AUSTIN — Beginning Jan. 1, 2025, Texas vehicle owners will no longer need to obtain a safety inspection prior to vehicle registration. House Bill 3297, passed during the 88th Legislature in 2023, eliminates the safety inspection program for non-commercial vehicles.
The new law maintains the annual $7.50 safety inspection fee collected at the time of vehicle registration. Texans will see this fee labeled as the Inspection Program Replacement Fee on their registration renewal notice. Owners registering a new vehicle will pay a $16.75 Inspection Program Replacement Fee to cover the first two years of registration.
State law will still require obtaining a passing vehicle emissions inspection in the following 17 counties prior to vehicle registration:
• Brazoria County
• Fort Bend County
• Parker County
• Collin County
• Galveston County
• Rockwall County
• Dallas County
• Harris County
• Tarrant County
• Denton County
• Johnson County
• Travis County
• El Paso County
• Kaufman County
• Williamson County
• Ellis County
• Montgomery County