Starting Jan. 1, 2025, Texas will no longer require non-commercial car owners to complete state vehicle inspections with the passage of House Bill 3297 signed by Gov. Greg Abbott. This should save time and money for drivers, although the $7.50 fee previously charged during the inspection will now be charged when the vehicle is registered each year.

“Vehicle inspections are costly and time consuming and provide little benefit to public safety,” said State Sen. Mayes Middleton.

This means that if the car’s inspection has already expired this month or will expire by December, drivers still need to get a state inspection done to renew the vehicle registration at the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to receive the blue sticker that will be placed on your windshield for another year.

“After two years of car inspections, I’m very glad they’re going away. This new law will save time as well as just be easier on drivers. I think this will be for the better,” said Del Mar College journalism major Emma Willingham.

Commercial vehicles will still undergo regular inspections, and drivers in 17 counties will still need to complete emissions testing to receive a registration. These counties include some of the state’s most populous areas covering Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin. The 17 counties are Brazoria, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Montgomery, Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Johnson, Kaufman, Parker, Rockwall, Tarrant, Travis, Williamson and El Paso counties. BexarCounty will be added to the list of counties requiring emissions tests in 2026.