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Smog Check Executive Summary Report
August 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 973,497 86,089 8.84%
All Tests 1,057,141 99,110 9.38%

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 109,771 248,148 96,923 219,266
Non-Directed 162,784 291,283 149,438 268,720
Total 272,555 539,431 246,361 487,986

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 225 45 74 23
Non-Directed 132,420 21,580 123,456 20,101
Total 132,645 21,625 123,530 20,124

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 391 100 25.58% 18.67% 7.67% 11.25% 8.44% NA
1977 546 110 20.15% 14.65% 5.49% 7.88% 3.85% NA
1978 578 149 25.78% 19.03% 7.61% 10.03% 5.54% NA
1979 645 145 22.48% 17.52% 6.05% 9.15% 4.34% NA
1980 340 80 23.53% 15.88% 6.76% 11.18% 5.59% NA
1981 416 92 22.12% 18.75% 7.93% 9.13% 5.77% NA
1982 405 114 28.15% 18.77% 5.93% 13.33% 7.41% NA
1983 574 127 22.13% 16.55% 7.67% 9.41% 4.01% NA
1984 911 213 23.38% 17.89% 7.90% 10.43% 4.39% NA
1985 1,332 320 24.02% 19.07% 7.88% 8.26% 4.58% NA
1986 1,851 429 23.18% 17.02% 6.21% 9.78% 4.70% NA
1987 1,891 436 23.06% 16.92% 6.45% 9.10% 4.02% NA
1988 2,161 510 23.60% 18.00% 5.74% 8.93% 3.42% NA
1989 3,027 592 19.56% 13.38% 3.77% 9.08% 3.47% NA
1990 3,350 673 20.09% 13.97% 4.12% 8.30% 3.52% NA
1991 4,003 768 19.19% 13.32% 3.57% 8.24% 2.60% NA
1992 3,740 712 19.04% 13.29% 3.18% 7.81% 3.05% NA
1993 4,570 998 21.84% 15.62% 3.72% 8.64% 3.33% NA
1994 6,245 1,225 19.62% 13.79% 2.63% 8.37% 2.83% NA
1995 6,725 1,381 20.54% 14.04% 2.44% 8.30% 3.35% NA
1996 8,807 1,611 18.29% 8.75% 1.27% 9.81% 3.05% 9.79%
1997 10,597 1,991 18.79% 8.69% 1.53% 11.09% 2.97% 11.09%
1998 16,731 2,774 16.58% 6.86% 1.04% 9.83% 2.79% 9.81%
1999 16,450 2,633 16.01% 5.95% 1.09% 10.24% 2.80% 10.24%
2000 341 31 9.09% 5.28% 2.05% 2.93% 2.35% 2.93%
2001 200 18 9.00% 4.50% 2.00% 5.50% 0.50% 5.50%
2002 302 21 6.95% 4.97% 1.32% 1.66% 0.99% 1.66%
2003 254 20 7.87% 3.94% 1.57% 4.33% 3.15% 4.33%
2004 391 25 6.39% 4.09% 1.28% 1.53% 2.56% 1.53%
2005 263 21 7.98% 4.18% 0.76% 3.04% 2.28% 3.04%
2006 494 22 4.45% 2.63% 0.81% 1.21% 1.62% 1.21%
2007 240 24 10.00% 5.42% 1.67% 2.92% 2.92% 2.92%
2008 330 6 1.82% 0.91% 0.00% 0.91% 0.30% 0.91%
2009 82 3 3.66% 1.22% 0.00% 2.44% 0.00% 2.44%
2010 86 3 3.49% 1.16% 1.16% 2.33% 1.16% 2.33%
2011 139 3 2.16% 0.72% 0.00% 1.44% 0.00% 1.44%
2012 315 6 1.90% 0.32% 0.00% 1.27% 0.63% 1.27%
2013 95 2 2.11% 0.00% 0.00% 1.05% 1.05% 1.05%
2014 325 3 0.92% 0.31% 0.00% 0.62% 0.00% 0.62%
2015 62 2 3.23% 1.61% 1.61% 1.61% 0.00% 1.61%
2016 70 1 1.43% 0.00% 0.00% 1.43% 0.00% 1.43%
2017 79 1 1.27% 0.00% 0.00% 1.27% 0.00% 1.27%
2018 54 0 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
2019 45 0 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
2020 72 0 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
2021 49 0 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
2022 136 0 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
2023 6 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 100,717 18,395 18.26% 10.40% 2.46% 9.18% 3.09% 5.41%

