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What Texas drivers need to know about vehicle safety inspections

By Katie Pratt
Published  September 12, 2024 10:47pm CDT
Texas
FOX 7 Austin

State vehicle inspection confusion

State vehicle inspections will no longer be mandated starting next year. However, there is still some confusion about what this means for drivers in 2025.

AUSTIN, Texas - State vehicle safety inspections will no longer be required in Texas once House Bill 3297 goes into effect on January 1, 2025. 

Bruce Elfant is the Travis County Tax Assessor Collector and Voter Registrar.

"I think it's insane that they got rid of safety inspections," said Bruce Elfant. 

Many Texans are concerned about the type of vehicles that will be on the road next to them and their loved ones. 

Jose Escribano Jr. is a Travis County Constable Precinct 3 and Sergeant of the Clean Air Task Force. 

"I've seen some vehicles out there that I just shook my head," said Jose Escribano. "Even when we had a safety inspector, I would see vehicles and, of course, I stopped them. But you can't have an officer in every corner. That's impossible."

Texas vehicle inspection changes coming soon

Inspection stickers will soon be a thing of the past for most Texans starting Jan. 1, 2025. That's when House Bill 3297 will go into effect.

When drivers get pulled over by an officer, they can expect a fine that is much higher than the $7 safety inspection fee, and that fee is not going away. 

"They're still going to charge you for that inspection," said Escribano. 

In January, the fee increases by 50 cents and will be tacked onto your registration cost. 

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"We asked, ‘why are you eliminating it?’ They said it had no value to it," said Escribano. "They showed that, you know, you can't correlate accidents with inspections. And our contention of that was not so." 

There are around a dozen other states that do not require annual vehicle safety inspections. 

Although they are eliminating the safety portion, people living in highly populated counties, like Travis or Williamson, will still be required to do the emissions test every year. 

"Car owners will still have to come into the vehicle inspection stations to have their vehicles checked for their emissions," said Elfant. 

All drivers will still be required to have registration stickers. All commercial vehicles will still be required to get their annual safety inspection in 2025.