AUSTIN (KXAN) — While mandatory safety inspections are a thing of the past for most vehicles in Texas, more than a dozen counties still require annual emissions testing.
Seventeen counties in Texas still require emissions tests, which are designed to evaluate the level of pollutants and greenhouse gases emitted from a vehicle’s exhaust. The counties still requiring this kind of testing are concentrated in Texas’ largest metros where the populations are more densely concentrated.
In Central Texas, Travis and Williamson counties will continue to require these inspections from certain vehicles. Beginning in 2026, Bexar County will also follow suit with this mandate.
Those inspections apply to gasoline-powered vehicles between two and 24 model years old. If a brand-new vehicle hasn’t expired past the initial two-year inspection sticker, they’re exempt.
Hybrid vehicles aren’t exempt from the emissions test requirements. Meanwhile, diesel-powered vehicles and motorcycles aren’t required to take part in an emissions test, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
So where, exactly, should you go for emissions testing? Texas DPS runs an inspection locator map, where vehicle owners can search by city, county or ZIP code to find a testing site closest to them. The locator also breaks down locations by the types of testing they conduct; for emissions testing, that’s an on-board diagnostic test, signified by the acronym “OBD.”
A full list of Travis County testing locations is available here. Texas DPS also breaks down which specific elements of a vehicle will be tested as part of the emissions test.
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