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 1 0 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
1997 5 1 20.00% 20.00% 0.00% 20.00% 20.00% 0.00%
1998 190 20 10.53% 5.79% 2.63% 4.74% 2.63% 1.05%
1999 704 103 14.63% 11.79% 2.84% 11.65% 8.81% 0.14%
2000 31,709 4,766 15.03% 13.28% 2.87% 13.09% 9.75% 0.19%
2001 24,956 3,822 15.31% 13.44% 3.04% 13.18% 9.60% 0.26%
2002 43,850 5,311 12.11% 10.50% 2.38% 10.32% 7.27% 0.18%
2003 32,874 4,160 12.65% 10.72% 2.67% 10.48% 7.23% 0.25%
2004 57,251 6,092 10.64% 9.02% 2.09% 8.81% 6.17% 0.21%
2005 37,591 4,214 11.21% 9.46% 2.19% 9.30% 6.31% 0.16%
2006 66,242 5,958 8.99% 7.55% 1.71% 7.40% 5.06% 0.15%
2007 42,489 3,827 9.01% 7.36% 1.79% 7.25% 4.84% 0.11%
2008 62,556 4,187 6.69% 5.86% 1.07% 5.76% 3.99% 0.10%
2009 27,112 1,961 7.23% 6.43% 1.07% 6.33% 4.47% 0.09%
2010 60,789 3,421 5.63% 5.20% 0.57% 5.14% 2.44% 0.05%
2011 28,833 2,194 7.61% 6.96% 0.86% 6.88% 2.85% 0.08%
2012 88,061 4,914 5.58% 5.07% 0.62% 5.01% 2.33% 0.06%
2013 29,198 2,010 6.88% 6.23% 0.77% 6.18% 2.78% 0.05%
2014 121,950 5,313 4.36% 3.89% 0.55% 3.86% 1.81% 0.03%
2015 19,680 1,179 5.99% 5.42% 0.58% 5.38% 2.64% 0.04%
2016 19,924 963 4.83% 4.46% 0.34% 4.44% 2.45% 0.02%
2017 18,275 755 4.13% 3.77% 0.33% 3.74% 2.43% 0.03%
2018 20,775 846 4.07% 3.84% 0.27% 3.80% 2.69% 0.03%
2019 13,742 625 4.55% 4.24% 0.31% 4.22% 3.34% 0.02%
2020 12,985 533 4.10% 3.84% 0.27% 3.80% 3.00% 0.04%
2021 6,439 240 3.73% 3.59% 0.17% 3.56% 2.56% 0.03%
2022 4,496 268 5.96% 5.89% 0.07% 5.85% 4.60% 0.04%
2023 133 13 9.77% 9.77% 0.00% 9.02% 8.27% 0.75%
Other 5 1 20.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
All Model Years 872,815 67,697 7.76% 6.79% 1.25% 6.69% 4.21% 0.10%

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 10,473 10.40%
All Visual 10,930 1.25% 3,111 3.09%
All Functional 59,272 6.79% 9,241 9.18%
OBDII 58,377 6.69% 5,446 5.41%
Overall 67,697 7.76% 18,395 18.26%

Initial Test Failures by Program Area

Program Area OIS BAR-97
Initial Tests Failed Failure Rate Initial Tests Failed Failure Rate
Enhanced 752,205 58,685 7.80% 77,614 14,547 18.74%
Partial 42,912 3,308 7.71% 6,009 1,146 19.07%
Basic 72,037 5,289 7.34% 13,030 1,771 13.59%
Change of Ownership 5,661 415 7.33% 931 234 25.13%
No Program 0 0 0.00% 4 2 50.00%
Unknown 0 0 0.00% 3,129 695 22.21%
All Program Areas 872,815 67,697 7.76% 100,717 18,395 18.26%

Initial Test Failures by Station Type

Station Type OIS BAR-97
Initial Tests Failed Failure Rate Initial Tests Failed Failure Rate
STAR Test-Only 479,413 39,220 8.18% 60,018 10,916 18.19%
STAR Test-Only (Suspended) 929 93 10.01% 87 18 20.69%
Non-STAR Test-Only 19,857 1,193 6.01% 1,768 222 12.56%
STAR Test-and-Repair 243,106 19,108 7.86% 29,449 5,913 20.08%
STAR Test-and-Repair (Suspended) 919 90 9.79% 59 11 18.64%
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 123,999 7,067 5.70% 8,646 1,157 13.38%
Test-and-Repair/Dealer 2,271 103 4.54% 42 2 4.76%
Business Fleet 227 19 8.37% 0 0 0.00%
Permanent Fleet Registered 34 2 5.88% 0 0 0.00%
Referee 885 747 84.41% 90 48 53.33%
Government Fleet 1,175 55 4.68% 558 108 19.35%
All Stations 872,815 67,697 7.76% 100,717 18,395 18.26%

