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  1. Home

Smog Check Executive Summary Report
July 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 913,348 84,077 9.21%
All Tests 995,302 96,918 9.74%

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 103,055 226,963 90,777 200,004
Non-Directed 154,025 272,141 140,423 249,306
Total 257,080 499,104 231,200 449,310

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 247 50 89 25
Non-Directed 129,467 20,281 120,641 18,846
Total 129,714 20,331 120,730 18,871

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 437 96 21.97% 16.02% 7.09% 8.47% 6.18% NA
1977 552 124 22.46% 15.76% 3.26% 8.88% 5.43% NA
1978 644 137 21.27% 14.13% 4.50% 9.63% 5.75% NA
1979 715 187 26.15% 19.30% 8.11% 11.61% 7.27% NA
1980 401 88 21.95% 14.46% 8.48% 12.97% 5.49% NA
1981 455 115 25.27% 20.22% 8.79% 9.89% 5.93% NA
1982 417 98 23.50% 17.03% 6.71% 10.07% 4.56% NA
1983 582 112 19.24% 14.43% 6.01% 8.76% 4.64% NA
1984 985 249 25.28% 19.90% 7.11% 10.15% 6.80% NA
1985 1,358 324 23.86% 17.89% 7.00% 9.43% 5.23% NA
1986 1,670 370 22.16% 16.23% 5.63% 9.52% 4.43% NA
1987 1,853 424 22.88% 16.30% 6.10% 9.28% 4.70% NA
1988 2,279 489 21.46% 14.92% 5.62% 9.48% 4.21% NA
1989 3,051 615 20.16% 14.22% 4.13% 8.52% 3.24% NA
1990 3,464 714 20.61% 13.39% 3.41% 9.32% 3.61% NA
1991 4,046 784 19.38% 13.64% 3.83% 8.28% 3.41% NA
1992 3,905 778 19.92% 14.14% 3.61% 7.94% 3.07% NA
1993 4,837 1,005 20.78% 14.74% 2.96% 8.37% 2.79% NA
1994 5,644 1,203 21.31% 14.53% 3.31% 9.16% 3.95% NA
1995 8,532 1,720 20.16% 13.88% 2.27% 8.08% 3.14% NA
1996 7,432 1,470 19.78% 9.90% 1.53% 10.86% 3.31% 10.84%
1997 13,810 2,592 18.77% 8.58% 1.17% 10.83% 3.05% 10.82%
1998 14,192 2,576 18.15% 7.52% 1.35% 11.12% 3.27% 11.10%
1999 22,890 3,430 14.98% 4.75% 0.84% 10.17% 2.67% 10.17%
2000 351 52 14.81% 6.55% 2.56% 7.98% 2.85% 7.98%
2001 316 50 15.82% 7.91% 2.85% 8.86% 2.53% 8.86%
2002 286 46 16.08% 6.64% 1.40% 10.84% 4.20% 10.84%
2003 388 42 10.82% 3.35% 1.29% 8.25% 2.06% 8.25%
2004 325 32 9.85% 3.69% 2.15% 5.54% 0.92% 5.54%
2005 419 50 11.93% 4.06% 1.67% 8.59% 1.67% 8.59%
2006 330 38 11.52% 3.94% 0.30% 6.97% 2.12% 6.97%
2007 358 32 8.94% 2.23% 0.84% 6.70% 1.68% 6.70%
2008 246 20 8.13% 1.63% 0.41% 6.10% 1.22% 6.10%
2009 105 20 19.05% 2.86% 1.90% 18.10% 4.76% 18.10%
2010 72 9 12.50% 2.78% 0.00% 9.72% 1.39% 9.72%
2011 214 10 4.67% 0.47% 0.47% 3.74% 0.93% 3.74%
2012 118 11 9.32% 1.69% 0.85% 8.47% 2.54% 8.47%
2013 300 14 4.67% 0.33% 0.33% 3.67% 1.00% 3.67%
2014 62 2 3.23% 1.61% 1.61% 3.23% 1.61% 3.23%
2015 54 2 3.70% 0.00% 0.00% 3.70% 0.00% 3.70%
2016 91 2 2.20% 1.10% 0.00% 1.10% 1.10% 1.10%
2017 82 1 1.22% 0.00% 0.00% 1.22% 0.00% 1.22%
2018 44 0 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
2019 49 2 4.08% 0.00% 0.00% 2.04% 2.04% 2.04%
2020 169 0 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
2021 25 1 4.00% 4.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
2022 4 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 108,560 20,136 18.55% 10.12% 2.35% 9.71% 3.29% 5.99%

