AUSTIN (KXAN) — As the clock chimed midnight Wednesday morning, Texans rung in 2025 — and the state’s mandatory vehicle inspections officially became a thing of the past.
During the 2023 legislative session, lawmakers voted to eliminate the annual vehicle inspection requirements mandated for most vehicles. Gov. Greg Abbott officially signed that legislation into law on June 13, 2023.
Beginning Wednesday, vehicle owners will instead pay an annual $7.50 fee. That cost is the same as the state’s previous inspection fee, but doesn’t come with the added requirement of bringing the vehicle into the shop.
Those driving new vehicles that haven’t previously been registered in Texas will pay $16.75 when registering the vehicle, with the funding slated to benefit the state’s mobility and clean air funds as well as Texas’ general revenue.
Now, the onus remains on personal drivers to make sure their vehicles are safe to use, while commercial vehicles will still be required to undergo an inspection requirement. However, some Texans will still have a separate inspection to check off as part of their annual vehicle maintenance to-do list.
Seventeen counties in Texas will continue to require emissions inspections. Those counties are primarily concentrated in major metro areas with more highly populated communities:
Brazoria
Collin
Dallas
Denton
El Paso
Ellis
Fort Bend
Galveston
Harris
Johnson
Kaufman
Montgomery
Parker
Rockwall
Tarrant
Travis
Williamson
Beginning in 2026, Bexar County will also join that list of counties in requiring emissions inspections. Those inspections apply to gasoline-powered vehicles between two and 24 model years old. If a brand new vehicle hasn’t expired past the initial two-year inspection sticker, they’re exempt.
Hybrid vehicles aren’t exempt from the emissions test requirements. Meanwhile, diesel-powered vehicles and motorcycles aren’t required to take part in an emissions test, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
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