Is It Possible to Register a Vehicle Without an Inspection?

Car registration is bad enough. Once a year, the alphabet soup agencies remind you to send them money or get slapped with a fine, some states worse than others. But in about half the states, there’s yet another step in the process: inspections. 

Inspections are an annoyance at best, a stone-cold car killer at worst. And if you are like the rest of us who need a car, failing an inspection can come out of the left field. So, to get ahead, some folks take their cars in to be tested beforehand, which adds more cost and isn’t even a surefire method of determining whether or not your car will pass when tested.

If this is you, then you might be wishing you could register your car in a state where inspections aren’t even a thing. Well, it turns out you can: an out-of-state registration might be exactly what you are looking for. Let’s look at the challenges faced when a car won’t pass inspection before exploring how an out-of-state option might be just what the car doctor ordered.

What Are the Usual Types of Car Inspections?

There are three types of standard inspections that you could encounter during the initial registration process:

• VIN inspection

• Safety inspection

• Smog inspection

Each is more invasive than the last, so let’s break them down.

VIN Inspection

The VIN inspection is nothing more than a background check for the VIN. If your home state requires a VIN inspection, you can get ahead of it with our VIN check service. Our service reveals anything that will flag a VIN inspection from the state, so you can figure out exactly what might stand in your way.  

Safety Inspection

Safety inspections are a vehicle's physical inspection to ensure it is roadworthy. Every state that requires these has different standards, but there are a few universal requirements:

• Working turn signals

• Brake lights

• Headlights

• Seat belts (that work)

• Brakes

• Emergency brake

• Mirrors

• Secure windows

• Speedometer and odometer 

Smog Check

We’ve written about this extensively because it’s a problem for so many people. How many? Well, there are about 39 million residents in California and around 19 million in New York, and those are just the largest states with universal smog requirements. So, you’ve got almost 60 million people who deal with smog checks daily. Over half of the states have some sort of smog requirement, although a number are only in densely populated areas. 

The smog check is the vehicle inspection that can (and will) get your car permanently parked. It is also the most expensive to fix. You could be looking at a laundry list of parts once they start wearing out. And this means money, a lot of it. Enough that a middle-aged car isn’t worth keeping around or fixing. 

But the problem is, at least in California, that you can’t even sell your car without a passing smog check. In other words, even if it’s outside of your testing cycle and you want to dump a car before it fails, it still has to be tested to sell in California. What a nightmare. 

How Much Does It Generally Cost?

Pricing varies substantially from state to state. Assuming your vehicle passes, though, it’s not a big deal. For Californians, you’re looking at a range from $29.95 to $69.95, subject to change. 

The Lone Star State caps it between $11.50-$24.50 for smog checks, and the total price cannot exceed $31.50 for both a smog check and a safety inspection. That’s nice of them. 

How Long Is the Registration Good For?

Again, it totally depends on the state. Also, it depends on the age of the car. 

In California, you can get out of smog checks for a while; if the vehicle is less than eight model years old, it is exempt. Well, with an additional fee. Of course. 

For the remainder of cars that require them, they are required annually in most of the states. If you aren’t sure, you can check out the Cali Bureau of Automotive Repair to see if you are exempt. Or, if you’d prefer not to have a stroke, you can explore our vehicle registration programs to find an out-of-state solution for your vehicle.

When Is It Possible to Register a Car Without an Inspection?

Eleven states have no inspection requirements at all. But not all of these are friendly towards out-of-state registrants; only a few are. Or, they may be administratively neutral, but the tax rates are no more favorable than other states. 

There are some noteworthy exceptions in the heavily regulated states, mostly due to the vehicle being an antique or an electric vehicle. But, by and large, you must get an inspection in those states to operate legally, assuming your vehicle remains registered there. That is the ultimate variable

If you want to register your car without inspections, you need to explore out-of-state registration options. Otherwise, you are stuck at the mercy of the government, and they aren’t known for their merciful leanings. A car without passing smog tests in Cali or NY isn’t eligible for registration renewal, so you will get ticketed for two problems instead of one: expired registration and no passing emissions test. 

Some States Don’t Require Inspections

As we said, there are about 1-in-5 states that don’t require inspections. Our personal favorites are South Dakota and Montana

South Dakota has a favorable tax rate of a flat 4%. Compared to Cali and NY, both of which have areas at or over 10%, a 6% cut is huge.  On top of that, once your car wears a South Dakota tag, you’ll never worry about an inspection again. 

Montana is more than the Duttons and Yellowstone. Montana has no state sales tax, so when you register a car, truck, or whatever vehicle you want (UTV, ATV, motorcycle, etc.) in Montana, your sales tax is a hefty $0.00. The threshold of entry is residence in Montana. 

Oh, you mean you don’t own a second house in Montana? And why not? 

We’re just kidding. Just because the super-rich from California are busy ruining the state by buying up properties doesn’t mean the rest of us can. That’s why we get you set up with an LLC, which suffices for a Montana residence. 

Many States Don’t Require Older Cars to Get Inspections

If you happen to roll around in a vintage car, you might be in luck. Most states don’t force you to smog check a car built decades before the states ever thought of emissions equipment. Thank you for your benevolence.

The catch is that you usually have to register as a historic or classic vehicle, which almost always involves restricted use through mileage limits or seasonal driving limitations.

In dubious California, you are alright if your car was made before 1975. Seriously, 1975. As in, 47 years old. Even then you would run into numerous requirements outside the scope of this article because this is California we’re talking about.

Isn’t It Illegal Not to Inspect Your Car?

If your car remains tagged in a state with emissions requirements or any other inspection requirements and you are willfully choosing not to conduct them, you cannot register your car. 

If you don’t register your car, you are driving illegally. So, look, do whatever you want; that is totally up to you. But don’t get upset when you see those red and blue lights in the mirror. 

Here at Dirt Legal, we have a better outcome. You set yourself up with a South Dakota or Montana registration package. You never get an inspection for the rest of your life. 

That’s it. That’s the whole story. You're one click away from never going to a STAR Station again. Bet you didn’t see that coming.

Wrapping Up

Is it possible to register a vehicle without mandatory inspections? You bet it is. It’s not only possible; it’s all yours for the taking. Our process is simple and quick and gets you back on the road where you belong. You can grab a tag and registration and tell your DMV to pound sand (we don’t suggest you actually tell them to pound sand). 

Don’t let another year of painful and costly safety inspections and smog checks pass you by and drain your wallet. Instead, hit that button, and let’s pull you out of that situation!