What Is a Smog Abatement Fee in California

What is a smog abatement fee? California requires every vehicle to get a certification that the vehicle’s emissions meet the state’s pollution standards. The abatement fee will allow you to skip getting these certifications. There have been some changes in this program effective January of 2019. Here are what the new rules are for abatements.

What Is a Smog Abatement Fee

The smog abatement fee is $25 generally, with some exceptions. However, some vehicle owners are exempt from paying this fee.

Here are the new rules effective January 1, 2019:

• Vehicles that are 8 years old or less (using the model year) are exempt from biennial smog certification.
• 7 and 8-year-old vehicles must pay an annual $25 abatement fee.
• A 7-year-old vehicle (as of the date of this writing, it is the 2012 model) is exempt from paying the smog abatement fee if they obtained a smog certification in 2018.
• To determine what you need to pay under these new rules, subtract 7 years from the current year to figure out the oldest car that needs to pay the $25 smog abatement fee. A 6 year old car also pays the $25 fee.
• To determine which cars need to pay the $20 smog abatement fee, subtract 5 years from the current year. Those models and all younger models up until new cars will pay the $20 fee instead of the $25 fee.

Additional Exemptions

Additionally, cars with the model year of 1975 or earlier and are gasoline powered are exempt from having to get a smog certification. Diesel powered vehicles are exempt from model year 1997 and older.

Get More Information on Smog Abatement

There are many more details on the finer points of smog abatement fees and the rules. Take a look at the page for smog abatement fees and you’ll find the answers to all of your questions there.