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 882,355 90.64% 91,142 9.36%
All Tests 952,517 90.10% 104,624 9.90%

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 487,986 90.46% 51,445 9.54%
Non-STAR Test-Only 20,124 93.06% 1,501 6.94%
STAR Test-and-Repair 246,361 90.39% 26,194 9.61%
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 123,530 93.13% 9,115 6.87%
All Stations 878,001 90.87% 88,255 9.13%

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 29,442 $63.51 242,596 $56.75 272,038 $57.48
STAR Test-Only 59,847 $55.75 478,829 $51.97 538,676 $52.39
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 8,470 $61.78 123,354 $60.84 131,824 $60.90
Non-STAR Test-Only 1,700 $48.61 19,832 $46.69 21,532 $46.85
Test-and-Repair/Dealer 42 $70.86 2,243 $66.36 2,285 $66.45
Total 99,501 $58.45 866,854 $54.48 966,355 $54.89

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 12,472 $53.62 29,442 $63.51 230,124 $56.92
STAR Test-Only 698 $50.30 18,066 $47.83 59,149 $55.82 460,763 $52.13
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 0 $0.00 78,830 $66.83 8,470 $61.78 44,524 $50.24
Non-STAR Test-Only 52 $51.75 8,311 $48.95 1,648 $48.51 11,521 $45.07
Test-and-Repair/Dealer 0 $0.00 1,958 $65.95 42 $70.86 285 $69.22
Total 750 $50.40 119,637 $61.33 98,751 $58.51 747,217 $53.39

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) $1-100 315 $56.42 2,089 $656.97
$101-250 400 $172.65
$251-500 455 $367.98
$501-650 193 $573.97
Over $650 726 $1,387.58
Non-STAR Repairs (Test-and-Repair) $1-100 98 $58.90 638 $660.24
$101-250 159 $170.84
$251-500 136 $368.38
$501-650 50 $580.96
Over $650 195 $1,585.40
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 $0.00 333 $1,214.49
$101-250 39 $186.59
$251-500 34 $393.01
$501-650 35 $573.23
Over $650 225 $1,616.55
Total Repairs $1-100 413 $57.01 3,060 $718.33
$101-250 598 $173.07
$251-500 625 $369.43
$501-650 278 $575.13
Over $650 1146 $1,466.19

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 104 41 1,779 78 2,002
STAR Test-Only 22 2 1,718 34 1,776
STAR Sub-Total 126 43 3,497 112 3,778
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 471 51 1,973 208 2,703
Non-STAR Test-Only 26 10 234 30 300
Non-STAR Sub-Total 497 61 2,207 238 3,003
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 44 5 296 11 356
Repair Only 1 0 39 1 41
Unknown Type 1 2 44 3 50
Other Station Sub-Total 109 9 461 19 598
All Stations 732 113 6,165 369 7,379

Stations Conducting Test by Equipment Type

Station Type Equipment Type
BAR-97 Only OIS Only BAR-97 and OIS
STAR Test-and-Repair 0 215 1,698
STAR Test-Only 11 97 1,609
STAR Sub-Total 11 312 3,307
Non-STAR Test-and-Repair 1 1,662 320
Non-STAR Test-Only 1 94 53
Non-STAR Sub-Total 2 1,756 373
Permanent Fleet Registered 0 10 0
Business Fleet 0 2 0
Basic Area Dealer 0 42 4
Unknown Type 0 8 23
Government Fleet 3 131 35
Referee 0 2 29
Other Station Sub-Total 3 195 91
All Stations 16 2,263 3,771

Referee Inspections

Inspection Type Total Completed
CAT BAR Label 877
Smog Inspection/Repair Disputes 703
Law Enforcement Citations 633
BAR Referrals 230
Repair Cost Waiver + Parts Locator Service 144
Engine Change/Replacement 119
Clean Gas 81
Specially Constructed Vehicle/Kit Car 42
Grey Market 30
OBD Monitor Issues 5
All Inspections 2,864

Referee Certificates Issued

Certificate Type OIS BAR-97
Certificate of Compliance 257 81
Certificate of Non Compliance 0 0
Repair Cost Waiver 28 10
Limited Parts Exemption 2 1
Exempt Vehicle 3 18
Exempted by Directive 15 0
Permanently Exempt Vehicle 0 0
Temporarily Exempt Vehicle 0 0
All Certificates Issued 305 110

Technicians

License Type Licenses
EI (Repair Only) 1
EO (Inspect Only) 4,338
EO + EI (Inspect and Repair) 4,295
All License Types 8,634

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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