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Smog Check Executive Summary Report
February 2022

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 848,900 78,122 9.20%
All Tests 924,178 89,776 9.71%

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 96,462 213,635 84,993 188,198
Non-Directed 142,289 248,659 129,114 228,074
Total 238,751 462,294 214,107 416,272

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 40 72 20
Non-Directed 121,099 19,506 112,878 18,137
Total 121,339 19,546 112,950 18,157

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 369 69 18.70% 14.09% 4.88% 7.86% 3.25% NA
1977 475 92 19.37% 13.68% 4.84% 8.63% 3.58% NA
1978 559 118 21.11% 12.34% 5.19% 11.45% 6.80% NA
1979 634 143 22.56% 15.62% 4.26% 10.57% 5.05% NA
1980 331 68 20.54% 12.69% 6.04% 10.57% 6.65% NA
1981 387 99 25.58% 20.41% 8.53% 8.27% 5.94% NA
1982 388 89 22.94% 15.72% 5.15% 11.08% 4.38% NA
1983 476 109 22.90% 16.60% 5.67% 9.45% 5.67% NA
1984 844 198 23.46% 17.65% 6.99% 9.36% 4.86% NA
1985 1,136 247 21.74% 15.67% 5.72% 8.89% 4.93% NA
1986 1,474 343 23.27% 17.03% 6.51% 11.06% 5.70% NA
1987 1,706 367 21.51% 15.24% 4.69% 9.96% 4.34% NA
1988 1,909 397 20.80% 14.56% 5.34% 8.91% 4.24% NA
1989 2,582 517 20.02% 13.90% 4.45% 9.06% 3.41% NA
1990 3,140 658 20.96% 14.01% 4.04% 9.08% 4.01% NA
1991 3,477 710 20.42% 14.44% 4.40% 8.23% 3.28% NA
1992 3,323 671 20.19% 14.29% 4.06% 8.25% 2.86% NA
1993 4,215 869 20.62% 14.92% 3.30% 8.11% 2.73% NA
1994 5,196 1,126 21.67% 15.15% 3.35% 8.74% 3.46% NA
1995 6,195 1,308 21.11% 14.38% 2.49% 8.64% 3.63% NA
1996 7,743 1,410 18.21% 8.82% 1.25% 10.13% 2.88% 10.13%
1997 9,876 2,075 21.01% 9.95% 1.43% 12.00% 3.47% 11.99%
1998 14,140 2,488 17.60% 7.23% 1.32% 10.93% 2.93% 10.91%
1999 15,756 2,633 16.71% 5.91% 0.98% 10.97% 3.07% 10.97%
2000 341 62 18.18% 10.56% 4.11% 10.85% 3.23% 10.85%
2001 249 53 21.29% 9.64% 3.21% 14.46% 5.62% 14.46%
2002 336 56 16.67% 7.14% 3.87% 11.31% 4.76% 11.31%
2003 312 55 17.63% 6.09% 3.21% 13.46% 5.13% 13.46%
2004 437 71 16.25% 7.78% 2.52% 10.53% 4.58% 10.53%
2005 285 37 12.98% 4.21% 1.40% 9.12% 2.81% 9.12%
2006 497 61 12.27% 3.62% 1.01% 8.85% 2.62% 8.85%
2007 266 40 15.04% 4.89% 1.50% 10.90% 3.38% 10.90%
2008 310 35 11.29% 3.23% 1.61% 8.71% 1.29% 8.71%
2009 102 17 16.67% 2.94% 0.00% 12.75% 1.96% 12.75%
2010 110 18 16.36% 0.91% 0.00% 16.36% 1.82% 16.36%
2011 130 13 10.00% 3.08% 1.54% 7.69% 1.54% 7.69%
2012 266 16 6.02% 1.88% 0.75% 4.51% 1.50% 4.51%
2013 131 14 10.69% 1.53% 1.53% 9.16% 2.29% 9.16%
2014 335 14 4.18% 0.00% 0.00% 3.88% 0.60% 3.88%
2015 63 7 11.11% 4.76% 0.00% 6.35% 1.59% 6.35%
2016 61 2 3.28% 0.00% 0.00% 3.28% 0.00% 3.28%
2017 86 3 3.49% 1.16% 0.00% 3.49% 0.00% 3.49%
2018 52 1 1.92% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 1.92% 0.00%
2019 57 0 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
2020 90 1 1.11% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 1.11% 0.00%
2021 72 1 1.39% 0.00% 0.00% 1.39% 0.00% 1.39%
2022 49 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 90,969 17,381 19.11% 10.52% 2.48% 10.01% 3.36% 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 3 1 33.33% 33.33% 0.00% 33.33% 33.33% 0.00%
1997 9 6 66.67% 22.22% 11.11% 22.22% 0.00% 0.00%
1998 169 25 14.79% 9.47% 5.33% 8.28% 4.14% 1.18%
1999 644 74 11.49% 9.16% 0.93% 8.85% 5.90% 0.31%
2000 27,164 4,161 15.32% 13.79% 2.68% 13.54% 10.27% 0.25%
2001 22,603 3,667 16.22% 14.41% 3.12% 14.14% 10.10% 0.27%
2002 35,676 4,447 12.46% 11.05% 2.32% 10.82% 7.74% 0.24%
2003 29,181 4,022 13.78% 11.87% 2.82% 11.57% 8.00% 0.30%
2004 47,815 5,233 10.94% 9.35% 2.05% 9.14% 6.60% 0.21%
2005 34,974 4,150 11.87% 10.01% 2.35% 9.76% 6.78% 0.25%
2006 58,637 5,377 9.17% 7.77% 1.74% 7.58% 5.30% 0.19%
2007 40,323 3,724 9.24% 7.66% 1.73% 7.51% 5.16% 0.15%
2008 53,239 3,677 6.91% 6.08% 1.05% 5.98% 4.29% 0.10%
2009 21,185 1,613 7.61% 6.83% 1.07% 6.67% 4.88% 0.15%
2010 47,134 2,945 6.25% 5.80% 0.60% 5.74% 2.96% 0.07%
2011 28,884 2,361 8.17% 7.56% 0.86% 7.47% 3.32% 0.09%
2012 77,464 4,226 5.46% 5.03% 0.53% 4.99% 2.55% 0.05%
2013 31,920 2,364 7.41% 6.85% 0.74% 6.83% 3.18% 0.02%
2014 97,033 4,139 4.27% 3.86% 0.48% 3.83% 1.91% 0.04%
2015 17,497 975 5.57% 5.16% 0.45% 5.12% 2.59% 0.03%
2016 17,481 796 4.55% 4.30% 0.29% 4.28% 2.51% 0.02%
2017 17,862 763 4.27% 4.00% 0.29% 3.98% 2.69% 0.02%
2018 22,827 864 3.78% 3.63% 0.16% 3.59% 2.77% 0.04%
2019 13,501 534 3.96% 3.79% 0.17% 3.78% 3.01% 0.01%
2020 8,347 268 3.21% 3.05% 0.17% 3.03% 2.50% 0.02%
2021 4,616 192 4.16% 4.07% 0.15% 4.03% 3.21% 0.04%
2022 1,736 132 7.60% 7.60% 0.06% 7.55% 6.80% 0.06%
Other 7 5 71.43% 14.29% 0.00% 14.29% 14.29% 0.00%
All Model Years 757,931 60,741 8.01% 7.10% 1.23% 6.98% 4.53% 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 9,573 10.52%
All Visual 9,306 1.23% 3,060 3.36%
All Functional 53,828 7.10% 9,106 10.01%
OBDII 52,912 6.98% 5,652 6.21%
Overall 60,741 8.01% 17,381 19.11%

