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  1. Home

Smog Check Executive Summary Report
March 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 996,952 90,841 9.11%
All Tests 1,085,822 104,341 9.61%

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 112,191 248,361 98,902 218,997
Non-Directed 167,689 293,617 152,840 269,351
Total 279,880 541,978 251,742 488,348

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 270 106 78 31
Non-Directed 141,733 24,706 131,938 23,003
Total 142,003 24,812 132,016 23,034

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 453 87 19.21% 15.45% 5.30% 6.18% 4.64% NA
1977 575 124 21.57% 13.22% 4.70% 9.91% 4.70% NA
1978 681 129 18.94% 12.92% 4.55% 9.25% 5.29% NA
1979 719 155 21.56% 15.86% 6.54% 8.34% 4.17% NA
1980 397 73 18.39% 13.10% 6.55% 7.56% 4.53% NA
1981 460 102 22.17% 17.83% 6.52% 9.57% 4.78% NA
1982 465 96 20.65% 14.84% 5.16% 8.82% 4.30% NA
1983 592 137 23.14% 18.07% 6.42% 10.81% 5.57% NA
1984 1,058 212 20.04% 16.16% 5.67% 6.62% 4.06% NA
1985 1,360 306 22.50% 16.69% 6.47% 9.04% 5.22% NA
1986 1,806 397 21.98% 15.39% 5.32% 10.19% 4.87% NA
1987 2,032 442 21.75% 16.24% 5.61% 9.45% 4.53% NA
1988 2,281 508 22.27% 16.44% 5.70% 9.07% 4.08% NA
1989 3,223 647 20.07% 14.43% 5.03% 9.03% 3.72% NA
1990 3,675 722 19.65% 13.31% 3.67% 8.79% 3.51% NA
1991 4,159 819 19.69% 13.39% 3.80% 8.75% 3.05% NA
1992 4,087 793 19.40% 13.21% 3.72% 8.42% 3.11% NA
1993 4,887 1,098 22.47% 16.10% 3.62% 8.96% 3.93% NA
1994 6,461 1,338 20.71% 14.21% 2.91% 8.48% 3.16% NA
1995 7,209 1,517 21.04% 14.52% 2.48% 8.63% 3.18% NA
1996 9,381 1,740 18.55% 8.87% 1.15% 10.37% 2.86% 10.36%
1997 11,485 2,310 20.11% 9.25% 1.46% 11.73% 3.04% 11.71%
1998 17,008 2,995 17.61% 7.44% 1.30% 10.64% 3.03% 10.64%
1999 18,292 2,880 15.74% 5.61% 1.02% 10.10% 3.02% 10.10%
2000 419 80 19.09% 12.41% 5.25% 8.83% 3.10% 8.83%
2001 306 70 22.88% 9.80% 4.25% 14.71% 4.90% 14.71%
2002 325 53 16.31% 5.54% 3.08% 11.08% 3.69% 11.08%
2003 327 59 18.04% 7.03% 2.45% 12.54% 6.42% 12.54%
2004 499 61 12.22% 5.41% 3.21% 8.62% 3.21% 8.62%
2005 369 68 18.43% 7.05% 2.98% 13.82% 4.07% 13.82%
2006 562 76 13.52% 6.05% 1.78% 8.36% 2.31% 8.36%
2007 318 75 23.58% 6.60% 3.46% 17.92% 7.23% 17.92%
2008 362 27 7.46% 3.04% 0.83% 4.97% 0.28% 4.97%
2009 100 17 17.00% 4.00% 3.00% 15.00% 0.00% 15.00%
2010 117 8 6.84% 0.85% 0.00% 6.84% 0.85% 6.84%
2011 145 14 9.66% 0.00% 0.00% 8.97% 0.69% 8.97%
2012 314 19 6.05% 0.96% 0.64% 5.73% 0.64% 5.73%
2013 168 15 8.93% 1.79% 0.60% 8.33% 0.00% 8.33%
2014 463 26 5.62% 1.30% 0.43% 4.54% 0.43% 4.54%
2015 74 3 4.05% 0.00% 0.00% 2.70% 1.35% 2.70%
2016 75 2 2.67% 0.00% 0.00% 2.67% 0.00% 2.67%
2017 90 2 2.22% 1.11% 0.00% 1.11% 0.00% 1.11%
2018 63 0 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
2019 51 0 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
2020 98 0 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
2021 62 0 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
2022 70 0 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Other 2 0 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
All Model Years 108,125 20,302 18.78% 10.44% 2.48% 9.75% 3.28% 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 2 0 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
1997 6 5 83.33% 16.67% 0.00% 16.67% 0.00% 0.00%
1998 231 20 8.66% 7.79% 1.73% 6.49% 3.90% 1.30%
1999 856 114 13.32% 11.21% 2.22% 9.81% 6.43% 1.40%
2000 31,713 4,841 15.27% 13.60% 2.81% 13.31% 10.15% 0.30%
2001 26,623 4,259 16.00% 14.24% 2.95% 13.93% 9.95% 0.30%
2002 41,839 5,322 12.72% 11.10% 2.56% 10.83% 7.78% 0.27%
2003 33,495 4,524 13.51% 11.53% 2.87% 11.20% 7.85% 0.33%
2004 56,476 6,108 10.82% 9.28% 2.06% 9.09% 6.53% 0.19%
2005 40,643 4,548 11.19% 9.49% 2.19% 9.28% 6.42% 0.21%
2006 67,060 6,098 9.09% 7.64% 1.76% 7.49% 5.27% 0.15%
2007 47,008 4,183 8.90% 7.42% 1.64% 7.29% 4.99% 0.13%
2008 62,119 4,427 7.13% 6.28% 1.09% 6.13% 4.37% 0.15%
2009 25,538 1,901 7.44% 6.72% 1.01% 6.56% 4.76% 0.16%
2010 55,800 3,572 6.40% 5.91% 0.64% 5.85% 3.04% 0.06%
2011 32,387 2,682 8.28% 7.68% 0.79% 7.59% 3.50% 0.09%
2012 91,398 4,879 5.34% 4.94% 0.53% 4.89% 2.44% 0.05%
2013 34,300 2,520 7.35% 6.86% 0.63% 6.82% 3.37% 0.04%
2014 121,205 5,153 4.25% 3.84% 0.47% 3.81% 1.82% 0.04%
2015 21,079 1,176 5.58% 5.23% 0.39% 5.18% 2.63% 0.05%
2016 20,878 963 4.61% 4.33% 0.26% 4.29% 2.54% 0.04%
2017 20,705 861 4.16% 3.85% 0.34% 3.84% 2.48% 0.01%
2018 24,918 995 3.99% 3.81% 0.18% 3.77% 2.91% 0.04%
2019 15,267 608 3.98% 3.76% 0.24% 3.73% 2.72% 0.03%
2020 9,614 372 3.87% 3.65% 0.19% 3.59% 2.71% 0.06%
2021 5,325 215 4.04% 3.89% 0.19% 3.89% 3.06% 0.00%
2022 2,334 189 8.10% 7.93% 0.17% 7.93% 6.94% 0.00%
Other 8 4 50.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
All Model Years 888,827 70,539 7.94% 7.02% 1.22% 6.90% 4.46% 0.13%

