Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance (I/M) Program

Information and links to documents about the vehicle I/M program under the State Implementation Plan (SIP) for air quality.

Background
Recent Activities
Related Rules
Useful Links
Contact Us

The SIP files on this page are hosted by the Texas Records and Information Locator (TRAIL) web archive . If you need assistance with a file, please contact siprules@tceq.texas.gov.

Background

Areas affected: HGB, DFW, ELP, ARR

End date: None

Applicability period: Year-round

Source type: On-road mobile source

Emissions targeted: Nitrogen oxides (NO_X), volatile organic compounds (VOC), carbon monoxide (CO)

Rule/Citation: 30 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) 114, Subchapter C ( PDF )(HTML )
Description: Texas first established a vehicle emissions testing program on January 1, 1995, meeting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's requirements for I/M programs. The I/M program has been implemented in 15 counties in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, and El Paso nonattainment areas, and in Travis and Williamson Counties in the Austin-Round Rock area.

The I/M program requires the annual inspection of gasoline-powered vehicles 2–24 years old in the affected counties. Vehicles must be inspected through Department of Public Safety–certified inspection stations for emissions of NO_X, VOC, and CO.

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Recent Activities

On February 12, 2014, the commission adopted revisions to 30 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) Chapter 114, Control of Air Pollution from Motor Vehicles, and to the Texas I/M SIP implementing portions of House Bill (HB) 2305 , 83rd Texas Legislature, 2013. The rule and SIP revisions replaced the current Texas dual inspection and registration sticker system with a single registration insignia sticker system and modified the method used to collect the state’s portion of the vehicle safety and emissions inspection fee. The rule and SIP revisions maintained the current I/M program requirements until the changes required by HB 2305 were implemented on the single sticker transition date, which occurred on March 1, 2015.

Beginning on the single sticker transition date, the adopted rule and SIP revisions:

eliminated the use of the safety and emissions inspection windshield sticker;
required vehicle owners to demonstrate compliance with the I/M program by providing a current valid vehicle inspection report; displaying a current valid vehicle registration sticker on the vehicle; or presenting another form of proof authorized by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS);
replaced the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality as the entity providing information on compliant vehicles to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and required the DPS to fill this role;
repealed the requirement for inspection stations to remit the state's portion of the safety and emissions inspection fee to the DPS;
reduced the maximum safety and emissions inspection fee, which inspection stations are allowed to collect from vehicle owners, by the amount of the state's portion of the inspection fee that will now be collected by the DMV or county tax assessor at the time of vehicle registration; and
replaced the references to 37 TAC §23.93 in Chapter 114 with references to 37 TAC Chapter 23, because 37 TAC §23.93 was repealed by the DPS on March 13, 2013.

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