Texas
For Texas, counties where testing is required is Brazoria, Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, El Paso, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Johnson, Kaufman, Montgomery, Parker, Rockwall, Tarrant, Travis, and Williamson Counties; how often is annual emissions inspection; recent or pending change is Beginning November 1, 2026, motorists with vehicles registered in Bexar County will not be eligible to renew their vehicle's annual registration if the vehicle has not passed its annual emissions inspection; program / authority is vehicle emissions inspection program, verified against its source on 2026-08-18.
- State
- Texas our reading
- Counties where testing is required
- Brazoria, Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, El Paso, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Johnson, Kaufman, Montgomery, Parker, Rockwall, Tarrant, Travis, and Williamson Counties verified
- How often
- annual emissions inspection verified
- Recent or pending change
- Beginning November 1, 2026, motorists with vehicles registered in Bexar County will not be eligible to renew their vehicle's annual registration if the vehicle has not passed its annual emissions inspection verified
- Program / authority
- vehicle emissions inspection program verified
- Vehicles covered / exempt
- gasoline-powered vehicles 2–24 years old per tceq.texas.gov
Values marked our reading are our classification of what the source says — the source does not print them in those words. The quote below is the evidence for each one; judge it yourself.
What the source says
Motorists with vehicles registered in Brazoria, Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, El Paso, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Johnson, Kaufman, Montgomery, Parker, Rockwall, Tarrant, Travis, and Williamson Counties will not be eligible to renew their vehicle's annual registration if the vehicle has not passed its annual emissions inspection or complied with the vehicle emissions inspection program requirements. Beginning November 1, 2026, motorists with vehicles registered in Bexar County will not be eligible to renew their vehicle's annual registration if the vehicle has not passed its annual emissions inspection or complied with the vehicle emissions inspection program requirements.
— tceq.texas.gov, retrieved 2026-08-18
Sources disagree
More than one authority states this, and they do not state the same thing. Both are reproduced with the source each came from — deciding between them is yours, not ours.
Counties where testing is required
tceq.texas.gov says counties where testing is required is Brazoria, Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, El Paso, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Johnson, Kaufman, Montgomery, Parker, Rockwall, Tarrant, Travis, and Williamson Counties, as of 2026-08-18.
Motorists with vehicles registered in Brazoria, Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, El Paso, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Johnson, Kaufman, Montgomery, Parker, Rockwall, Tarrant, Travis, and Williamson Counties will not be eligible to renew their vehicle's annual registration if the vehicle has not passed its annual emissions inspection or complied with the vehicle emissions inspection program requirements. Beginning November 1, 2026, motorists with vehicles registered in Bexar County will not be eligible to renew their vehicle's annual registration if the vehicle has not passed its annual emissions inspection or complied with the vehicle emissions inspection program requirements.
https://www.tceq.texas.gov/airquality/mobilesource/vim/overview.html
tceq.texas.gov says counties where testing is required is 15 counties in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, and El Paso nonattainment areas, and in Travis and Williamson Counties in the Austin-Round Rock area, as of 2026-08-18.
Texas first established a vehicle emissions testing program on January 1, 1995, meeting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's requirements for I/M programs. The <https://www.tceq.texas.gov/airquality/mobilesource/vim/overview.html> I/M program has been implemented in 15 counties in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, and El Paso nonattainment areas, and in Travis and Williamson Counties in the Austin-Round Rock area. The I/M program requires the annual inspection of gasoline-powered vehicles 2–24 years old in the affected counties. Vehicles must be inspected through Department of Public Safety–certified inspection stations for emissions of NO X , VOC, and CO.
https://www.tceq.texas.gov/airquality/mobilesource/im.html
How often
tceq.texas.gov says how often is annual emissions inspection, as of 2026-08-18.
Motorists with vehicles registered in Brazoria, Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, El Paso, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Johnson, Kaufman, Montgomery, Parker, Rockwall, Tarrant, Travis, and Williamson Counties will not be eligible to renew their vehicle's annual registration if the vehicle has not passed its annual emissions inspection or complied with the vehicle emissions inspection program requirements. Beginning November 1, 2026, motorists with vehicles registered in Bexar County will not be eligible to renew their vehicle's annual registration if the vehicle has not passed its annual emissions inspection or complied with the vehicle emissions inspection program requirements.
https://www.tceq.texas.gov/airquality/mobilesource/vim/overview.html
tceq.texas.gov says how often is annual inspection of gasoline-powered vehicles 2–24 years old, as of 2026-08-18.
Texas first established a vehicle emissions testing program on January 1, 1995, meeting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's requirements for I/M programs. The <https://www.tceq.texas.gov/airquality/mobilesource/vim/overview.html> I/M program has been implemented in 15 counties in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, and El Paso nonattainment areas, and in Travis and Williamson Counties in the Austin-Round Rock area. The I/M program requires the annual inspection of gasoline-powered vehicles 2–24 years old in the affected counties. Vehicles must be inspected through Department of Public Safety–certified inspection stations for emissions of NO X , VOC, and CO.
https://www.tceq.texas.gov/airquality/mobilesource/im.html
Program / authority
tceq.texas.gov says program / authority is vehicle emissions inspection program, as of 2026-08-18.
Motorists with vehicles registered in Brazoria, Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, El Paso, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Johnson, Kaufman, Montgomery, Parker, Rockwall, Tarrant, Travis, and Williamson Counties will not be eligible to renew their vehicle's annual registration if the vehicle has not passed its annual emissions inspection or complied with the vehicle emissions inspection program requirements. Beginning November 1, 2026, motorists with vehicles registered in Bexar County will not be eligible to renew their vehicle's annual registration if the vehicle has not passed its annual emissions inspection or complied with the vehicle emissions inspection program requirements.
https://www.tceq.texas.gov/airquality/mobilesource/vim/overview.html
tceq.texas.gov says program / authority is Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance (I/M) Program, as of 2026-08-18.
Texas first established a vehicle emissions testing program on January 1, 1995, meeting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's requirements for I/M programs. The <https://www.tceq.texas.gov/airquality/mobilesource/vim/overview.html> I/M program has been implemented in 15 counties in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, and El Paso nonattainment areas, and in Travis and Williamson Counties in the Austin-Round Rock area. The I/M program requires the annual inspection of gasoline-powered vehicles 2–24 years old in the affected counties. Vehicles must be inspected through Department of Public Safety–certified inspection stations for emissions of NO X , VOC, and CO.
Sources
- tceq.texas.govhttps://www.tceq.texas.gov/airquality/mobilesource/vim/overview.html
- tceq.texas.govhttps://www.tceq.texas.gov/airquality/mobilesource/im.html