Guide To Becoming A Smog Check Station

Smog is a serious health hazard, contributing to thousands of premature deaths each year in California. Motor vehicles are responsible for more than half the air pollution in the state. In fact, most of the vehicular smog is caused by just 10 to 15 percent of vehicles-those with the worst emissions problems.

Since creation of the original Smog Check program in the early 1980s, our understanding of smog has evolved considerably. We now understand the critical impact of oxides of nitrogen (NOx), the primary cancer-causing agent in smog, and can more accurately measure vehicular NOx emissions. Today's vehicle emissions equipment is more sophisticated, and with proper maintenance, can substantially reduce NOx emissions in our air.

So while the original Smog Check program helped California make significant progress toward cleaning up its air, new technology enables us to continue and improve the process. We can now identify the worst polluting vehicles, "Gross Polluters" and correct excessive emissions of NOx, hydrocarbons (HC) and carbon monoxide (CO) through a groundbreaking program called Smog Check II.

The Smog Check program is designed to significantly clean our air and help California meet the requirements of the federal Clean Air Act. It adds new requirements to the existing inspection and maintenance program so that California will meet the mandated emissions reduction targets.

Assembly Bill 2018 (AB 2018), passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Governor Wilson in 1994, outlines the requirements of the new Smog Check program. Vehicles registered in the smoggiest areas of the state that have not attained federal air quality standards ("Enhanced Program Areas") will be tested using a BAR-97 Emission Inspection System (BAR-97 EIS). The BAR-97 EIS includes a dynamometer for Acceleration Simulation Mode (ASM), or loaded-mode, testing. The dynamometer simulates actual driving conditions and allows for more precise testing for CO and HC, and for the first time ever, NOx-three of the most lethal pollutants emitted by motor vehicles.

Refer to the Zip Code finder at this site to determine whether your shop and/or the majority of your customers are located in an Enhanced Program Area.

Smog Check Program Improvements

In addition to the new testing requirements, the Smog Check Program features several other significant changes:

Gross Polluters emit from two to 25 times as many pollutants as the average passing vehicle. Emissions standards vary according to vehicle type and year, which means older vehicles are not held to the same standards as newer vehicles. Standards are less stringent as vehicles get older because of the wear and tear they receive. Under the law, a Gross Polluter must be repaired. Once the repairs are made, Gross Polluters will be required to have Smog Check inspections performed annually for the next two years.

The BAR uses a High Emitter Profile (HEP) to identify vehicles that are probable Gross Polluters. The HEP uses a combination of data collected over the years from the Smog Check program, as well as data specific to the vehicle (previous Smog Check failures or emissions equipment tampering).

In Enhanced Areas, motorists whose vehicles are identified through the HEP may be sent notices instructing them to take their vehicles to a Test-Only Center.

The state has established a network of Test-Only Centers that perform emissions testing only (no repairs). These centers test vehicles identified by test-and-repair stations as Gross Polluters to make sure that repairs on these high-polluting vehicles are done correctly.

Electronic Transmission

Smog Check stations now electronically transmit emissions test results and smog certificates directly to the Department of Motor Vehicles. The software enables technicians to input vehicle information directly from DMV registration notices with a bar code scanner.

Electronic Transmission saves you time and paperwork and is convenient to motorists. It also decreases the potential for "certificate shopping" in which some motorists have taken the vehicle to several Smog Check stations in search of a certificate that the car cannot obtain legally.

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Guide To Becoming A Smog Check Station - Overview