The Inspection/Maintenance (I/M) Program for cars and trucks makes sure that the air pollution controls are working properly on vehicles. This is important because motor vehicles contribute substantially to air quality problems.
For Station Owners & Inspectors For Analyzer Vendors
- General Information FAQ
- Map of Counties
- Inspection Station Locations
- Inspection Fee Pie Chart
- 3-Year Exemption FAQ
- 3-Year Exemption Calculator
Emissions Testing
North Carolina requires emission systems tests for cars and light-duty trucks as part of the annual safety inspection in 19 counties. Vehicles from 1996 and newer are usually equipped with On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) systems, which help inspectors check that the vehicle's pollution controls are working.
Update: Efforts to remove eighteen counties from the I/M Program
The removal of eighteen counties from the Inspection and Maintenance program was enacted in Section 12.7 of Session Law (S.L.) 2023-134 (House Bill 259) of the 2023 session of the North Carolina General Assembly effective October 3, 2023. These counties are Alamance, Buncombe, Cabarrus, Cumberland, Davidson, Durham, Forsyth, Franklin, Gaston, Guilford, Iredell, Johnston, Lincoln, New Hanover, Randolph, Rowan, Union, and Wake counties.
Note: All counties will still require the annual safety inspection.
Mecklenburg County remains subject to the I&M program and for this county, S.L. 2023-134 changed the definition of a vehicle subject to an emissions inspection to a vehicle with a model year within 20 years of the current year and earlier than the 2017 model year.
Next Steps
Before North Carolina can remove these counties from the Inspection and Maintenance program, DEQ's Division of Air Quality has twelve months to submit to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for approval the revised I&M State Implementation Plan (SIP) and Clean Air Act (CAA) Section 110(l) noninterference demonstration to remove the eighteen counties from the I&M program.
- DAQ completes and submits the revised I&M State Implementation Plan (SIP) and Clean Air Act (CAA) Section 110(l) noninterference demonstration to EPA by October 3, 2024.
- EPA has up to 18 months to complete the final action.
- EPA will publish a notice in the Federal Register proposing actions related the revised I&M State Implementation Plan and CAA Section 110(l) noninterference demonstration to remove the remaining counties from the I&M program and will take public comments on the proposal for 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.
- EPA will publish its final action in the Federal Register addressing any public comments received.
- If EPA approves the submittal, the DEQ Secretary will submit a certification letter of the SIP approval by EPA to the Revisor of Statutes after the final EPA approval is published in the Federal Register.
- The Division of Motor Vehicles must implement the program changes on the first day of a month that is 60 days after the DEQ Secretary certifies to the Revisor of Statutes that EPA has approved the amendment to the SIP.
Additional Resources
Have any questions? E-mail your questions to us and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.
For free copies of brochures and publications, please contact the DAQ Public Information Officer.