Vehicle safety inspections no longer necessary beginning Jan. 1

Beginning Jan. 1, 2025, Texas vehicle owners will no longer be required to obtain a safety inspection prior to vehicle registration.

House Bill 3297, passed during the 88th Legislature in 2023, abolishes the vehicle safety inspection program for non commercial vehicles.

The new law maintains the annual $7.50 safety inspection fee under a new name: Inspection Program Replacement Fee. The state will collect the fee at the time of vehicle registration.

Owners registering a new vehicle will pay a $16.75 Inspection Program Replacement Fee to cover the first two years.

State law will still require vehicle emissions inspections in the following 17 counties prior to vehicle registration: Brazoria, Collin, Dallas, Denton, El Paso, Ellis, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Johnson, Kaufman, Montgomery, Parker, Rockwall, Tarrant, Travis and Williamson.