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% 0.00% 0.00%
1997 8 3 37.50% 25.00% 0.00% 25.00% 12.50% 0.00%
1998 178 24 13.48% 11.24% 3.37% 9.55% 3.37% 1.69%
1999 746 111 14.88% 12.73% 2.68% 12.06% 8.71% 0.67%
2000 22,979 3,857 16.78% 14.86% 3.35% 14.57% 10.67% 0.30%
2001 37,874 5,503 14.53% 12.93% 2.70% 12.72% 9.18% 0.22%
2002 29,162 4,209 14.43% 12.66% 2.94% 12.44% 8.66% 0.22%
2003 52,449 5,915 11.28% 9.82% 2.20% 9.59% 6.51% 0.23%
2004 36,101 4,241 11.75% 10.25% 2.08% 10.02% 6.86% 0.22%
2005 69,742 6,632 9.51% 8.24% 1.75% 8.09% 5.61% 0.15%
2006 41,333 4,196 10.15% 8.73% 1.87% 8.58% 5.94% 0.14%
2007 74,787 5,373 7.18% 6.17% 1.21% 6.07% 4.12% 0.10%
2008 35,546 2,801 7.88% 7.02% 1.17% 6.89% 4.96% 0.14%
2009 52,353 2,913 5.56% 5.02% 0.69% 4.93% 3.65% 0.09%
2010 28,356 2,008 7.08% 6.55% 0.74% 6.49% 3.22% 0.06%
2011 63,645 3,643 5.72% 5.31% 0.52% 5.25% 2.58% 0.06%
2012 25,779 2,007 7.79% 7.27% 0.72% 7.22% 3.66% 0.05%
2013 114,411 5,247 4.59% 4.20% 0.48% 4.16% 2.09% 0.04%
2014 18,267 1,019 5.58% 5.20% 0.42% 5.18% 2.67% 0.02%
2015 22,642 1,106 4.88% 4.53% 0.38% 4.50% 2.26% 0.03%
2016 20,404 804 3.94% 3.73% 0.26% 3.71% 2.34% 0.01%
2017 23,434 971 4.14% 3.82% 0.35% 3.79% 2.71% 0.03%
2018 14,524 491 3.38% 3.21% 0.19% 3.19% 2.49% 0.02%
2019 10,703 426 3.98% 3.80% 0.16% 3.78% 3.20% 0.02%
2020 5,713 232 4.06% 3.90% 0.12% 3.89% 3.34% 0.02%
2021 3,557 199 5.59% 5.40% 0.20% 5.37% 4.67% 0.03%
2022 90 8 8.89% 8.89% 0.00% 8.89% 8.89% 0.00%
Other 3 1 33.33% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
All Model Years 804,788 63,941 7.95% 7.07% 1.23% 6.96% 4.55% 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 10,983 10.12%
All Visual 9,879 1.23% 3,567 3.29%
All Functional 56,910 7.07% 10,539 9.71%
OBDII 56,007 6.96% 6,500 5.99%
Overall 63,941 7.95% 20,136 18.55%

Initial Test Failures by Program Area

Program Area OIS BAR-97
Initial Tests Failed Failure Rate Initial Tests Failed Failure Rate
Enhanced 695,918 55,698 8.00% 83,906 15,822 18.86%
Partial 38,699 3,013 7.79% 6,535 1,432 21.91%
Basic 64,103 4,770 7.44% 13,486 1,849 13.71%
Change of Ownership 6,068 460 7.58% 1,033 226 21.88%
Unknown 0 0 0.00% 3,600 807 22.42%
All Program Areas 804,788 63,941 7.95% 108,560 20,136 18.55%

Initial Test Failures by Station Type

Station Type OIS BAR-97
Initial Tests Failed Failure Rate Initial Tests Failed Failure Rate
STAR Test-Only 434,656 36,969 8.51% 64,448 11,792 18.30%
STAR Test-Only (Suspended) 464 27 5.82% 22 3 13.64%
Non-STAR Test-Only 18,274 1,107 6.06% 2,057 268 13.03%
STAR Test-and-Repair 225,020 18,193 8.09% 32,060 6,597 20.58%
STAR Test-and-Repair (Suspended) 1,263 59 4.67% 99 12 12.12%
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 120,485 6,860 5.69% 9,229 1,328 14.39%
Test-and-Repair/Dealer 2,451 115 4.69% 19 4 21.05%
Business Fleet 312 40 12.82% 0 0 0.00%
Permanent Fleet Registered 100 3 3.00% 0 0 0.00%
Referee 665 507 76.24% 62 37 59.68%
Government Fleet 1,098 61 5.56% 564 95 16.84%
All Stations 804,788 63,941 7.95% 108,560 20,136 18.55%

