AUSTIN, Texas — The need for Texas drivers to get their annual state inspections is coming to an end.
Starting Jan. 1, 2025, Texans won't need state inspections on non-commercial vehicles before getting their registration.
The Texas Department of Transportation passed along the reminder Monday with less than four months before the change goes into effect.
In 2023, House Bill 3291 was signed into law, which eliminated state inspections for non-commercial vehicles. Once that disappears, you'll see an increase of $7.50 on your registration to make up for it.
However, even if you no longer need a state inspection, your vehicle will still need to pass an emissions test if you live in certain parts of Texas.
Those in counties in and around major Texas cities, including Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, El Paso and Houston will be part of the mandatory emissions tests. San Antonio will be added to that list later.
That means non-commercial vehicle drivers who live in Harris, Fort Bend, Galveston, Montgomery, Brazoria, Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Johnson Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall, Tarrant, Travis, Williamson and El Paso counties, will still need to get a yearly emissions test. Bexar County, which covers San Antonio, will be added in 2026.
All commercial vehicles in Texas will still be required to get safety inspections.
According to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, if your car needs an emissions test, you will still need to pay the additional $7.50 in registration. That's because the bill maintains the safety inspection fee under the name Inspection Program Replacement Fee.
