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  1. Home

Smog Check Executive Summary Report
October 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 780,299 74,001 9.48%
All Tests 854,317 85,757 10.04%

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 90,546 201,427 79,886 177,356
Non-Directed 128,157 223,215 115,034 202,488
Total 218,703 424,642 194,920 379,844

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 233 67 81 19
Non-Directed 113,171 17,449 104,723 16,107
Total 113,404 17,516 104,804 16,126

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 340 86 25.29% 18.24% 6.18% 10.00% 3.82% NA
1977 509 117 22.99% 14.93% 6.29% 12.57% 7.27% NA
1978 548 140 25.55% 18.61% 8.03% 12.04% 4.74% NA
1979 640 137 21.41% 15.16% 5.94% 10.00% 5.63% NA
1980 336 67 19.94% 15.48% 5.95% 10.42% 4.76% NA
1981 359 86 23.96% 15.88% 6.41% 10.86% 4.18% NA
1982 425 82 19.29% 14.82% 4.94% 6.82% 5.65% NA
1983 482 98 20.33% 14.52% 5.19% 8.30% 4.15% NA
1984 839 174 20.74% 16.45% 6.08% 7.39% 3.69% NA
1985 1,144 274 23.95% 18.01% 6.38% 9.88% 4.46% NA
1986 1,538 362 23.54% 17.17% 7.02% 9.69% 4.36% NA
1987 1,732 438 25.29% 18.82% 6.06% 9.64% 3.93% NA
1988 1,990 434 21.81% 15.63% 5.28% 9.65% 3.92% NA
1989 2,958 599 20.25% 13.32% 3.85% 9.60% 3.11% NA
1990 2,840 549 19.33% 12.89% 3.66% 8.98% 3.42% NA
1991 3,848 738 19.18% 13.05% 3.22% 8.34% 3.53% NA
1992 3,193 642 20.11% 14.06% 3.70% 8.80% 3.23% NA
1993 4,525 945 20.88% 14.76% 3.27% 9.33% 3.16% NA
1994 5,426 1,154 21.27% 14.54% 2.65% 9.14% 3.52% NA
1995 7,918 1,620 20.46% 13.60% 2.58% 8.56% 3.45% NA
1996 6,089 1,165 19.13% 9.57% 1.41% 10.59% 3.07% 10.58%
1997 11,817 2,244 18.99% 8.04% 1.17% 11.48% 3.02% 11.47%
1998 11,888 2,118 17.82% 7.02% 1.22% 11.41% 2.78% 11.40%
1999 18,712 2,774 14.82% 4.73% 0.99% 10.03% 2.58% 10.02%
2000 292 57 19.52% 9.59% 4.11% 10.27% 5.14% 10.27%
2001 315 55 17.46% 5.71% 2.22% 13.97% 3.81% 13.97%
2002 267 54 20.22% 7.12% 2.62% 14.23% 3.00% 14.23%
2003 385 68 17.66% 7.01% 2.60% 12.73% 3.38% 12.73%
2004 301 58 19.27% 8.97% 2.99% 13.95% 3.65% 13.95%
2005 394 56 14.21% 6.35% 2.54% 8.38% 1.78% 8.38%
2006 341 50 14.66% 5.28% 2.64% 10.26% 3.81% 10.26%
2007 381 61 16.01% 5.51% 1.84% 11.02% 2.62% 11.02%
2008 222 16 7.21% 0.90% 0.45% 4.50% 1.80% 4.50%
2009 147 16 10.88% 2.04% 1.36% 8.16% 0.68% 8.16%
2010 72 12 16.67% 2.78% 1.39% 15.28% 0.00% 15.28%
2011 246 11 4.47% 1.63% 0.41% 2.85% 0.81% 2.85%
2012 116 13 11.21% 2.59% 0.86% 10.34% 0.86% 10.34%
2013 329 19 5.78% 1.52% 0.61% 5.47% 0.00% 5.47%
2014 55 5 9.09% 0.00% 0.00% 9.09% 0.00% 9.09%
2015 67 8 11.94% 4.48% 1.49% 10.45% 1.49% 10.45%
2016 69 4 5.80% 1.45% 1.45% 4.35% 0.00% 4.35%
2017 85 2 2.35% 0.00% 0.00% 2.35% 0.00% 2.35%
2018 49 2 4.08% 0.00% 0.00% 4.08% 0.00% 4.08%
2019 49 0 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
2020 124 0 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
2021 129 1 0.78% 0.78% 0.00% 0.78% 0.00% 0.78%
2022 22 0 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Other 4 2 50.00% 50.00% 0.00% 0.00% 50.00% 0.00%
All Model Years 94,557 17,613 18.63% 10.08% 2.39% 9.97% 3.15% 5.96%