Initial Test Failures by Program Area

Program Area OIS BAR-97
Initial Tests Failed Failure Rate Initial Tests Failed Failure Rate
Enhanced 653,927 52,524 8.03% 69,257 13,475 19.46%
Partial 37,302 2,947 7.90% 5,799 1,297 22.37%
Basic 61,334 4,826 7.87% 11,410 1,661 14.56%
Change of Ownership 5,368 444 8.27% 958 209 21.82%
No Program 0 0 0.00% 1 0 0.00%
Unknown 0 0 0.00% 3,544 739 20.85%
All Program Areas 757,931 60,741 8.01% 90,969 17,381 19.11%

Initial Test Failures by Station Type

Station Type OIS BAR-97
Initial Tests Failed Failure Rate Initial Tests Failed Failure Rate
STAR Test-Only 408,923 34,808 8.51% 53,371 9,925 18.60%
STAR Test-Only (Suspended) 309 40 12.94% 28 7 25.00%
Non-STAR Test-Only 17,950 1,129 6.29% 1,596 198 12.41%
STAR Test-and-Repair 211,201 17,194 8.14% 27,550 6,037 21.91%
STAR Test-and-Repair (Suspended) 335 21 6.27% 38 2 5.26%
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 113,914 6,563 5.76% 7,425 1,038 13.98%
Test-and-Repair/Dealer 2,140 97 4.53% 13 1 7.69%
Business Fleet 333 26 7.81% 0 0 0.00%
Permanent Fleet Registered 29 0 0.00% 0 0 0.00%
Referee 877 747 85.18% 67 25 37.31%
Government Fleet 1,920 116 6.04% 881 148 16.80%
All Stations 757,931 60,741 8.01% 90,969 17,381 19.11%

