Smog check: exemption: collector motor vehicles

Eligible older collector cars will no longer need smog certificates for registration, renewal, or ownership transfers as the exemption expands from 2028 through 2033.

What the law does ​

• Defines eligible collector vehicles as at least 35 model years old, used mainly for display and preservation rather than primary transportation, and either collector-insured or, beginning in 2030 for later eligibility years, driven fewer than 1,000 miles annually.
• Exempts qualifying collector vehicles made before the 1981 model year starting January 1, 2028, with the cutoff advancing one model year annually to vehicles made before the 1986 model year starting January 1, 2033.
• Applies the exemption to initial registration, biennial registration renewal, and transfers of ownership.
• Requires the Bureau of Automotive Repair, in consultation with the Department of Motor Vehicles, to issue implementing rules, forms, procedures, and cost-recovery fees.
• Allows the Bureau of Automotive Repair and Department of Motor Vehicles to share information to verify eligibility.

Who it affects ​

• Owners of qualifying collector motor vehicles at least 35 model years old.
• Buyers and sellers of qualifying collector vehicles.
• The Bureau of Automotive Repair and Department of Motor Vehicles.

Context ​

The law is known as Jay Leno’s Law.