inspections

 

All vehicles registered in New York State must get a safety inspection and an emissions inspection every 12 months.

 

Both inspections are also required when the ownership of a vehicle is transferred. (Some vehicles are exempt from emissions inspections.) Both inspections are done at the same time by a DMV-certified inspector at privately-owned inspection stations licensed by DMV.

 

If you buy a vehicle from a NYS dealer, the dealer must have the vehicle inspected. The inspections must occur no more than 30 days before the vehicle is delivered to you.

 

You receive an inspection extension if you buy or get a vehicle from an out-of-state source. After you register the vehicle in NYS, you are allowed ten days to complete the vehicle inspections. Any inspection issued to the previous registrant is not valid after you register the vehicle.

 

If you become a resident of NYS and register your vehicle in NYS, your out-of-state inspection remains valid. The out-of-state certificate or inspection sticker issued in your name is valid until it expires, or for one year after the vehicle is registered in NYS, whichever comes first. When your out-of-state inspection expires, you must get the vehicle inspected in NYS.

 

Is there a penalty if I do not get an inspection?

• You cannot renew your vehicle registration. Inspection stations electronically send a record of all emissions inspections to the DMV. The DMV must have a record that your vehicle passed an emissions inspection during the previous year. Keep the receipt of your emissions inspection sticker to prove that your vehicle was inspected.
• You can receive a fine. If the inspection sticker on your vehicle has expired in the past 60 days, you can receive a fine of $25 to $50. If the inspection sticker is expired more than 60 days, the fine is between $50 and $100. If there is no inspection sticker, the fine is between $50 and $100.  Mandatory state surcharges of $55, plus additional fees, are added to the fine.
• You can receive a parking ticket. A parked vehicle with no inspection sticker, or with an expired inspection sticker, can receive a parking ticket.