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Smog Referee Costs & Repair Waivers: What You Need to Know In California, controlling vehicle emissions requires a basic understanding of the costs of regarding smog referees and repair waivers. Under the state’s rules, vehicle owners should spend at least $650 on repairs to be eligible for a repair cost waiver after failing a Smog Check. That number can include both repairs and diagnostics, but is not to be confused with just plain smog tests; these do not count.
Repair Cost Waiver Overview
The Smog Check repair cost waiver allows smog vehicle owners to register their vehicles without having to fix them if they fail the Smog Check and have spent a specified amount on emissions-related repairs.
Qualifying repairs must be done by a licensed Smog Check station and the vehicle may not have been modified with tampered emissions control equipment.
This waiver is especially helpful to those who are having difficulties with what is wrong, and struggling to push on once they hit that $650 point.
Eligibility for the Waiver
Car owners will be asked to show they have paid a minimum of $650 on repairs at any registered station.
At this point, in order to see if the vehicle now meets emissions standards, the CARB will make you re-Smog Check the vehicle;
If the vehicle fails a second time, the owner could then apply for that waiver and get their registration despite the failure.
Key Considerations
If your systems have been tampered with, those costs do not count towards the $650.
The waiver will be a one-time only deal, meaning that vehicles may not have multiple waivers while under the same ownership.
Some types of vehicles with significant modifications or a unique circumstance may need to consult with a smog referee for guidance.
So, while the $650 may hurt the pocketbook, it’s an organized way of making sure new Californian cars stay up to snuff with California’s notoriously strict emissions requirements. A basic knowledge of these costs and processes provides the vehicle owner with some assistance in deciding their next course of action.
