California’s smog check program is administered by the Bureau of Automotive Repair and is one of the most comprehensive vehicle emissions programs in the country. As a dealer, you need to understand which vehicles require smog certification when you sell them and which are exempt.
The general rule for retail dealer sales is: a valid smog certificate must be provided for all gasoline-powered vehicles that are required to be smog-checked at the time of sale. Now let’s talk about the exemptions — the vehicles that don’t need a smog check.
First, vehicles within 8 model years of their manufacture date are exempt, thanks to AB 1274 which we covered in Section 1. Remember that vehicles in their 7th and 8th exemption years still require the $25 smog abatement fee. Second, diesel-powered vehicles manufactured before 1998 are exempt. Third, electric vehicles and other zero-emission vehicles are exempt — no tailpipe, no smog check. Fourth, certain historic vehicles and vehicles with permanently assigned model year plates may be exempt depending on their year.
An important exception for wholesale-only transfers: smog certification is not required when a vehicle is transferred between licensed dealers in a wholesale transaction. The smog obligation attaches when the vehicle is sold at retail to the end consumer. So if you buy a vehicle at auction (wholesale) and it doesn’t have a current smog certificate, you don’t need one to complete the purchase. But before you sell it at retail, you’ll need to get a smog check — and the vehicle needs to pass.
|
⚠ Key Compliance Point Smog Certification Exemptions: • Vehicles within 8 model years (AB 1274) — $25 abatement fee for years 7-8 • Diesel vehicles manufactured before 1998 • Electric and zero-emission vehicles • Wholesale transfers between licensed dealers All other gasoline-powered vehicles sold at retail by a dealer require a valid smog certificate at the time of sale. |