Which counties

Texas counties that do not require an emissions test

Updated Oct 7, 2026 · sources read Oct 6, 2026 · 2 official sources quoted

Short answer

Of Texas’s 254 counties, 236 have no emissions test from November 1, 2026, when Bexar County joins the program (237 before that date). If your vehicle is registered in one of them and it is not a commercial vehicle, you need no inspection before registration; most vehicles still pay the $7.50 inspection program replacement fee when they are registered.

No emissions test outside the program counties

The emissions program covers only the counties TCEQ lists. Everywhere else in Texas there is no emissions inspection. Since January 1, 2025, House Bill 3297 also removed the annual safety inspection for non-commercial vehicles, so in most counties a private car or truck needs no inspection at all to be registered.

As of January 1, 2025, non-commercial vehicles are no longer required to obtain a safety inspection prior to vehicle registration

TxDMV

As a reminder, as of Jan. 1, 2025, non-commercial vehicles no longer need a vehicle safety inspection prior to registration.

Texas DPS

236 of Texas’s 254 counties have no emissions test; until November 1, 2026 Bexar County makes 237.

Anderson
Andrews
Angelina
Aransas
Archer
Armstrong
Atascosa
Austin
Bailey
Bandera
Bastrop
Baylor
Bee
Bell
Blanco
Borden
Bosque
Bowie
Brazos
Brewster
Briscoe
Brooks
Brown
Burleson
Burnet
Caldwell
Calhoun
Callahan
Cameron
Camp
Carson
Cass
Castro
Chambers
Cherokee
Childress
Clay
Cochran
Coke
Coleman
Collingsworth
Colorado
Comal
Comanche
Concho
Cooke
Coryell
Cottle
Crane
Crockett
Crosby
Culberson
Dallam
Dawson
Deaf Smith
Delta
DeWitt
Dickens
Dimmit
Donley
Duval
Eastland
Ector
Edwards
Erath
Falls
Fannin
Fayette
Fisher
Floyd
Foard
Franklin
Freestone
Frio
Gaines
Garza
Gillespie
Glasscock
Goliad
Gonzales
Gray
Grayson
Gregg
Grimes
Guadalupe
Hale
Hall
Hamilton
Hansford
Hardeman
Hardin
Harrison
Hartley
Haskell
Hays
Hemphill
Henderson
Hidalgo
Hill
Hockley
Hood
Hopkins
Houston
Howard
Hudspeth
Hunt
Hutchinson
Irion
Jack
Jackson
Jasper
Jeff Davis
Jefferson
Jim Hogg
Jim Wells
Jones
Karnes
Kendall
Kenedy
Kent
Kerr
Kimble
King
Kinney
Kleberg
Knox
La Salle
Lamar
Lamb
Lampasas
Lavaca
Lee
Leon
Liberty
Limestone
Lipscomb
Live Oak
Llano
Loving
Lubbock
Lynn
Madison
Marion
Martin
Mason
Matagorda
Maverick
McCulloch
McLennan
McMullen
Medina
Menard
Midland
Milam
Mills
Mitchell
Montague
Moore
Morris
Motley
Nacogdoches
Navarro
Newton
Nolan
Nueces
Ochiltree
Oldham
Orange
Palo Pinto
Panola
Parmer
Pecos
Polk
Potter
Presidio
Rains
Randall
Reagan
Real
Red River
Reeves
Refugio
Roberts
Robertson
Runnels
Rusk
Sabine
San Augustine
San Jacinto
San Patricio
San Saba
Schleicher
Scurry
Shackelford
Shelby
Sherman
Smith
Somervell
Starr
Stephens
Sterling
Stonewall
Sutton
Swisher
Taylor
Terrell
Terry
Throckmorton
Titus
Tom Green
Trinity
Tyler
Upshur
Upton
Uvalde
Val Verde
Van Zandt
Victoria
Walker
Waller
Ward
Washington
Webb
Wharton
Wheeler
Wichita
Wilbarger
Willacy
Wilson
Winkler
Wise
Wood
Yoakum
Young
Zapata
Zavala

County list: U.S. Census Bureau TIGERweb (January 1, 2026 vintage). Program counties: TCEQ.

What you still pay

The state did not drop the money it used to collect through safety inspections. Most non-commercial vehicles pay an inspection program replacement fee at registration, including vehicles in counties with no inspection of any kind.

Inspection Replacement Fee $7.50

TxDMV

The inspection program replacement fee will be paid when you register your vehicle with the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles

Texas DPS

New vehicles pay $16.75 once instead, covering two years, and the law lists vehicles that pay nothing, such as those with antique plates. See the inspection program replacement fee.

Commercial vehicles are the exception

Commercial vehicles kept their annual safety inspection in every county, with or without an emissions program.

Inspection requirements for commercial vehicles have not changed. All commercial vehicles must continue to obtain a passing commercial inspection regardless of county of residence.

TxDMV

Registered in one county, living in another

The rule follows the county of registration. A vehicle registered in a program county is tested even if it spends most of its time elsewhere, unless an exception applies. DPS publishes exceptions for vehicles that are registered in a program county but kept or driven in a county outside it: see registered in an emissions county but living elsewhere.

A county outside the program can still border one. Each county page lists the neighboring counties and whether they test.

Questions

Do I need an inspection to renew my registration in a non-emissions county?

Not for a non-commercial vehicle. Since January 1, 2025, non-commercial vehicles need no safety inspection before registration, and there is no emissions test outside the program counties. Commercial vehicles still need their annual safety inspection.

As of January 1, 2025, non-commercial vehicles are no longer required to obtain a safety inspection prior to vehicle registration

TxDMV

Inspection requirements for commercial vehicles have not changed. All commercial vehicles must continue to obtain a passing commercial inspection regardless of county of residence.

TxDMV

Why do I still pay an inspection fee if my county has no inspection?

That is the inspection program replacement fee from House Bill 3297. DPS says it replaces the revenue once collected through safety inspections and is not an increase in the cost of registration.

the inspection program replacement fee is not an increase in the cost of your vehicle registration

Texas DPS

Sources

TxDMV, Register Your Vehicleread Oct 6, 2026
Texas DPS, Vehicle Safety Inspection Program Changes Now in Effectpage as published Dec 16, 2025 (archived copy), read Oct 6, 2026

TX Emissions Guide is an independent guide, not a government site. Spotted something out of date? Report a correction.