Will Texas make car inspections optional in 2025?

ABILENE, Texas — In the state of Texas, it is mandatory to get your car inspected for safety reasons. Texas State Vehicle inspection helps to make sure that every car is fit to drive on the roads. Soon, these inspections will no longer be a requirement.

After 2025, cars registered in the state of Texas will no longer require safety inspections, but the owners will still need to pay a fee. For some this is a great thing, but for others this is concerning.

“I don’t necessarily think it's a bad thing,” said Billy Johnson, a Service Advisor at Proctors Automotive.

Things like checking your brakes, windshield wipers, mirrors, taillights and other things related to making sure your vehicle is in tip top shape, are all a part of Texas car inspections. This has been a requirement since 1951, but now this could change soon. Billy Johnson, a Service Advisor at Proctors Automotive, says that there are already states that don’t require state inspections.

“I will say one thing, most states that don’t require state inspections do typically have hefty fines for vehicles that have faults because everything is still going to be illegal with the vehicle. It’s just not going to be checked for registration,” said Johnson.

The reason behind this is quite simple.

“Streamlining, I think. Right now, you have to get the inspection before you can get the registration,” said the Automobile Service Advisor.

“So, by them not having the inspection it just streamlines the registration process,” said Johnson.

The annual exam was removed from the Texas code. Now it is up to Texas Governor Greg Abbott to make it official.

“The House and Senate have passed it, so it’s going to Greg Abbott’s desk. He has until June 18th to sign it or veto it,” said the Vehicle Advisor.

“So, he can veto it and it will go back and it will have to go back for, I guess, another revote,” told us during the interview.

Although in 2025, state inspections for your vehicle may not be a requirement, you can still have your vehicle inspected if you choose to.

“Us as a shop, we can always check over the vehicle and make sure everything is working the way it should. That way you won’t have an issue with having to worry about getting pulled over by the police or your lights not working,” Johnson proclaimed.