STAR smog check stations

The short answer

STAR is a tier of California smog stations that meet higher performance standards. Some cars must be tested at a STAR station. Your DMV renewal notice tells you. If it says "Smog Certification Required at a STAR station," only a STAR station can certify your car. If it just says "Smog Certification Required," any licensed smog station works.

This guide explains what STAR means, why DMV directed your car, how the stations differ from test only and test and repair shops, how to read a station's STAR score, and what the numbers show.

What STAR means

The Legislature created STAR in AB 2289 (Eng, Chapter 258, Statutes of 2010). It began on January 1, 2013 and replaced the older Gold Shield program, which ended on December 31, 2012. A rule update on July 1, 2022 changed eligibility and created a suspension process.

Only STAR stations, or a Smog Check Referee, may certify a directed vehicle or a gross polluter. STAR certification belongs to the station, not to an individual inspector. A station that meets the scoring standards can apply. A station that falls short can lose its STAR status.

BAR also says test only stations may do only a few free repairs. These are damage they caused, safety fixes, and reconnecting hoses or vacuum lines. They may not send you to a repair shop in which they hold a financial interest.

Why your car was directed to a STAR station

BAR directs a part of the enhanced area fleet to STAR stations. A message on your DMV renewal notice tells you. There are two groups.

1. The profile. A statistical model picks cars that are more likely to fail their next inspection. BAR's 2026 performance report describes directed vehicles as most 1999 and older model year vehicles, plus newer ones identified as having the greatest likelihood of failing.
2. The random sample. Health and Safety Code section 44014.7 requires 2 percent of enhanced area vehicles each year to be sent to STAR at random. It allows up to 2 percent in basic areas. BAR uses the sample to measure how well the program works.

So if your car is old, or the model says it is a higher risk, DMV may direct it. If your car was picked at random, you had no say in it. Either way, the fix is the same. Go to a STAR station.

How big is the directed group

BAR's 2025 data counts 3.77 million directed initial tests at STAR stations. That is 40 percent of all initial tests at STAR stations and 33 percent of all initial tests in the state. Non STAR stations still logged about 2,069 directed initial tests that year.

The directed count has barely moved since 2019, from 3.75 million to 3.77 million. The number of cars that choose a STAR station has grown from 4.65 million to 5.64 million.

How to tell if your car must go to STAR

1. Read the DMV renewal notice. The words "at a STAR station" mean you must use one.
2. Find a STAR station. Start with the station finder and confirm the station's STAR status on BAR's STAR report card pages.
3. Take the test. If you pass, the station sends the certificate to DMV.
4. If you fail, plan the retest. Fix the car, then retest. Unless the notice says STAR, any station can do the retest. If it does, the certifying retest has to happen at STAR.

If your notice says nothing about STAR, you can use any licensed station. Many drivers still choose STAR. About 83 percent of all initial tests in 2025 took place at STAR stations.

STAR stations by the numbers

BAR licensed 7,329 smog stations in 2025. Of those, 3,597 were STAR. That is 49 percent of all stations. Both groups are shrinking. STAR stations fell 15 percent from 2019 to 2025. All station types fell 17 percent.

Most of the STAR network is in the enhanced areas, where directed cars are common.

In 2025, STAR was split almost evenly between test and repair (1,793 stations) and test only (1,804 stations). In September 2026, BAR counted 3,503 STAR stations. Monthly counts are a point in time, so they do not compare directly with the annual figure.

How to read a STAR report card

BAR scores every STAR station on one main number, the follow up pass rate, or FPR. It runs from 0 to 1. A score above 0.50 is better than average. A station needs 0.40 or higher to apply for STAR, and to add an inspector. BAR updates the score every January and July.

In 2025, 3,761 of 6,833 stations scored 0.40 or higher. Another 1,527 had no score yet. Short term measures also count. They include test deviations, the similar vehicle failure rate, and incorrect gear selection. They update monthly, but pass or fail is judged by quarter.

The STAR report card is public. You can look up any station or inspector license number at bar.ca.gov/star/report.

What hurts a station's score

• Clean piping, which means using a clean car's exhaust for a dirty car
• Clean plugging, which means feeding the machine clean data
• Using the wrong gear on the dynamometer
• Over conditioning the car before a test
• Missing visual or functional failures
• Entering the wrong vehicle details to get easier standards

Each of these is cheating or sloppiness, and the score punishes it. A high score is a good sign that the station tests the way the rules say. To read about stations that sell fake passes, see illegal smog check stations.

Does STAR cost more

No. BAR does not regulate prices, so each station sets its own. The 2025 averages show STAR test only stations were the cheapest group after the test only shops that are not STAR. STAR test and repair shops were cheaper on average than non STAR test and repair shops.

BAR's data comes from prices the inspectors enter once a month, so it may or may not include discounts. Always ask for a written estimate. Stations must give you one before they start. The state's $8.25 certificate fee is charged only if your car passes. For price detail see the smog check cost guide.

Do STAR stations fail more cars

They do, but the reason is the cars. STAR stations get directed and high risk cars.

STAR test only stations failed 8.1 percent of first tests on newer cars in 2025. Other test only stations failed 6.1 percent. The gap comes from who walks in. The share of first tests that ended in a certificate was 90.9 percent at STAR test only stations and 93.3 percent at other test only stations.

Before you go to a STAR station

• Ask for a written estimate. Stations must give you one before work starts, and a pretest needs one as well.
• Allow about 30 minutes. BAR says a thorough smog inspection often takes 20 minutes or more, and its consumer page puts the visit at about 30 minutes.
• Check the check engine light. BAR says a car will not pass a smog check with the check engine light on.
• Mind the battery. If the battery was disconnected or replaced, BAR says to drive one to two weeks before you test, so the car's monitors can set.
• Test inside the 90 day window. You can test any time in the 90 days before the due date, which leaves room for a repair and a retest.

Three myths about STAR

Myth one, STAR means my car is a gross polluter

Not so. Most directed cars are directed because of their age or a model's guess at risk, or because they were picked at random. A gross polluter is a separate, tailpipe based finding.

Myth two, a STAR station uses a harder test

Every licensed station follows the Smog Check Manual. What STAR adds is scoring. BAR marks down behaviors such as missing visual or functional failures, using the wrong gear on the dynamometer and clean piping. The test your car takes is the one the manual describes for its age.

Myth three, I can pick any station if I am unlucky enough to get a STAR notice

If the notice says STAR, only a STAR station or the Referee can certify the car. A regular station cannot issue a certificate to a directed car, so check before you pay for a test.

STAR and the Referee

The Smog Check Referee can also certify directed cars and gross polluters. The Referee is not a normal shop, though. It handles disputes, repair cost waivers, engine changes, kit cars and other special cases. In 2025 Referee stations failed 71.8 percent of first tests on newer cars, because they see problem cases. For a normal directed car, a STAR test and repair station or a STAR test only station is the usual path.

Gross polluters

A gross polluter is a car whose tailpipe emissions are above the gross polluter standards in section 3340.42 of Title 16 of the California Code of Regulations. Only a STAR station or a Referee can certify one. A gross polluter that is not a fleet car can still get a repair cost waiver or CAP help.

Repair help is only available at STAR test and repair stations. The Consumer Assistance Program pays up to $1,450 for 1996 and newer cars and up to $1,100 for 1976 to 1995 cars. Apply before any repair starts, because BAR will not reimburse repairs begun before the eligibility letter.