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New Jersey emissions test: the official wording
Everything in quotation marks here is from 4 sources and was matched to them on November 11, 2026. The quotes are the sources’ words; ours only label them.
About these quotes.
The Motor Vehicle Commission pages quoted here answered our reader on the day of the check; on an earlier attempt the same site answered with a bot check. We found no fee on these pages. An older copy of the Commission’s rule, hosted by the US EPA, is quoted separately at the end and is not used by the checker.
On this page: where · how often · fee · new and older vehicles · diesel, electric, hybrid · check a vehicle · sources
What does the text call it?
About Vehicle Inspections
The page we point to: New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, About vehicle inspections.
Where does it apply?
The lines we quote for New Jersey name no county or area. These are the lines we hold on who is covered:
Vehicles need to be inspected once every two years in New Jersey with the exception of new vehicles.
How often is the test?
Vehicles need to be inspected once every two years in New Jersey with the exception of new vehicles.
What does the test cost?
We found no fee on the pages we could read for New Jersey. That is a gap in what we could quote, not a statement about the rule.
What does the text say about new and older vehicles?
New vehicles need a five-year inspection.
Shown with it, so that neither is read alone:
Listed under:
On Board Diagnostic/Emission Component Check
Vehicles need to be inspected once every two years in New Jersey, except for new vehicles, which are given a five-year inspection.
Listed under:
The following vehicles are exempt from inspection requirements (N.J.A.C. 13:20-7.2):
Gasoline powered vehicles registered passenger, model year 1995 & older with a GVWR 8,500 pounds or less.
What about diesel, electric and hybrid vehicles?
Every current line we hold for New Jersey that uses the word diesel, electric or hybrid. Some are about one place or one kind of test; each speaks for itself.
Listed under:
The following vehicles are exempt from inspection requirements (N.J.A.C. 13:20-7.2):
100% Electric vehicles
Listed under:
The following vehicles are exempt from inspection requirements (N.J.A.C. 13:20-7.2):
All diesel powered vehicles model year 1996 and older that are plated passenger, not for profit, governmental, commuter van, farmer or farm truck except buses
Listed under:
The following vehicles are exempt from inspection requirements (N.J.A.C. 13:20-7.2):
All diesel powered vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) 8,501 to 17,999 that are plated passenger, not for profit, governmental, commuter van, farmer or farm truck except buses
What about heavier vehicles?
Listed under:
The following vehicles are exempt from inspection requirements (N.J.A.C. 13:20-7.2):
Gasoline powered vehicles registered passenger, model year 1995 & older with a GVWR 8,500 pounds or less.
Listed under:
The following vehicles are exempt from inspection requirements (N.J.A.C. 13:20-7.2):
Gasoline powered vehicles registered passenger, model year 2007 & older with a GVWR 8,501 to 14,000 pounds.
What else does the text say?
You may complete your inspection up to two months before the expiration date.
Listed under:
The following vehicles are exempt from inspection requirements (N.J.A.C. 13:20-7.2):
Gasoline powered vehicles registered passenger, model year 2013 & older with a GVWR 14,001 pounds or more.
Listed under:
The following vehicles are exempt from inspection requirements (N.J.A.C. 13:20-7.2):
Motorcycles
General inspections are not required for historic or collector vehicles.
What does older text say?
These lines are from a copy of the rule that may predate later changes. They are shown for reference and are not used by the checker or the comparison table.
SUBCHAPTER 43. ENHANCED MOTOR VEHICLE INSPECTION AND MAINTENANCE PROGRAM
Except as otherwise provided in (b) below, all motor vehicles, regardless of model year or fuel type, which are registered or required to be registered in New Jersey and all fleet motor vehicles that are primarily operated in New Jersey shall be inspected in accordance with this subchapter and the applicable emission or OBD inspection standards and test procedures adopted by the Department of Environmental Protection at N.J.A.C. 7:27-15 and 7:27B-5.
Motor vehicles subject to inspection pursuant to this subchapter shall be inspected on a biennial basis, except as otherwise provided by law or regulation.
Check a vehicle against these quotes
Enter a model year, a fuel and a weight rating. The checker repeats the quotes above and, where a figure can be compared, says where your entry falls against it. It does not decide anything about your vehicle.
Which pages could we not read?
We ask for each page with a plain request that names this site, and we don’t work around a refusal. These pages matter for New Jersey and did not open for us:
- New Jersey DEP, Bureau of Mobile Sources (answered our reader with a bot check on November 11, 2026)
Where do these quotes come from?
- New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, About vehicle inspections (nj.gov; state agency page; read November 11, 2026)
- New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, Vehicles exempt from inspection (nj.gov; state agency page; read November 11, 2026)
- New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, How do I get my vehicle inspected? (nj.gov; state agency page; read November 11, 2026)
- N.J.A.C. 13:20-43 (New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission rule), copy hosted by US EPA (epa.gov; federal page; read November 11, 2026)
Spotted a quote that has changed at its source? Tell us. See also the comparison table for the other states.