AUSTIN, Texas — We’ve been reminding you for months that starting on January 1, drivers of non-commercial vehicles in Texas won’t need their annual inspections to get their vehicle registration. Now the Texas Department of Transportation has launched a public service announcement to make sure you know how it works.
House Bill 3297 was passed in the 2023 legislative session and is now days away from going into effect.
Under the new law, drivers in Texas’ more populated counties – including some in the Houston area – will still need to pass an emissions test to get their vehicles registered.
Drivers will also need to pay a $7.50 inspection program replacement fee. That’ll be paid when you get your registration.
Here are the PSAs that the Texas DPS dropped on Friday in both English and Spanish.
English version
Spanish version
One thing to remember -- because the current state law requires a vehicle to pass inspection before registration renewal, any renewal attempt before January 1 will not go through until that date.
Emissions test still required for some drivers
While you won't need a vehicle safety inspection on non-commercial vehicles beginning Jan. 1, your vehicle will still need to pass an emissions test to be registered is you live in certain counties.
The emissions test will be required for drivers of non-commercial vehicles in Harris, Brazoria, Fort Bend, Galveston, Montgomery counties in the Houston area. Drivers in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall and Tarrant counties will also need emissions test. And in the Austin area, drivers of non-commercial vehicles in Travis and Williamson counties will still need to pass the test. Same goes for drivers in El Paso County. For drivers in San Antonio, the emissions test isn’t required when the new law goes into effect in 2025, but drivers in Bexar County will need them beginning in 2026.
Your questions
When we originally posted this story in August, we heard from many of you who had questions about the new law. One of the questions was if you're still required to get an emissions test, will you still need to pay the additional $7.50 that will be added to your registration?
Reporter Troy Kless got the answer to that question and other questions you had.