Smog check exemptions by model year

The short answer

For a gasoline, hybrid or alternative fuel vehicle, add 8 to the model year. The result is the year your car needs its first renewal smog check. A 2020 model year car needs its first one in 2028. A 2019 model year car needs it in 2027. That is the rule BAR gives in plain words.

The rest of this guide gives the lookup table, shows how the cutoffs changed over time, and lists the other model year lines that matter. They are 1975, 1976, 1997, 1998 and the 35 year collector line.

Lookup table for model years 2016 to 2027

Find your model year. The second column is the last year you skip the renewal check. The third column is the year it starts. The table assumes you live in an area that requires biennial checks. If you live in a county that does not, you will still need a check when you sell the car.

The abatement fee column shows what DMV charges while the car is exempt. It is $20 a year in model years one to six and $25 a year in years seven and eight. We explain it in the smog abatement fee guide.

How to read your own row

• If the first renewal check year is in the future, you do not need a renewal smog check this year.
• If it is this year, your next DMV renewal notice should say "Smog Certification Required." After that, you test every two years.
• If it is in the past, you are already on the biennial schedule.

Use the model year of the car, not the year you bought it. It is printed on your registration card.

Why the number is eight

The new car exemption has grown twice. California started with a four year window. It moved to six years on January 1, 2005. It moved to eight years on January 1, 2019. AB 1274, passed in 2017, made the last change and added the $25 fee for years seven and eight.

DMV charges the abatement fee while the car is in its exempt years. Over the full eight years, the fee adds up to $170 for a car that is registered for all eight (six years at $20 plus two years at $25).

BAR's own wording is that gas, hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles that are eight model years old and newer skip the renewal check. The statute is Health and Safety Code section 44011(a)(4)(B)(ii). It has been in effect since January 1, 2019.

The four year rule for sales is a separate clock

The renewal exemption is not the only age rule. When you sell a car, a second and shorter clock runs. A gas vehicle that is four model years old or newer does not need a smog check at a change of ownership. The buyer pays an $8 smog transfer fee to DMV instead. Vehicle Code section 4000.1 sets this rule.

This creates a gap that surprises people. A car can be too old for the sale exemption and still be young enough to skip renewal checks. If you sell a car in that stretch, you need a smog certificate for the sale, even though the car has never needed one at renewal.

DMV and BAR word the four year line a little differently on their consumer pages. When the car sits right at the edge, check the DMV smog page for the current model year cutoff before you list it. Your buying and selling guide has the rest of the sale rules, including the 90 day certificate window.

Worked examples

Here are six cars and what the rules say about each one in 2026.

• 2024 gas sedan. First renewal smog check in 2032. Exempt at a sale for now, with the $8 transfer fee. The abatement fee runs at $20 a year.
• 2021 hybrid SUV. First renewal smog check in 2029. It is past the four year sale window, so a sale needs a smog certificate.
• 2018 gas pickup. Its first renewal smog check is due in 2026. Look for the smog line on your renewal notice.
• 2012 gas minivan. On the biennial schedule. It tests every two years in a biennial area and at every sale.
• 2023 diesel truck at 9,000 pounds GVWR. No exemptions. It follows the full rules from the first year.
• 1974 gas coupe. Exempt for good because it is 1975 or older.

Hybrids, flex fuel and plug in hybrids

Hybrid vehicles joined Smog Check in January 2015. They follow the same eight year renewal rule and the same four year sale rule as a gas car. BAR covers gasoline, propane, natural gas and methanol or ethanol fuels under the same age rules. Battery electric vehicles are exempt and never reach the lookup table at all.

Diesel hybrids count as diesel. The DMV nonresident brochure says so directly, so a diesel hybrid gets no age exemption either.

A short history of the exempt window

1. 1984. BAR launches the Smog Check program.
2. 2005. The new car exemption goes from four model years to six.
3. January 1, 2010. Diesels from 1998 up join the program.
4. January 2015. Hybrids join the program.
5. 2017. AB 1274 extends the exemption to eight years and adds the $25 fee for years seven and eight.
6. January 1, 2019. The eight year window takes effect.

The 1975 and 1976 line

Gasoline cars from model year 1975 and older are exempt from smog checks for good. DMV lists trailers beside them as vehicles that do not need an inspection. Model year 1976 is the first year covered.

That matters because 1976 to 1999 cars get a tailpipe test on the BAR 97 machine, not the on board computer test that newer cars get. In enhanced areas most of them also ride a dynamometer, a rolling road, so the test can measure oxides of nitrogen. Cars from 1976 to 1995 also face extra checks on the EGR valve, ignition timing, the fuel cap and a low pressure evaporative test. BAR's 2025 data shows these old cars fail often. First test failure rates run from about 19 to 22 percent for model years 1976 to 1983.

The diesel lines at 1997 and 1998

Diesel smog checks began on January 1, 2010, under AB 1488. They cover diesel cars and trucks from model year 1998 and newer with a GVWR of 14,000 pounds or less. Diesel from 1997 and older is exempt. Diesel above 14,000 pounds is exempt from Smog Check but falls under the CARB Clean Truck Check program.

No model year exemption applies to diesel. Vehicle Code section 4000.1 carves diesel out of the four year sale exemption. Health and Safety Code section 44011(a)(4)(D) carves it out of the eight year renewal exemption. In the DMV fleet file, 1.26 million diesel and diesel hybrid vehicles sit in the registered fleet, and the newest of them are tested like the oldest.

The 35 year collector line

A collector motor vehicle that is at least 35 model years old, and insured as a collector car, gets a lighter test. It must meet its exhaust standards. It must also pass the fuel cap and liquid fuel leak checks. This is a partial exemption, not a full one. See Health and Safety Code section 44011(c) and Vehicle Code section 4000.1(g).

When an exempt car still gets a smog check

An exempt age does not protect the car from every order. Under Health and Safety Code section 44011(a)(4)(C), an exempt age vehicle still needs a check in four cases.

1. BAR finds, through remote sensing, that the car likely fails or has been tampered with.
2. The car is being registered from out of state. Our moving to California guide covers this.
3. The car is specially constructed, such as a kit car.
4. The car was randomly selected.

How many cars are in each group

The DMV fleet file counts vehicles by model year. At the end of 2024, 9.97 million gas, hybrid, flex fuel, plug in hybrid and natural gas vehicles sat in model years 2018 to 2025. That is the group that skips the renewal check today. Another 9.01 million sat in model years 2011 to 2017, and they are the group that tests every two years. The chart shows each model year.

Model year 2025 is left off the chart because the snapshot ends in December 2024, so that year was still filling in.

Older cars fail more often. BAR's 2025 data shows first test failure rates of 4.2 percent for model year 2017, 6.4 percent for 2013, 11.2 percent for 2005 and 16.9 percent for 2000.

What this means for you

• Buying a new car. You skip renewal smog checks for the first eight model years and pay the fee instead.
• Buying a used car. Ask for the model year and add 8. If the answer is next year, expect a check soon.
• Selling a car. Count four model years. Older than that, the buyer will want a certificate.
• Driving an old car. If it is 1976 or newer and gas, it tests every two years in a biennial area. If it is 1975 or older, it never does.
• Driving a diesel. No age shortcuts. Check the weight and the year.

Not sure the rules apply to your vehicle at all? Start with the main rules guide.