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 5 2 40.00% 20.00% 0.00% 20.00% 20.00% 0.00%
1997 6 3 50.00% 16.67% 0.00% 16.67% 0.00% 0.00%
1998 156 20 12.82% 9.62% 3.85% 8.97% 5.13% 0.64%
1999 623 90 14.45% 12.04% 2.57% 11.40% 6.90% 0.64%
2000 19,665 3,259 16.57% 14.63% 3.33% 14.36% 10.31% 0.27%
2001 34,100 5,008 14.69% 13.07% 2.67% 12.87% 9.29% 0.21%
2002 25,546 3,679 14.40% 12.66% 2.76% 12.42% 8.64% 0.23%
2003 44,222 5,243 11.86% 10.32% 2.26% 10.10% 7.02% 0.23%
2004 30,657 3,710 12.10% 10.38% 2.37% 10.12% 7.01% 0.26%
2005 51,082 5,009 9.81% 8.45% 1.87% 8.30% 5.75% 0.15%
2006 36,453 3,688 10.12% 8.62% 1.94% 8.44% 5.74% 0.18%
2007 62,659 4,715 7.52% 6.37% 1.32% 6.23% 4.27% 0.14%
2008 31,547 2,561 8.12% 7.13% 1.31% 6.96% 4.93% 0.16%
2009 37,052 2,292 6.19% 5.57% 0.85% 5.45% 3.89% 0.12%
2010 23,556 1,827 7.76% 7.23% 0.67% 7.14% 3.38% 0.09%
2011 55,403 3,342 6.03% 5.64% 0.50% 5.58% 2.73% 0.06%
2012 21,973 1,747 7.95% 7.36% 0.66% 7.32% 3.51% 0.05%
2013 99,365 4,963 4.99% 4.58% 0.49% 4.54% 2.24% 0.04%
2014 16,479 969 5.88% 5.52% 0.45% 5.47% 2.57% 0.05%
2015 19,457 1,028 5.28% 4.94% 0.36% 4.92% 2.55% 0.03%
2016 18,539 805 4.34% 4.03% 0.31% 4.01% 2.49% 0.02%
2017 20,316 892 4.39% 4.11% 0.30% 4.06% 2.84% 0.04%
2018 13,805 552 4.00% 3.82% 0.19% 3.80% 2.91% 0.03%
2019 11,404 473 4.15% 3.96% 0.21% 3.93% 3.13% 0.04%
2020 6,729 248 3.69% 3.55% 0.12% 3.52% 2.79% 0.03%
2021 4,465 230 5.15% 5.04% 0.13% 5.02% 4.23% 0.02%
2022 473 32 6.77% 6.55% 0.21% 6.55% 5.92% 0.00%
Other 5 1 20.00% 20.00% 0.00% 20.00% 0.00% 0.00%
All Model Years 685,742 56,388 8.22% 7.30% 1.26% 7.18% 4.64% 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 9,531 10.08%
All Visual 8,629 1.26% 2,974 3.15%
All Functional 50,090 7.30% 9,428 9.97%
OBDII 49,259 7.18% 5,632 5.96%
Overall 56,388 8.22% 17,613 18.63%

Initial Test Failures by Program Area

Program Area OIS BAR-97
Initial Tests Failed Failure Rate Initial Tests Failed Failure Rate
Enhanced 591,881 49,032 8.28% 72,556 13,719 18.91%
Partial 33,083 2,617 7.91% 5,810 1,263 21.74%
Basic 55,270 4,319 7.81% 11,703 1,659 14.18%
Change of Ownership 5,508 420 7.63% 953 198 20.78%
No Program 0 0 0.00% 1 0 0.00%
Unknown 0 0 0.00% 3,534 774 21.90%
All Program Areas 685,742 56,388 8.22% 94,557 17,613 18.63%

Initial Test Failures by Station Type

Station Type OIS BAR-97
Initial Tests Failed Failure Rate Initial Tests Failed Failure Rate
STAR Test-Only 368,627 32,541 8.83% 56,015 10,300 18.39%
STAR Test-Only (Suspended) 623 25 4.01% 48 7 14.58%
Non-STAR Test-Only 15,653 1,010 6.45% 1,863 239 12.83%
STAR Test-and-Repair 190,559 15,839 8.31% 28,144 5,801 20.61%
STAR Test-and-Repair (Suspended) 328 19 5.79% 89 15 16.85%
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 105,614 6,206 5.88% 7,790 1,145 14.70%
Test-and-Repair/Dealer 2,091 102 4.88% 11 0 0.00%
Business Fleet 294 27 9.18% 0 0 0.00%
Permanent Fleet Registered 64 3 4.69% 0 0 0.00%
Referee 690 543 78.70% 80 23 28.75%
Government Fleet 1,199 73 6.09% 517 83 16.05%
All Stations 685,742 56,388 8.22% 94,557 17,613 18.63%

