ANNUAL VEHICLE SAFETY INSPECTIONS NO LONGER NEEDED STARTING WEDNESDAY

  

The new year will bring a major change in how Texas drivers handle their vehicle registration renewals.

Starting on Wednesday, a new law goes into effect that eliminates mandatory vehicle safety inspections for non-commercial vehicles in most counties in Texas.  The new law, House Bill 3297 from the 88^th Legislature, retains the annual $7.50 safety inspection fee paid at the time of vehicle registration, as it will now be labeled as the inspection program replacement fee on registration renewal notices.

Washington County Tax Assessor-Collector Cheryl Gaskamp, speaking during Monday’s commissioners court meeting, said this month was slow for her office, as she expects many people are waiting until the start of the new year to take care of their vehicle registrations.

Owners who are registering a new vehicle will pay a $16.75 inspection program replacement fee to cover the first two years of registration.

There are 17 counties in Texas that will still require vehicle owners to pass an emissions inspection.  Those counties are Brazoria, Collin, Dallas, Denton, El Paso, Ellis, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Johnson, Kaufman, Montgomery, Parker, Rockwall, Tarrant, Travis and Williamson. 

The law does not impact commercial vehicles, which will still need to undergo and pass annual safety inspections.

Hours at the Washington County Tax Assessor-Collector’s office in the courthouse are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, with titles processed from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.