STAR Smog Check

Most vehicles registered in California need one every two years to renew registration. Your DMV renewal notice states whether yours is due this cycle and whether it must go to a STAR station. Certificates are also required on many used-vehicle transfers and when registering a vehicle brought in from another state. Call with the year and type of vehicle and we will tell you what the state requires.

Gasoline vehicles from model year 1975 and older are exempt, as are electric vehicles, motorcycles, and most trailers. Gasoline vehicles eight model years old or newer skip the biennial test and pay a smog abatement fee with registration instead. Diesel vehicles from 1998 and newer under 14,001 pounds do require testing. Your renewal notice is the authority for your specific vehicle.

Yes. An illuminated check engine light is an automatic failure no matter how well the car drives, because the light means the onboard computer has stored a fault it wants addressed. Clearing the code right before a test does not help either: the readiness monitors reset and the vehicle fails for incomplete readiness. Fix the cause, then test.

You get told what failed and why, in plain language, before any repair starts. Because we test and repair, the diagnosis and the fix happen here and we retest when the work is done. A failure at a test-only station turns into two more trips somewhere else.

A California smog certificate is good for 90 days from the date of the test. If your registration renewal is further out than that, time the test so the certificate is still valid when you renew.

California requires a valid smog certificate on most used-vehicle transfers, with exceptions for newer vehicles and transfers between certain family members. The specifics depend on the vehicle year and the type of transfer, so call with the details rather than guessing.

Call (760) 343-3535 first. We schedule so a smog technician and the equipment are free when you arrive. Walking in without calling can mean a wait.

Usually yes, and the size of the rig is the part that stops most stations rather than the rules. Gasoline motorhomes fall under the same California requirements as other vehicles, and our bay takes vehicles that will not physically fit elsewhere. Call (760) 343-3535 with the year, chassis, and fuel type so we can confirm before you drive it over.