Pre-1976 gasoline vehicles. Diesel pre-1998 or over 14000 gvwr Electric vehicles Motorcycles
Source: California Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR) smog check program.
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Pre-1976 gasoline vehicles. Diesel pre-1998 or over 14000 gvwr Electric vehicles Motorcycles
8-year exemption from first sale year. Smog abatement fee paid instead Exempt years count from model year Applies to gasoline only
No — hybrids are not exempt. They are treated like gasoline vehicles, so a smog check is required after the first 8 model years. Treated like gas vehicles Only fully electric vehicles are exempt — plug-in hybrids still need smog Permanent codes can cause fails
Fully electric exempt. Phevs still need smog Ev registration surcharge separate fee No inspection required at all
No motorcycles fully exempt. Applies to all on-road motorcycles Off-road still exempt No abatement fee either
1975 and older gasoline. 1997 and older diesel Exemption based on model year not registration year No rolling exemption since 2005
Pure battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) are fully exempt from California's smog check program. No inspection is required — no tailpipe test, no OBD-II scan, and no visit to a smog station. The DMV automatically processes BEV registration without a smog certificate. PHEVs (plug-in hybrids) are not exempt and still require the standard biennial inspection. No tailpipe test, no OBD-II readiness scan, and no smog station visit required for BEVs The DMV auto-flags registered BEVs and issues registration without requesting a smog certificate Common exempt BEV models: Tesla Model 3/Y/S/X/Cybertruck, Rivian R1T/R1S, Lucid Air, Ford F-150 Lightning, Chevy Bolt/EUV
No fully exempt. Ev registration surcharge instead No inspection required at all Applies to all fully electric vehicles