How much does a smog check cost in California

The short answer on smog check prices

BAR reports that the statewide average smog check inspection price was $67.20 in 2025. By September 2026 the average had climbed to $69.66. These are the averages that inspectors report to BAR. Your price can be higher or lower.

That price covers the test only. If your car passes, the state adds a $8.25 certificate fee. So a typical pass costs about $75.45 at 2025 average prices. If your car fails, you pay the inspection price and no certificate fee.

BAR does not set smog check prices. Each station sets its own. The station has to give you a written estimate, and you have to approve it before the work starts. That rule is your best tool. Shop around, and use the station finder to compare.

Smog check prices from 2019 to 2025

Smog check prices have crept up. From $62.70 in 2019 to $67.20 in 2025, the average rose 7.2%. The path was not smooth. It jumped to $67.41 in 2022, fell back to $62.55 in 2023, then rose again.

Do not read too much into any one year. BAR says inspectors enter their price once a month. The number may or may not include discounts. And the older tailpipe software cannot take a price over $99. So the figures are a good guide to the market, but not a perfect record of what each customer paid.

Why older cars cost more to test now

Older cars need more work from the inspector. They get a tailpipe test, a hands on check of timing and the gas cap, and sometimes time on the dynamometer. For years, the average price for these cars was lower than the price for newer cars. That flipped in 2023. Since then the tailpipe group has cost more.

The swing is sharp. The 2000 and newer average fell from $68.53 in 2022 to $60.84 in 2023, while the tailpipe average jumped from $57.66 to $64.27. BAR does not explain it. It may reflect how stations report prices, since inspectors enter them once a month.

In 2025 the average for a 2000 and newer car was $64.40. For a 1999 and older car it was $70.00. The gap is about $5.60. Learn more about the two tests in what happens during a smog check.

Prices by type of station

Where you test matters more than the car in many cases. There are four main kinds of smog station, and two split by STAR status.

• Test only. Tests your car. Cannot do emissions repairs. Only free minor fixes.
• Test and repair. Tests and fixes.
• STAR. Meets higher performance standards. Needed if your DMV notice says STAR.
• Non-STAR. Regular stations. They cannot certify directed vehicles.

The cheapest group on average is non-STAR test only, at $58.21. The priciest is non-STAR test and repair, at $72.64. A gap of about $14.44. Test and repair shops charge more per test on average. They also hope to repair the car. A test only shop may only do minor free repairs, and it may not send you to a shop it has a money stake in.

If your notice says STAR, you do not have a choice. Only a STAR station can certify the car. See STAR smog check stations. The STAR test only group came in at $60.85 on average. That is among the lowest.

The newest prices, September 2026

What is driving prices up

We can see what changed even if we cannot see the reasons. The state has lost smog stations every year since 2019. Fewer stations means each one tests more cars. BAR says the average station tests about 1,500 cars a year. Prices rose as the count fell.

The count of stations dropped from 8,831 in 2019 to 7,329 in 2025. That is a drop of 17%. Station counts in 2026 months are point in time counts, so they should not be compared with the annual figures. The price moved the other way, from $62.70 to $67.20.

Within 2026 the average rose from $68.24 in January to $69.66 in September.

What the whole system costs drivers

Add it up. California ran 11,213,580 initial tests in 2025 that carried a reported price. At the $67.20 average, that is about $754,000,000 a year in inspection fees on first tests alone, before certificates and retests. This is a rough product of BAR's own numbers.

For one driver on a two year cycle, a pass at the average costs about $37.73 a year.

The bigger bill is the repair

The inspection price is small next to the cost of a fail. BAR's repair data show what stations log for emissions repairs. The average repair rose from $422.93 in 2019 to $756.68 in 2025. That is up 79%. About 39% of logged repairs in 2025 ran over $650.

That is why a failed test is the real cost risk, not the test itself. Before you pay for a repair, check your emissions warranty and look at help programs. Our failed smog check guide lists every option. For income based help, see CAP repair assistance, which can cover up to $1,450.

Smog costs over the life of a car

For a gas car, smog costs start the day you register it. Here is how they stack up.

Over the first eight years, abatement fees add up to $170 ($20 for six years plus $25 for two). Those fees go to the state. They do not buy you a test. The first real smog check at the average price comes in year nine.

Selling or buying changes the picture. A seller must provide a valid smog certificate, good for 90 days. The exception is a gas car that is four model years old or newer, where the buyer pays an $8 transfer fee instead. Diesel cars get no model year exemption, so they pay for smog checks on their usual schedule.

Other fees that people mix up with the smog check

Your DMV bill has smog items that are not the smog check price.

• Smog abatement fee. $20 a year for model years 1 to 6 and $25 a year for years 7 and 8. You pay it while your car is exempt from the renewal smog check.
• Smog transfer fee. $8 when a gas car that is four model years old or newer changes owners. It replaces the smog check at sale.
• State certificate fee. $8.25 on a passing test. It is posted separately and charged at the same price the station pays, with no sales tax.

The state caps the certificate fee in law at $7 plus inflation. The $8.25 figure is what BAR lists today.

How to pay less for a smog check

1. Compare two or three stations. Prices vary by several dollars. The station must give you a written estimate before work starts.
2. Know your station type. If your notice says only "Smog Certification Required," a lower priced regular test only shop works.
3. Prepare the car. Do not walk in with the check engine light on. A fail costs the inspection price and then another test.
4. Ask about pretests. They are allowed, but they need an estimate too.
5. If you fail, check warranty and help. See failed smog check and CAP repair help.

For the reasons cars fail, read why cars fail smog.