When Do State Vehicle Inspections End In Texas?

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In June of 2023, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed House Bill 3297 into law. With his signature, Texas vehicle owners will no longer be required to perform the 'Texas Two Step' to renew and register their vehicle for license plates.

Before renewing the registration for a vehicle, Texans are required to pay a $7.50 inspection fee to have their vehicle inspected to register their vehicle for another year, but since the law passed in 2023 when does this process end?

Beginning January 01, 2025, Texas vehicle owners are no longer required to get their vehicles inspected annually.

The elimination of the vehicle inspection is for non-commercial vehicles only and the $7.50 fee will not go away, it will simply be added to your registration as a new fee. Commercial vehicles will still have to go through an inspection process.  New vehicles that have never been registered in Texas will be assessed a $16.75 fee to get their vehicle registered and you will receive a license plate upon leaving the dealership. No more temporary tags.

Vehicle owners in 17 Texas Counties are still required to acquire vehicle emissions inspections.

• Houston-Galveston-Brazoria Program Area: Brazoria, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, and Montgomery Counties
• Dallas-Fort Worth Program Area: Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall, and Tarrant Counties
• Austin Area: Travis and Williamson Counties
• El Paso Area: El Paso County

Currently, Texas is one of 13 states that still require vehicle inspections, but that will change on January 01, 2025.

Another change coming in 2025 is the elimination of the paper 'temporary tags' as license plates. Governor Abbot signed House Bill 718 into law in June of 2023 that would bring an end to the state's troubled temporary tag system and beginning July 01, 2025 all newly registered vehicles would receive a set of metal license plates.