About NC Vehicle Inspection Law
The first motor vehicle safety inspection program in the United States was introduced in Massachusetts in 1926. Today, 18 states and the District of Columbia maintain safety inspection programs. As one of them, North Carolina safety inspections began in 1966.
North Carolina established emissions inspections to test vehicles to determine whether their pollution controls are working properly. Using on-board diagnostics systems installed on new cars and trucks since 1996, technicians can check to see how vehicle equipment controls nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions, the main cause of ozone, acid rain and haze in North Carolina.
The 2002 legislation which established emissions inspections in North Carolina was the Clean Smokestacks Act, which requires coal-burning power plants to reduce emissions of harmful air pollutants over ten years. The same legislation also requires a reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions, found in vehicles without properly working emissions controls.
Starting in July 2002, the state initiated on-board diagnostic (OBD) emissions inspections in nine counties. By 2006, another 39 counties were added to bring 48 counties under emissions requirements established to keep the state’s air quality in compliance with guidelines set by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Effective November 1, 2008, North Carolina’s vehicle safety and emissions inspections will go electronic. This means that windshield inspection stickers will no longer be issued at your next inspection on or after November
1. The vehicle’s safety and emissions inspection will become due the same month as the vehicle’s registration renewal.
Starting November 1, 2008, windshield inspection stickers will no longer be issued when your vehicle is inspected. Rather than receive a sticker, vehicles will be given an electronic authorization which reports that the vehicle has been inspected and registered as required by law.
Follow the “what comes first” rule to determine when your next inspection is due:
If your inspection date “comes first” before your registration renewal, have your vehicle inspected when indicated. Your next registration renewal card will indicate your subsequent inspection date.
If your registration renewal date “comes first” before the date on your windshield sticker, follow the instructions provided with your registration and disregard the date on the inspection sticker. Future inspections will be aligned with your registration renewal dates.
If your next inspection date and your registration renewal are due the same month, you will not have to make any changes. Continue to have your vehicle inspected and your registration renewed as before.
Inspection mechanics will continue to issue a receipt showing the date, station and results of your inspection, and a record of your inspection will be entered into the DMV’s vehicle registration database.
You may have your vehicle inspected up to 90 days prior to your annual vehicle registration due date, but it must be inspected no later than the last day of the month your vehicle registration expires or your registration will be blocked.
During the implementation period, your next vehicle inspection may be greater than 12 months from your last inspection date. No vehicle will have to be inspected more than once in a 12-month period
New North Carolina residents must obtain an inspection prior to registering their vehicle in the state.