California vehicle retirement program, how to sell your car to the state

How much does California pay to retire a car

California pays $1,350, $1,500 or $2,000 to take a running car off the road. The Bureau of Automotive Repair, also called BAR, runs the program. It is part of the Consumer Assistance Program, or CAP. You get a check from a BAR contracted dismantler. The dismantler then scraps the car.

Which amount you get depends on two things. One is your household income. The other is what happened at your last smog check. The table below sums it up.

If you meet the income test, you can get $1,500 or $2,000. If you do not, the only option is $1,350 and your car must have failed its most recent smog check. BAR checks your smog record on its own, so you cannot guess your way into a higher tier. If you ask for $2,000 and BAR finds you only qualify for $1,500, the approval letter will say $1,500.

Does my car have to fail a smog check

For two of the three payouts, yes. The $1,350 option and the $2,000 option both need a failed smog check. It must be your most recent check. Tests that were aborted, run in manual mode or run in training mode do not count.

The failure also has to be for a real emissions problem. BAR will not count a failure that is only about one of these three things.

• An ignition timing adjustment
• A gas cap function test
• A tampered emissions system

The $1,500 option is looser. It is the retirement part of the Enhanced Fleet Modernization Program, or EFMP, which BAR runs with the California Air Resources Board. Your car can pass or fail, as long as the smog check was done within 180 days before you apply. If your car is not in the smog check program at all, you do not need a check. That helps owners of model year 1975 and older cars and some others. See what to do after a failed smog check if you are still deciding.

What condition must the car be in

The car has to be a working car. The dismantler will run a quick test when you show up. Your car must meet all of these.

• It is a passenger car, truck, SUV or van with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or less.
• You can drive it to the dismantler under its own power. A tow truck does not count.
• The engine starts the normal way, with no starting fluid and no jump from a booster battery.
• It can drive forward at least 10 yards. Body, steering or suspension damage cannot stop it.
• The pedals inside work.
• It has all doors, the hood, the dashboard, the windshield, at least one side window, the driver seat, at least one bumper, an exhaust system, all side or quarter panels, one headlight, one tail light and one brake light.

The car cannot be an electric or hydrogen vehicle for the $1,500 option. A dismantler who sees a missing hood or a dead engine will turn the car away. BAR is clear that a car that cannot run will not be accepted.

Registration and ownership rules

BAR also wants the paperwork to be clean. These rules cause most of the denials.

• You must be the registered owner and the title must be in your name. The name must match exactly.
• The registration must be current, or expired no more than 120 days with all DMV fees paid.
• The car must have been registered in California for the past two years, with no lapse longer than 120 days. A lapse is the time between the sticker expiring and the new sticker being issued.
• The car cannot be in the middle of a sale or a first California registration.
• The car cannot belong to a business, a government agency or a nonprofit.
• The title cannot have a lienholder. Get the lien removed first.
• The car cannot be junked or a salvage car that is being put back on the road.

For the $1,500 option only, BAR allows a second way to prove the car lived in California. You can show California insurance for the past two years with no gap over 120 days. Or you can show repair invoices from each of the two prior calendar years. The invoices need a valid repair dealer number, your VIN and a description of the work. You cannot mix the two kinds of proof.

One car a year. As a sole owner you can retire one car in any 12 months. As a joint owner you can retire no more than two in that time.

Income limits for the $1,500 and $2,000 payouts

To get either of these payouts your gross household income must be at or below 225% of the federal poverty level. That is the total before taxes for everyone in your home. BAR needs proof, such as a tax return, an employment record or proof that you get public aid. Uploading your documents with your application can speed things up.

Pay attention to the word household. A family of four can earn up to $74,250 a year and still qualify. A single person tops out at $35,910. If you are above the line, you can still apply for the $1,350 payout.

How to apply step by step

1. Check your smog record. Look up your car at the BAR inspection history page. You need a failed check for the $1,350 and $2,000 options, or any check in the last 180 days for the $1,500 option.
2. Apply online at the BAR retirement page. Have your registration or title in hand. You can also apply by mail or call (866) 272-9642 to ask for a paper form. Weekday hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
3. Save your confirmation. It holds your CAP ID. You will use that ID with your license plate to check your status.
4. Upload income proof if you want $1,500 or $2,000. BAR says early uploads cut processing time.
5. Wait for the letter of eligibility. If BAR needs more, it sends a notice of deficiency that lists what is missing. Documents you send are reviewed within two weeks.
6. Call a BAR contracted dismantler and book a time. The letter has an expiration date. If you miss it, you must reapply.
7. Bring your papers. Take the original letter, your title and a photo ID. The name on the ID must match the letter exactly.
8. Get paid. The dismantler checks you and the car, then issues a check made out to the registered owner or owners.

