What Texas Isn't Telling You About Vehicle Inspections Ending

(Tyler, Texas) - My vehicle registration is due in January of 2025. Normally, I would have gotten the registration paperwork in October so it would give me plenty of time to get my car inspected. I didn't get my registration paperwork until yesterday (December 11). That's because state law no longer requires an inspection to get that registration starting next month. What I did notice is that I still have to pay the $7.50 for that inspection. While I don't have to get a state inspection anymore, there are some select counties that have to get a form of an inspection before registering their vehicle, including a county in East Texas.

What the State of Texas Isn't Telling You About Vehicle Inspections Ending

It used to be $14 to get your vehicle inspected. I know there were a lot of shops that wouldn't do them simply because they didn't get any revenue from that while having to use their manpower. When the inspection sticker requirement dropped, it went to $7.50 with another $7.50 tacked onto your registration cost. So does that mean we no longer have to pay either of those fees? Nope. That's Catch #1...we still have to pay those fees and the state isn't even hiding it.

It will be labeled as "Inspection Program Replacement Fee" (KHOU) on your registration bill. Seriously?! Call it what it is Texas, a tax with no representation. But I digress. By the way, it does say that on the paperwork I got to register my vehicle next month.

That's the First Catch, What's #2?

So yes, there's a second catch to this...not every county in Texas will eliminate inspections. Select counties will still require a yearly emissions test before registering their vehicle. One East Texas county is one that list, Kaufman County. If you're a resident of Mabank, Kemp, Kaufman, Forney, Terrell or any other Kaufman County town, you will have to get that emissions test. Other counties that will have this requirement are Harris, Fort Bend, Galveston, Montgomery, Brazoria, Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Johnson, Parker, Rockwall, Tarrant, Travis, Williamson and El Paso counties. Basically the counties with large metros in them (KHOU).

dps.texas.gov

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