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 699,195 89.61% 81,104 10.39%
All Tests 760,756 89.05% 93,561 10.95%

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 379,844 89.45% 44,798 10.55%
Non-STAR Test-Only 16,126 92.06% 1,390 7.94%
STAR Test-and-Repair 194,920 89.13% 23,783 10.87%
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 104,804 92.42% 8,600 7.58%
All Stations 695,694 89.85% 78,571 10.15%

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 28,134 $59.36 189,222 $51.38 217,356 $52.42
STAR Test-Only 55,899 $53.19 367,497 $50.00 423,396 $50.42
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 7,794 $59.12 102,181 $59.58 109,975 $59.55
Non-STAR Test-Only 1,868 $47.91 15,477 $45.63 17,345 $45.88
Test-and-Repair/Dealer 11 $78.45 1,947 $64.23 1,958 $64.31
Total 93,706 $55.43 676,324 $51.78 770,030 $52.22

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 $50.95 7,930 $54.96 28,132 $59.36 181,292 $51.23
STAR Test-Only 440 $47.49 12,704 $46.20 55,459 $53.24 354,793 $50.14
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 0 $0.00 65,600 $66.30 7,794 $59.12 36,581 $47.54
Non-STAR Test-Only 0 $0.00 5,626 $45.88 1,868 $47.91 9,851 $45.49
Test-and-Repair/Dealer 0 $0.00 1,754 $63.24 11 $78.45 193 $73.27
Total 442 $47.51 93,614 $61.33 93,264 $55.47 582,710 $50.24

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) $1-100 605 $52.16 3,462 $585.13
$101-250 714 $170.43
$251-500 769 $370.57
$501-650 329 $572.80
Over $650 1045 $1,338.81
Non-STAR Repairs (Test-and-Repair) $1-100 185 $53.26 879 $521.53
$101-250 237 $172.06
$251-500 204 $367.64
$501-650 49 $566.00
Over $650 204 $1,495.39
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 $0.00 356 $1,190.34
$101-250 21 $182.99
$251-500 37 $382.15
$501-650 31 $562.12
Over $650 267 $1,454.51
Total Repairs $1-100 790 $52.42 4,697 $619.10
$101-250 972 $171.10
$251-500 1010 $370.40
$501-650 409 $571.18
Over $650 1516 $1,380.26

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 1,839 75 2,065
STAR Test-Only 20 1 1,746 33 1,800
STAR Sub-Total 125 47 3,585 108 3,865
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 469 46 1,980 220 2,715
Non-STAR Test-Only 25 8 207 33 273
Non-STAR Sub-Total 494 54 2,187 253 2,988
Basic Area Dealer 55 0 0 0 55
Business Fleet 0 0 3 0 3
Permanent Fleet Registered 3 2 48 4 57
Referee 5 0 30 0 35
Government Fleet 43 5 296 13 357
Repair Only 2 0 39 1 42
Unknown Type 0 1 8 2 11
Other Station Sub-Total 108 8 424 20 560
All Stations 727 109 6,196 381 7,413

Stations Conducting Test by Equipment Type

Station Type Equipment Type
BAR-97 Only OIS Only BAR-97 and OIS
STAR Test-and-Repair 2 215 1,765
STAR Test-Only 6 95 1,627
STAR Sub-Total 8 310 3,392
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 0 1,700 353
Non-STAR Test-Only 0 94 62
Non-STAR Sub-Total 0 1,794 415
Permanent Fleet Registered 0 23 0
Business Fleet 0 2 0
Basic Area Dealer 0 45 5
Unknown Type 0 0 11
Government Fleet 9 144 24
Referee 0 2 24
Other Station Sub-Total 9 216 64
All Stations 17 2,320 3,871

Referee Certificates Issued

Certificate Type OIS BAR-97
Certificate of Compliance 256 84
Certificate of Non Compliance 0 0
Parts Cost 26 3
Hardship Extensions 0 0
Exempt Vehicle 8 23
Exempted by Directive 9 2
Parts Exemption 7 0
Unknown Outcome 0 0
Permanently Exempt Vehicle 0 0
Temporarily Exempt Vehicle 0 0
All Certificates Issued 306 112

Technicians

License Type Licenses
EO (Inspect Only) 4,161
EO + EI (Inspect and Repair) 4,629
All License Types 8,790

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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