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 824,741 90.30% 88,607 9.70%
All Tests 893,228 89.74% 102,074 10.26%

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 449,310 90.02% 49,794 9.98%
Non-STAR Test-Only 18,871 92.82% 1,460 7.18%
STAR Test-and-Repair 231,200 89.93% 25,880 10.07%
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 120,730 93.07% 8,984 6.93%
All Stations 820,111 90.50% 86,118 9.50%

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 32,089 $59.54 224,542 $50.79 256,631 $51.89
STAR Test-Only 64,248 $52.06 433,943 $49.48 498,191 $49.81
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 9,238 $57.72 119,514 $67.97 128,752 $67.23
Non-STAR Test-Only 2,054 $46.88 18,203 $50.78 20,257 $50.38
Test-and-Repair/Dealer 19 $71.76 2,427 $65.09 2,446 $65.14
Total 107,648 $54.68 798,629 $52.69 906,277 $52.93

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.

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 10,037 $53.81 32,089 $59.54 214,505 $50.65
STAR Test-Only 30 $40.00 12,472 $44.76 64,218 $52.06 421,471 $49.62
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 0 $0.00 75,151 $68.10 9,238 $57.72 44,363 $67.74
Non-STAR Test-Only 0 $0.00 6,416 $60.12 2,054 $46.88 11,787 $45.69
Test-and-Repair/Dealer 0 $0.00 2,187 $64.89 19 $71.76 240 $66.91
Total 30 $40.00 106,263 $63.46 107,618 $54.68 692,366 $51.04

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) $1-100 301 $54.57 1,946 $593.56
$101-250 430 $169.14
$251-500 459 $367.66
$501-650 182 $570.54
Over $650 574 $1,382.09
Non-STAR Repairs (Test-and-Repair) $1-100 124 $59.79 712 $556.67
$101-250 174 $170.67
$251-500 177 $374.56
$501-650 53 $570.89
Over $650 184 $1,427.63
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 $46.75 356 $1,091.44
$101-250 17 $194.77
$251-500 58 $379.05
$501-650 21 $570.86
Over $650 259 $1,356.07
Total Repairs $1-100 426 $56.07 3,014 $643.65
$101-250 621 $170.27
$251-500 694 $370.37
$501-650 256 $570.64
Over $650 1017 $1,383.70

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 1,861 77 2,087
STAR Test-Only 21 1 1,750 35 1,807
STAR Sub-Total 124 47 3,611 112 3,894
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 475 49 2,010 224 2,758
Non-STAR Test-Only 25 7 218 32 282
Non-STAR Sub-Total 500 56 2,228 256 3,040
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 41 1 44
Unknown Type 0 1 11 0 12
Other Station Sub-Total 108 8 439 18 573
All Stations 732 111 6,278 386 7,507

Stations Conducting Test by Equipment Type

Station Type Equipment Type
BAR-97 Only OIS Only BAR-97 and OIS
STAR Test-and-Repair 0 199 1,805
STAR Test-Only 1 83 1,649
STAR Sub-Total 1 282 3,454
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 0 1,720 363
Non-STAR Test-Only 0 85 66
Non-STAR Sub-Total 0 1,805 429
Permanent Fleet Registered 0 25 0
Business Fleet 0 2 0
Basic Area Dealer 0 48 6
Unknown Type 0 4 7
Government Fleet 7 126 29
Referee 0 2 24
Other Station Sub-Total 7 207 66
All Stations 8 2,294 3,949

Referee Certificates Issued

Certificate Type OIS BAR-97
Certificate of Compliance 298 61
Certificate of Non Compliance 0 0
Parts Cost 30 3
Hardship Extensions 0 0
Exempt Vehicle 2 9
Exempted by Directive 3 0
Parts Exemption 4 0
Unknown Outcome 0 0
Permanently Exempt Vehicle 0 0
Temporarily Exempt Vehicle 0 0
All Certificates Issued 337 73

Technicians

License Type Licenses
EO (Inspect Only) 4,183
EO + EI (Inspect and Repair) 4,741
All License Types 8,924

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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