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AUSTIN (KXAN) — On Thursday, the Texas Department of Public Safety said it was experiencing a vehicle inspection system outage, preventing proper inspections in “safety-only” counties.
DPS said the issues with the system began Wednesday and remained ongoing.
“This issue does not allow stations in safety-only counties to conduct proper inspections. At this time, emission inspections are not impacted by this outage. Station license renewal applications are also unavailable,” DPS said in a statement.
The department said it was working to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.
Safety inspections in Texas
Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill this summer eliminating safety inspections for most vehicles in the state. The law goes into effect in 2025.
Under current state law, most vehicles statewide are required to undergo annual vehicle safety inspections. Come 2025, that yearly inspection would be replaced by an annual $7.50 fee — the same as the current inspection fee, but without the added need of taking your vehicle to the shop.
There are still several counties statewide that mandate yearly emissions testing. Currently, 17 counties — regions primarily surrounding metro areas or with highly concentrated populations — require those emissions inspections:
- Brazoria
- Collin
- Dallas
- Denton
- El Paso
- Ellis
- Fort Bend
- Galveston
- Harris
- Johnson
- Kaufman
- Montgomery
- Parker
- Rockwall
- Tarrant
- Travis
- Williamson
However, some vehicles are exempt from emissions testing. Only gasoline-powered vehicles are required to undergo the annual test, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