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 11,289 10.44%
All Visual 10,870 1.22% 3,543 3.28%
All Functional 62,438 7.02% 10,540 9.75%
OBDII 61,324 6.90% 6,443 5.96%
Overall 70,539 7.94% 20,302 18.78%

Initial Test Failures by Program Area

Program Area OIS BAR-97
Initial Tests Failed Failure Rate Initial Tests Failed Failure Rate
Enhanced 764,753 60,916 7.97% 81,889 15,643 19.10%
Partial 45,201 3,461 7.66% 7,237 1,551 21.43%
Basic 72,315 5,618 7.77% 13,734 1,949 14.19%
Change of Ownership 6,558 544 8.30% 1,093 253 23.15%
No Program 0 0 0.00% 2 0 0.00%
Unknown 0 0 0.00% 4,170 906 21.73%
All Program Areas 888,827 70,539 7.94% 108,125 20,302 18.78%

Initial Test Failures by Station Type

Station Type OIS BAR-97
Initial Tests Failed Failure Rate Initial Tests Failed Failure Rate
STAR Test-Only 478,726 40,525 8.47% 63,252 11,492 18.17%
STAR Test-Only (Suspended) 123 8 6.50% 17 0 0.00%
Non-STAR Test-Only 22,666 1,390 6.13% 2,146 279 13.00%
STAR Test-and-Repair 247,674 19,657 7.94% 32,206 6,974 21.65%
STAR Test-and-Repair (Suspended) 411 28 6.81% 54 4 7.41%
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 132,899 7,852 5.91% 9,104 1,274 13.99%
Test-and-Repair/Dealer 2,530 132 5.22% 19 3 15.79%
Business Fleet 328 26 7.93% 0 0 0.00%
Permanent Fleet Registered 28 1 3.57% 0 0 0.00%
Referee 932 800 85.84% 92 39 42.39%
Government Fleet 2,510 120 4.78% 1,235 237 19.19%
All Stations 888,827 70,539 7.94% 108,125 20,302 18.78%

