Reminder: Texas Vehicle Inspection Changes Coming Soon

New law eliminates most vehicle safety inspections

December 20, 2024 – AUSTIN, Texas – Beginning January 1, 2025, Texas vehicle owners will no longer need to obtain a safety inspection prior to vehicle registration. House Bill 3297, passed during the 88th Legislature in 2023, eliminates the safety inspection program for non-commercial vehicles. The new law maintains the annual $7.50 safety inspection fee collected at the time of vehicle registration. Texans will see this fee labeled as the Inspection Program Replacement Fee on their registration renewal notice.

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

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

The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles registers and titles motor vehicles, licenses motor vehicle dealers, credentials motor carriers, issues oversize/overweight permits, investigates complaints against dealers and motor carriers, and awards grants to law enforcement agencies to reduce vehicle burglaries and thefts.

Learn more at www.TxDMV.gov. Subscribe to receive TxDMV news releases via email or text message.