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 764,674 90.08% 84,226 9.92%
All Tests 827,649 89.56% 96,529 10.44%

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 416,272 90.04% 46,022 9.96%
Non-STAR Test-Only 18,157 92.89% 1,389 7.11%
STAR Test-and-Repair 214,107 89.68% 24,644 10.32%
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 112,950 93.09% 8,389 6.91%
All Stations 761,486 90.45% 80,444 9.55%

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 27,589 $61.23 201,944 $53.23 229,533 $54.19
STAR Test-Only 53,271 $53.65 393,952 $51.27 447,223 $51.56
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 7,429 $61.27 107,620 $59.30 115,049 $59.43
Non-STAR Test-Only 1,595 $47.62 17,568 $51.47 19,163 $51.15
Test-and-Repair/Dealer 13 $64.83 2,031 $68.07 2,044 $68.05
Total 89,897 $56.50 723,115 $53.07 813,012 $53.45

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 10,490 $52.97 27,589 $61.23 191,454 $53.25
STAR Test-Only 172 $50.82 10,824 $48.52 53,099 $53.65 383,128 $51.35
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 1 $79.95 68,253 $65.49 7,428 $61.27 39,367 $48.56
Non-STAR Test-Only 0 $0.00 6,160 $45.43 1,595 $47.62 11,408 $54.73
Test-and-Repair/Dealer 0 $0.00 1,843 $67.99 13 $64.83 188 $68.94
Total 173 $50.99 97,570 $61.04 89,724 $56.51 625,545 $51.82

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) $1-100 321 $57.19 1,933 $640.79
$101-250 397 $169.02
$251-500 424 $368.63
$501-650 148 $577.14
Over $650 643 $1,417.53
Non-STAR Repairs (Test-and-Repair) $1-100 109 $60.21 683 $673.40
$101-250 195 $172.17
$251-500 136 $362.10
$501-650 49 $569.10
Over $650 194 $1,766.32
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 $0.00 270 $1,163.70
$101-250 13 $186.21
$251-500 32 $371.83
$501-650 27 $579.48
Over $650 198 $1,435.53
Total Repairs $1-100 430 $57.96 2,886 $697.43
$101-250 605 $170.41
$251-500 592 $367.30
$501-650 224 $575.66
Over $650 1035 $1,486.35

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 44 1,812 76 2,037
STAR Test-Only 20 1 1,741 34 1,796
STAR Sub-Total 125 45 3,553 110 3,833
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 469 50 1,960 219 2,698
Non-STAR Test-Only 26 10 209 32 277
Non-STAR Sub-Total 495 60 2,169 251 2,975
Basic Area Dealer 55 0 0 0 55
Business Fleet 0 0 3 0 3
Permanent Fleet Registered 3 2 49 4 58
Referee 5 0 30 0 35
Government Fleet 43 5 297 13 358
Repair Only 2 0 38 1 41
Unknown Type 0 2 6 1 9
Other Station Sub-Total 108 9 423 19 559
All Stations 728 114 6,145 380 7,367

Stations Conducting Test by Equipment Type

Station Type Equipment Type
BAR-97 Only OIS Only BAR-97 and OIS
STAR Test-and-Repair 1 226 1,725
STAR Test-Only 4 83 1,641
STAR Sub-Total 5 309 3,366
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 1 1,681 338
Non-STAR Test-Only 1 94 62
Non-STAR Sub-Total 2 1,775 400
Permanent Fleet Registered 0 15 0
Business Fleet 0 2 0
Basic Area Dealer 0 41 5
Unknown Type 0 3 6
Government Fleet 5 149 27
Referee 0 2 25
Other Station Sub-Total 5 212 63
All Stations 12 2,296 3,829

Referee Inspections

Inspection Type Total Completed
CAT BAR Label 774
Smog Inspection/Repair Disputes 544
Law Enforcement Citations 469
BAR Referrals 262
Repair Cost Waiver + Parts Locator Service 137
Engine Change/Replacement 127
Specially Constructed Vehicle/Kit Car 29
Grey Market 20
Clean Gas 12
OBD Monitor Issues 8
All Inspections 2,382

Referee Certificates Issued

Certificate Type OIS BAR-97
Certificate of Compliance 261 81
Certificate of Non Compliance 0 0
Repair Cost Waiver 31 4
Limited Parts Exemption 6 0
Exempt Vehicle 3 16
Exempted by Directive 17 0
Permanently Exempt Vehicle 0 0
Temporarily Exempt Vehicle 0 0
All Certificates Issued 318 101

Technicians

License Type Licenses
EO (Inspect Only) 4,217
EO + EI (Inspect and Repair) 4,521
All License Types 8,738

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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