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 898,625 90.14% 98,327 9.86%
All Tests 973,145 89.62% 112,677 10.38%

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 488,348 90.10% 53,630 9.90%
Non-STAR Test-Only 23,034 92.83% 1,778 7.17%
STAR Test-and-Repair 251,742 89.95% 28,138 10.05%
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 132,016 92.97% 9,987 7.03%
All Stations 895,140 90.54% 93,533 9.46%

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 32,234 $60.67 247,050 $53.98 279,284 $54.76
STAR Test-Only 63,160 $54.40 477,496 $50.08 540,656 $50.58
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 9,069 $60.77 131,255 $60.82 140,324 $60.82
Non-STAR Test-Only 2,144 $48.58 22,376 $46.19 24,520 $46.40
Test-and-Repair/Dealer 19 $68.89 2,530 $64.99 2,549 $65.02
Total 106,626 $56.72 880,707 $52.72 987,333 $53.15

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 $61.75 11,898 $53.49 32,232 $60.67 235,152 $54.01
STAR Test-Only 359 $45.06 15,904 $47.95 62,801 $54.45 461,592 $50.15
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 0 $0.00 83,055 $67.47 9,069 $60.77 48,200 $49.37
Non-STAR Test-Only 2 $55.00 7,900 $45.35 2,142 $48.57 14,476 $46.65
Test-and-Repair/Dealer 0 $0.00 2,325 $64.95 19 $68.89 205 $65.47
Total 363 $45.20 121,082 $62.04 106,263 $56.76 759,625 $51.23

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) $1-100 323 $57.72 2,294 $647.13
$101-250 463 $175.12
$251-500 544 $372.49
$501-650 196 $570.52
Over $650 768 $1,393.67
Non-STAR Repairs (Test-and-Repair) $1-100 116 $61.96 812 $661.72
$101-250 207 $172.52
$251-500 190 $355.27
$501-650 58 $581.66
Over $650 241 $1,631.46
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 $0.00 310 $1,132.47
$101-250 9 $209.05
$251-500 47 $391.00
$501-650 36 $582.50
Over $650 218 $1,421.28
Total Repairs $1-100 439 $58.84 3,416 $694.64
$101-250 679 $174.77
$251-500 781 $369.41
$501-650 290 $574.23
Over $650 1227 $1,445.28

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 43 1,808 76 2,032
STAR Test-Only 20 1 1,731 33 1,785
STAR Sub-Total 125 44 3,539 109 3,817
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 471 48 1,953 216 2,688
Non-STAR Test-Only 27 10 220 34 291
Non-STAR Sub-Total 498 58 2,173 250 2,979
Basic Area Dealer 54 0 0 0 54
Business Fleet 0 0 3 0 3
Permanent Fleet Registered 3 2 49 4 58
Referee 5 0 30 0 35
Government Fleet 44 5 298 13 360
Repair Only 2 0 38 1 41
Unknown Type 0 2 5 1 8
Other Station Sub-Total 108 9 423 19 559
All Stations 731 111 6,135 378 7,355

Stations Conducting Test by Equipment Type

Station Type Equipment Type
BAR-97 Only OIS Only BAR-97 and OIS
STAR Test-and-Repair 1 206 1,740
STAR Test-Only 5 88 1,620
STAR Sub-Total 6 294 3,360
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 0 1,677 342
Non-STAR Test-Only 1 95 76
Non-STAR Sub-Total 1 1,772 418
Permanent Fleet Registered 0 12 0
Business Fleet 0 2 0
Basic Area Dealer 0 41 4
Unknown Type 0 1 7
Government Fleet 6 144 28
Referee 0 2 27
Other Station Sub-Total 6 202 66
All Stations 13 2,268 3,844

Referee Inspections

Inspection Type Total Completed
CAT BAR Label 864
Smog Inspection/Repair Disputes 703
Law Enforcement Citations 503
BAR Referrals 333
Repair Cost Waiver + Parts Locator Service 144
Engine Change/Replacement 127
Specially Constructed Vehicle/Kit Car 43
Clean Gas 42
Grey Market 17
OBD Monitor Issues 3
All Inspections 2,779

Referee Certificates Issued

Certificate Type OIS BAR-97
Certificate of Compliance 288 87
Certificate of Non Compliance 0 0
Repair Cost Waiver 32 9
Limited Parts Exemption 4 0
Exempt Vehicle 5 19
Exempted by Directive 11 0
Permanently Exempt Vehicle 0 0
Temporarily Exempt Vehicle 0 0
All Certificates Issued 340 115

Technicians

License Type Licenses
EO (Inspect Only) 4,224
EO + EI (Inspect and Repair) 4,548
All License Types 8,772

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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