The dismantler does not give rides home, so plan how you will get back. If you cannot be there, a designee can go in your place with a completed DMV Power of Attorney form, REG 260, plus a copy of your photo ID and their own photo ID. Every owner who cannot attend needs one.

Why a retirement application gets denied

BAR lists the common reasons. Most of them are easy to fix before you apply.

• The car needs a smog check and none is on record, or the record does not match the option.
• The car has not been registered in California for the full two years.
• The registration fees are past due or the sticker is expired too long.
• There is a lienholder on the title.
• The car is in the middle of a change of ownership.
• The name on the application does not exactly match the title, which is the pink slip.
• You or a co owner already retired a car in the last 12 months.

If you fix the problem you do not have to start over. You can upload or mail proof to BAR at Attention CAP, 10949 N. Mather Blvd, Rancho Cordova, CA 95670. BAR reviews it within two weeks.

Retire it, repair it or get a waiver

Retirement is not the only way out of a failed check. Think about it as a money question. If the fix costs less than your payout and the car is worth keeping, repair it. If the fix costs more than the car is worth, retire it.

BAR data on repairs can help you decide. In 2025, stations reported 46,033 emissions repairs with an average cost of $756.68. About 39% of them, or 17,989 repairs, cost more than $650. Those averaged $1,525. A $2,000 payout is more than the average repair on a car that needs a big fix.

Repair help has a catch. CAP covers 80% of the bill up to $1,450 at a STAR test and repair station. You pay the rest. A repair that costs more than $1,812.50 on a 1996 or newer car costs you everything over $1,450. If your repair quote is much higher than that, retirement may pay better. The repair cost waiver guide explains the other path.

What the program did in fiscal year 2024 to 2025

BAR reports its results to the Legislature each year. In the 2024 to 2025 fiscal year, CAP retired 23,606 cars and repaired 4,866. The state spent $29,133,380 on retirements, $4,549,136 on repairs and $9,276,904 to run the program. Admin was about 22% of the total.

The $2,000 option was the most used. 41% of retired cars went through it. The $1,350 option took 29% and the $1,500 option took 31%.

The average check was $1,234 across all three retirement options. The $2,000 option averaged $1,494 per car, not $2,000. BAR does not explain the gap in its report, but the dollar figure is what it paid out per vehicle.

Each retired car cuts an estimated 74 pounds of pollution a year. Each repaired car cuts about 48 pounds. So retirement removes roughly 56% more per car, because the car is gone for good. Those are BAR and CARB estimates of reactive organic gases, nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide.

South Coast cars made up 44% of all retirements. The San Joaquin Valley added 13%. The state air quality plan focuses on these two air districts, so BAR reports them on their own. Find your county on the county station lists or use the station finder to get a smog check first.

Why the amounts changed in 2025

For years the offers were $1,500 for low income owners and $1,000 for everyone else. Used car prices rose and fewer people took the deal. BAR said annual retirements fell more than 60% from July 2020 to July 2023. So BAR changed its rules. Since January 1, 2025 the amounts are higher.

State law in Health and Safety Code section 44062.3 still lists $1,500 and $1,000. But the law lets BAR pay more, and the rule change did that. The EFMP amount is set with CARB and stayed at $1,500 while CARB reviews it. BAR plans future raises every three years starting July 1, 2028, tied to used car prices. A raise only happens if spending was under 90% of the budget.

BAR ran CAP repair help for far more people at first. Repair help was about 50,000 cars a year in 2010. Then the state limited it to low income owners in 2011, and by 2019 it was under 2,000. In the 2024 to 2025 year it was 4,866. See the full set of program numbers in California smog check by the numbers.

Other state money for an old car

CARB runs a separate scrap and replace program under EFMP. As of BAR's 2022 sunset review, it offers income eligible owners up to $4,500 to scrap a car and buy a cleaner one, or $7,500 for transit and other mobility options instead of a car. People in some air districts may get up to $9,500 under the Clean Cars 4 All program. These programs have their own rules and dates, so check with CARB before you count on them. The BAR retirement program pays cash and does not require you to buy a replacement.