All Tests 928,315 89.60% 107,710 10.40%

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 457,619 89.83% 51,789 10.17%
Non-STAR Test-Only 19,676 92.79% 1,528 7.21%
STAR Test-and-Repair 242,362 89.87% 27,314 10.13%
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 130,785 93.32% 9,361 6.68%
All Stations 850,442 90.43% 89,992 9.57%

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 33,825 $59.10 233,865 $51.49 267,690 $52.45
STAR Test-Only 64,370 $52.34 441,654 $49.76 506,024 $50.09
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 9,431 $57.22 129,637 $63.59 139,068 $63.15
Non-STAR Test-Only 1,968 $46.66 19,079 $44.29 21,047 $44.51
Test-and-Repair/Dealer 19 $77.09 2,684 $64.70 2,703 $64.79
Total 109,613 $54.75 826,919 $52.34 936,532 $52.62

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 2 $45.50 10,049 $54.73 33,823 $59.10 223,816 $51.35
STAR Test-Only 78 $31.75 13,732 $41.99 64,292 $52.37 427,922 $50.01
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 0 $0.00 82,969 $66.20 9,431 $57.22 46,668 $58.94
Non-STAR Test-Only 0 $0.00 7,136 $44.02 1,968 $46.66 11,943 $44.44
Test-and-Repair/Dealer 0 $0.00 2,461 $63.95 19 $77.09 223 $72.91
Total 80 $32.09 116,347 $60.94 109,533 $54.77 710,572 $50.93

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) $1-100 343 $55.73 2,123 $623.12
$101-250 428 $172.32
$251-500 476 $364.96
$501-650 197 $571.05
Over $650 679 $1,389.99
Non-STAR Repairs (Test-and-Repair) $1-100 160 $58.12 803 $531.68
$101-250 205 $173.50
$251-500 178 $362.13
$501-650 64 $566.00
Over $650 196 $1,435.66
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 $0.00 389 $1,071.00
$101-250 28 $190.89
$251-500 52 $394.02
$501-650 36 $577.45
Over $650 273 $1,355.30
Total Repairs $1-100 503 $56.49 3,315 $653.53
$101-250 661 $173.47
$251-500 706 $366.39
$501-650 297 $570.74
Over $650 1148 $1,389.53

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 103 46 1,853 73 2,075
STAR Test-Only 21 1 1,731 35 1,788
STAR Sub-Total 124 47 3,584 108 3,863
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 482 50 2,026 225 2,783
Non-STAR Test-Only 25 7 242 32 306
Non-STAR Sub-Total 507 57 2,268 257 3,089
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 42 5 304 13 364
Repair-Only 2 0 44 1 47
Unknown Type 0 1 15 3 19
Other Station Sub-Total 108 8 446 21 583
All Stations 739 112 6,298 386 7,535

Stations Conducting Test by Equipment Type

Station Type Equipment Type
BAR-97 Only OIS Only BAR-97 and OIS
STAR Test-and-Repair 1 190 1,817
STAR Test-Only 2 95 1,638
STAR Sub-Total 3 285 3,455
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 0 1,730 366
Non-STAR Test-Only 0 92 74
Non-STAR Sub-Total 0 1,822 440
Permanent Fleet Registered 0 17 0
Business Fleet 0 2 0
Basic Area Dealer 0 49 5
Unknown Type 0 1 15
Government Fleet 6 146 32
Referee 0 2 23
Other Station Sub-Total 6 217 75
All Stations 9 2,324 3,970

Referee Certificates Issued

Certificate Type OIS BAR-97
Certificate of Compliance 409 95
Certificate of Non Compliance 0 0
Parts Cost 28 10
Hardship Extensions 0 0
Exempt Vehicle 4 5
Exempted by Directive 11 0
Parts Exemption 8 0
Unknown Outcome 0 0
Permanently Exempt Vehicle 0 0
Temporarily Exempt Vehicle 0 0
All Certificates Issued 460 110

Technicians

License Type Licenses
EO (Inspect Only) 4,134
EO + EI (Inspect and Repair) 4,813
All License Types 8,947

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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